At that moment, I decided to take the first step into admitting some of my truth. “Tell them everything. It’s okay.”
Theo reeled back, clearly shocked that I said that. “Are you sure?” he asked.
I forced a nod. “I want them to know what you did for me. They’d be proud of you, and you deserve that.”
He shook his head, not in a bad way, but in a bashful kind of way that made me want to pepper him with kisses. “Asher. It’s not about that. I don’t need praise.” His belt was already unbuckled, so he was able to scooch closer. “I’m just happy you’re out of there and safe with me.” His hand cupped my cheek. It was such a tender, intimate gesture, even for us. Buddy rubs and wrestling were common, but Theo was caressing me, consoling me. It was such a stark contrast to the slaps across the face I was used to, and it was coming from him.Him.
I felt safe. I felt protected. The touch of his hand sent a wave of relief through me.
I’m really not there anymore. I’m with him.
My chest tightened, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe. It rumbled in my chest before rushing up my throat. I couldn’t stop it. The dam broke open, and a sob ripped out of me. The tears flowed as I heaved, gasping for air as the sobbing consumed me.
Theo pulled me in, pressing my face to his chest, and I just wept on him.
“I’m sorry,” I gasped. “I’m sorry.”
“Shh. Let it out, buddy. Let it out.”
As if the touch weren’t enough, those words pushed me even further. He was giving me permission to release years’ worth of pain, and there was no stopping it. It poured out of me in heaps, my tears drenching the shirt he wore.
“Oh God,” I cried. It was so overwhelming. I’d held it all in for so long and, now that I was allowed to let it out, I couldn’t control it. He held me tighter, and I cried more, gripping onto his shoulder, holding on for dear life, as it all came pouring out.
I don’t know how long we sat in his car like that, but it felt like an eternity.
Theo didn’t judge me. He barely spoke at all—he just held me.
Theo
I ran my fingers through Asher’s hair as he let it all out. It was better in the car with some privacy. He needed to let it out, and he needed to feel safe to do that. It would be too hard with the spectacle of my family swooping in to shower him with affection. Once my mom got hold of him, it would be an all-out smother-fest.
Speaking of.
I noticed the front door opening in my peripheral vision and turned to see Mom with a worried look on her face. She began approaching the car, and I silently shooed her away. She stood just a few feet before the car, trying to decipher what I was trying to signal with my hand. She took another step closerand saw Asher crying in my arms. Her mouth fell open, and she cupped her face with both hands.
She gave me a knowing look, then nodded and scurried back into the house. Asher and I sat in the car for a while longer. It was hard to know how long, but I didn’t give a shit. I’d let him cry all night if he needed to.
Eventually, he slowly rose upright and wiped his cheeks. I don’t know if he had any tears left, and maybe that was a good thing. Maybe that’s what he needed—to just cry it out until he couldn’t anymore. An embarrassed expression crossed his face, and he looked down at his hands, picking at his cuticles.
“I’m so sorry about that,” he said. “I just—”
“Needed to let it out,” I finished.
Asher looked at me with wide eyes before he smiled. “Yeah…”
We sat there, our gazes locked, before it started feeling like something needed to happen. So, I did an awkward drumming with my hands against the steering wheel and said, “I’m going to go talk to my parents. Do you want to come with me?”
He thought about that for a moment and then said, “Is it cool if I wait out here until you’re done? I just need to calm down for a second.”
He probably wanted a minute to himself before his whole life changed. As far as I was concerned, this wasn’t temporary. I made up my mind to never let him go back to that hellhole the minute I saw that fucker’s hands wrapped around Asher’s throat.
I nodded, then left the car and made my way inside the house. My whole family, including Roxy and Reggie, were all sitting in the living room, looks of consternation on their faces.
I sat down next to my dad and told them everything. I didn’tlook at any of their reactions as I told the story. My eyes were cast down, gazing at my hands the whole time. It was upsetting to talk about. Not because I was upset I got in a fight, it was upsetting that this was happening to Asher, and, if my memories of that night at Rowan’s party were correct, it had been happening for a long time.
When I finally finished, I looked up and my stomach dropped at the looks on my mom and sisters’ faces.
There was a moment of silence that Reggie finally broke. “You mean to tell us that her boyfriends were roughing up her son, and that fucking bitch did nothing?”
