“You are asucha piece of shit,” Wes growls, moving to step past me.
I halt him with a hand on his stomach, and he doesn’t fight it. He immediately stops, moving back behind me.
Parker watches the interaction, a triumphant grin on his face. “You are so stupid,” he says, the jab directed at me. “Throwing away our entire future together only to end up with a damn criminal.”
“Oh, good. So, you researched me then?” I hear the smile in Weston’s tone. “You should knowexactlywhat I’m capable of. I’d urge you not to speak to her like that again. Better yet, I wouldn’t speak to her at all, if I were you.”
“Threatening me?” Parker grins, baring his teeth. “That would be a probation violation, no?”
Wes laughs. “I’m not on probation, you worthless fucking?—”
“He’s not threatening you,” I rasp, reaching behind me and pressing my palm into Weston’s ribs.
Probation or not, I won’t allow him to put himself at risk by having this interaction turn physical. Weston's future means too much, and Parker means nothing at all.
Lifting my chin, I channel everything I’ve longed to say to Parker in the past five months. Every ounce of rage and despair and anguish that I screamed into my pillows in the depths of night. Every thought of self-loathing echoed through my mind when I looked in the mirror. Every wave of nausea in my gut when I thought of him.
I look him in the eye, just like he asked. I open up the shadows I’ve been hiding within and offer him all the pain he’s caused me.
“I won’t explain to you what you did, because you know. I won’t justify my reason for having an abortion because you know that too. I won’t apologize for the choice I made or for keeping it to myself. You lost the right to know anything about me when you took away my right to choose how my body would be treated.You’rethe reason I had to go through that—and the reason I had to experience it alone.” My voice shatters, right along with the rest of me. I don’t wipe away the tears streaming freely down my face. I don’t erase the hurt. “I know you can’t comprehend the trauma you’ve caused or the way it’s haunted me. I don’t think you even care enough to try. But I hope, deep down, youfeelit.” I swallow down the sob clawing at my lungs, determined to have these words ring clear. “I hope you hate yourself a little more each day, even if you never understand why. I hope you have a daughter someday, and I hope she never has to experience what I have because of you, but I hope you think of me every time you look at her. I hope the guilt sinks its claws into you and refuses to let go, leaving scrapes you don’t recognize the meaning of until you take your last breath.”
I can no longer see his hateful eyes through my blurred vision, but I’m not sure I want to. I’d rather never know how this is affecting him. Taking a shuddering breath, I release one final thought in his direction, deciding that I’ll never think of him again after this. “I hope it eats you alive too.”
I don’t steal a glance at Parker, and I don’t have the strength to look at Weston’s face as I turn, gaze planted on my feet as I whisper, “Can we go, please?”
I can’t raise my eyes when Weston takes my face between his hands, unable to look at him as he presses his lips to myforehead. “Yes, love. Go find your cousins, okay? I’ll be right behind you.”
CHAPTER 36
WESTON
Ifeel empty as Willow walks away, and I want nothing more than to follow her. Comfort her. Heal her. Love her. But I know she’ll need a moment to herself, to process this alone. I knew there were aspects of her past she hadn’t told me yet, but this certainly wasn’t one I was expecting. It wasn’t difficult to decipher the wrecked expression on her face when her eyes refused to meet mine.
It’s going to kill her that I found out this way, and I want to take time for the knowledge to settle within me too, so that when we talk about it, I can take care of her the way she needs.
I also want to ensure Parker does not ever come near her again.
He doesn’t attempt to mask the devastation on his face as he watches her run away, but the anger in his gaze remains potent enough that I know he won’t be taking accountability any time soon. It’s the same expression my father used to wear when he’d make my mother bleed. Enough guilt that he knew he’d gone too far, but he’d still justify his actions. It was always her fault, and he’d never hurt her badly enough not to do it again.
“The best thing she’ll do for herself is forget you ever fucking existed. The best thing you can do for yourself now is to make sure you remain forgotten.” I take a step toward him, and he shuffles back, fear flashing across his eyes. My instincts tell me to obliterate him, but unlike the last time I found myself face to face with a monster like this, I don’t listen. I won’t be the violent person he’s made me out to be in his head, but it doesn’t mean I won’t use his assumptions to my advantage. “Do not ever find yourself in the same vicinity as Willow Graham again.”
Parker’s throat bobs as he swallows, breath short and rapid, filtering through his lips like he’s choking on it.
I hope he does.
I leave him in front of the bathroom, ignoring the small crowd gathered to witness the interaction. Fucking vultures.
Willow didn’t make it far up the beach, I can see her a few dozen yards away sitting in the sand with her knees pulled to her chest as she stares out over the horizon. The sun is halfway drowned by the Pacific, bright orange and streaking the sky in shades of indigo.
As I stalk toward her, the rest of her family catches up to me—confusion and concern painting their faces. Lou is still holding my comically large check. “What’s going on?” she asks before I cut her off.
“We need to leave. Can you three go get the car, please?”
They watch me apprehensively, and I don’t know why I’m surprised. This entire family is goddamn stubborn.
“Please.” I sigh, relenting. “Parker showed up. Confronted her. She’s far from okay, and I just need to get her home.”
Lou gasps, immediately stepping in the direction of Willow as indignation washes over Zander’s features. Liv is solemn, grasping her wife’s hand. “Let Weston go get her, okay?”
