He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, torn between his lifelong habit of keeping everything private and his growing desire to let her see who he really was. For the first time in his life, he didn't want to maintain the careful distance he'd always kept between himself and others.
"Not much to tell." The words came slowly, pulled from someplace deep inside. "My family was poor. Mom always worked multiple jobs, and my dad died in a work accident when I was five. My sister was three. Times were tough, but the three of us managed okay."
He fell silent, unsure how much she wanted to know and how much he was comfortable with sharing. But Willow had opened up so much of herself to him about her childhood, her pain, her vulnerabilities. He wanted to offer the same honesty in return even though talking about himself felt like exposing nerve endings he'd kept protected for decades.
"So was it just the three of you after that?"
Her gentle prodding made it easier somehow, turning what felt like an insurmountable wall of privacy into manageable questions he could answer one at a time.
He shook his head slowly. "No. My mom remarried when I was eight. At first, it seemed like salvation. He worked a rotating shift at a local manufacturing plant and brought in decent money. But I learned real quick to walk quietly, speak softly, and only when necessary." His jaw tightened with old memories. "If he didn't get the sleep he needed, he'd get pissed. And when he was pissed, he didn't mind lashing out at whoever was convenient."
"Why do I feel like this isn't going to be a good story?" Willow's eyes were already filling with sympathy, and he was both grateful for and uncomfortable with her concern.
"After the first couple of years, his work hours got cut back, and he started drinking more to fill the time. Hell, maybe his hours got cut because he was drinking more." The words felt harsh as his mind returned to a place he never liked to dwell. "When I was fourteen, I got a part-time job at a local gym. The owner was an old ex-boxer named Jacko who knew my stepfather and understood that I needed to spend time away from the house."
"I'm glad you had him in your life," she said softly.
"Old Jacko didn't pay me much, but I gave whatever I earned to my mom to help with expenses. In return, I got to use the gym. He showed me how to exercise and bulk up properly, and taught me how to box." Casper's voice grew stronger as he remembered the man who'd probably saved his life. "Jacko taught me a lot about standing up for myself and the people I loved. He gave me the tools to do something about it."
"What happened when you got older?"
"By the time I was sixteen, my stepfather was completely out of work, drinking all day, and while he'd never laid a hand on my mom or sister, he was a mean drunk who liked to intimidate them." The memory still had the power to make his hands clench into fists. "I came home one day to find him standing over my mom, screaming at her, threatening her..."
"What did you do?" she whispered, her eyes wide with anticipation.
He wondered what she would think of his actions, whether the violence of his response would change how she saw him. But if she needed to see him completely, he wasn't going to hold back the truth.
"I put my fist in his face. Broke his nose. Knocked out one of his teeth." The satisfaction of that moment still echoed in his voice. "While he blubbered and bled, I went into their bedroom, loaded all his shit into a suitcase, then frog-walked him out of the house. Tossed the suitcase in the back of his truck and told him to leave. Made it clear that if he ever came back, I'd break more than his nose."
Willow's eyes widened as she absorbed his words. "Did he come back?"
Casper's lips curved in a grim smile. "We never saw that bastard again. Mom filed for divorce the next day, and it was just the three of us again."
He held his breath, waiting for her reaction, wondering if she would see him differently now that she knew he was capable of violence. Instead, he watched in amazement as her face brightened with something that looked remarkably like pride.
"Oh my God, Casper! You were so brave! I love that you protected them!"
A surprised chuckle escaped him, and he stared down at his boots for a moment before lifting his head to meet her gaze. "Glad you think so."
"You're a protector. Deep inside, that's who you are and what you are."
Her words hit him with unexpected force, and he felt something shift in his chest. She stepped closer, and the air in the room seemed to thicken with unspoken emotion.
"What happened after that? Tell me more about Aldo Caspani."
The fact that she wanted to know more and was interested in his story lit sparks deep inside that had been cold for far too long.
"Kept working at the gym for better money. By the time I turned eighteen, my sister was working too, and I knew I coulddo more for them and myself if I joined the military." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "The Army seemed like the best path forward."
"I bet that suited you perfectly."
"Yeah, it did. I followed orders, worked harder than most, and decided I wanted to be more than just a grunt soldier. Got accepted to Delta Force training and did several tours around the world with special operations."
"I think you're the first real-life hero I've ever met."
A harsh laugh escaped him. "Don't make me out to be a hero, Willow. I did what had to be done because I was ordered to. Dark things. Necessary things, maybe, but not heroic." His voice grew rougher. "I had a brotherhood for the first time in my life, but even surrounded by those men, I felt like walls were closing in on me."
"How are your mom and sister now?"
