Heather lets out a sharp laugh. “Overreacted? Are you fucking kidding me? You beat the shit out of him. You’re lucky you’re not sitting in a holding cell right now.”
Her words land like a slap, and for a moment, I almost want to hide behind her, but I can’t do that. Not this time. I reach out and gently pull her aside.
“Ray.” My voice falters, but I don’t back down. “We’re done. I was done before Florida. But after what you did to me yesterday, I never want to see you again.”
Ray is fighting to keep his composure, especially after Heather’s threat of jail. His tone softens, but it’s hollow.
“No, babe… we can work this out. I’m sorry, you know how I get. It won’t happen again.”
I know that voice. It’s not remorse; it’s damage control. He’s not afraid of losing me; he’s just afraid of losing his grip on me.
Behind me, I feel a shift in the air—the steady presence of Aiden. He’s been hanging back, probably to prevent making things worse, but I can tell he’s ready to step in if Ray crosses the line.
Ray’s eyes dart past me, and I can see the exact second recognition hits. His expression twists, rage replacing the fake remorse. His face goes from red to something darker.
“What the fuck is he doing here?” he roars, pointing at Aiden, spit flying from his mouth. “Are you fucking him? You fucking cheating whore.”
He lunges toward me, but before I can even flinch, Aiden steps forward, his arm outstretched, his voice cutting through the chaos like a crack of thunder.
“That’s enough.” His words hit like a physical force. Aiden positions himself between us, his eyes fixed on Ray. “You don’tget to come near him ever again,” he booms, his voice steady and deadly. “You so much as try, and you’ll regret it.”
Ray freezes.
Aiden doesn’t raise a fist; he doesn’t need to. His size, quiet confidence, and the certainty in his tone are enough. Ray’s a bully who picks on people smaller than him. Even though their about the same height, Aiden is packed with more muscle, so Ray’s bravado crumbles. He takes a step back; the fight draining out of him.
“We can’t be over, Jay,” he pleads, the tough-guy act dissolving into something raw and small. “We have too much history. Too much riding on this. We love each other. What will people think?”
I stare at him. “Are you serious? That’s all you care about, what people think? You beat the hell out of me. You’d do it again in a heartbeat if I crossed you. I’m done. I don’t love you. I don’t even like you.”
His anger flashes, then falters as Heather pushes past us and stands firmly in his way.
“Ray, you need to leave, or I’m calling the police,” she demands, her voice flat and unwavering. “As Jay’s attorney and his sister, I’m telling you now: he’s filing a report and pressing charges. You should get legal counsel. You’ll need it.”
Ray sputters, “What the fuck? This is a private matter. You don’t need to involve the police.” He looks like he might lunge, but Aiden and Heather step in close, hemming me in on either side. The two of them together are a wall he can’t push through.
He snarls, “Fine, I’ll go. But this isn’t over.”
I want the last word. I need to prove to them, and to myself, that I can stand up to him.
Pointing to my bruised face. “Ray, look at me.” My voice as calm as I can make it. “You hit me. You kicked me. You left a boot print on my skin. I have photos and access to our socials. If you don’t leave me alone, I will post those pictures, and your followers will see exactly what you did to me.”
His face drains of color; the one thing he truly cares about is the leverage I need. He turns silently, walks to his car, and drives away. I know this won’t be the end; his pride won’t let it be. But for now, he’s gone.
After last night’s blow-up with Ray, I barely had the energy to stand, let alone think. Aiden drove me back to the hotel so I could gather my things, then insisted on sleeping on my mom’s couch in case Ray showed up again. He left early this morning to go back to the hotel to shower and get some work done while Heather and I handle the police report.
I avoided another deep talk with her last night, but now, sitting beside her—just the two of us in her car—I can feel she’s going to use this time to her advantage.
“So, little brother,” Heather says as she pulls away from the house, her voice steady but edged, “I think you owe me more than what you shared yesterday. I know you left out a lot. And don’t think I forgot that little comment about me overreacting. We’ll be circling back to that.”
I let out a tired sigh. “You’re right. There’s a lot I didn’t want to say in front of Mom. And there are still some things I will not tell you, no matter how hard you try to pry them out of me.”
She glances at me briefly before looking back at the road. “Okay. I can respect that. But if I think I need more information as your lawyer, I will push.”
“That’s fair,” I admit. “Just let me get it all out before you start grilling me, alright?”
She nods in agreement.
“You already know about the social media side of things,” I start, staring out the window. “What you don’t know is that almost a year ago, Ray opened an OnlyFans page. Do you know what that is?”
