“I-I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry.”
Nate barks out a bitter laugh. “Didn’t want to worry me?” he scoffs. “Wren, another cop is asking about your safety, and I have no clue what they’re talking about. I’m your brother and a goddamn sheriff. You don’t think I deserved to know?”
“Nate,” Dad warns, but he shakes him off.
“It’s handled.”
“Bullshit it’s handled. Davis says they have an unmarked following your every move. Doesn’t sound like it’s fucking handled to me.”
“That’s not fair–”
“What’s not fair is,” he cuts me off, voice rising, and my body involuntarily begins shaking, “you keeping something like this from us!”
“Enough,” Dad shouts this time, stopping my brother. “Nate, I understand your concern and confusion, but let your sister talk.”
“Go ahead, Pumpkin,” Gramps encourages softly.
My eyes dart around the room, at everyone watching me, and I fight the urge to run from this room. Wrapping my arms around myself, I seek comfort as I start telling them everything. The control and the manipulation. The slap and the apology. The jealousy. The raised voices. The abuse.
Tears pour down my face with shame and humiliation. They deserve the truth, but admitting it to them is soul-crushing. I can see the guilt and sympathy on their faces, and I hate it. Moments ago, we were laughing, and now sorrow has fallen over the room.
Turning toward Nate, I point a finger in his direction. “I was there.”
Confusion washes over his face.
“At Mom’s funeral. Remember when you accused me of being too good to come back home for her. Well, I was there. Covered in bruises, but I. Was.Fucking. There.”
His shoulders slump as moisture coats his eyes. “Wren…”
I raise my hand, stopping him. “Bruises on my eyes. My arms. My neck. I knew I couldn’t walk in the church looking like that, so I wore clothes that covered me from head to toe and the biggest sunglasses I could find. I hid in the overlook of the church and behind a tree at the cemetery.”
Nate swears under his breath while my dad just…stares at me as tears pour over his cheeks.
“Wren…” Nate’s voice breaks.
“Paying for the funeral was the least I could do. Money can’t fix everything, but it felt like a start.”
“It was you,” Dad says, taken aback.
I shrug. “It’s nothing, Dad.”
“You were hurting…”
“I’m fine now,” I say quickly, even though I’m scared shitless.
“That’s not the point,” Nate snaps, running a hand through his hair. “The point is, you went through hell and didn’t botherto tell us. You’re still hiding things from us now. He’s here and you’re alone.”
“I didn’t tell you guys because I didn’t want you to worry, and I was too far gone in his manipulation to see clearly. But when I did, I had help getting out. I’m here now, and yes, things are happening in Silo Bay I never considered. I’m not alone. I have you guys, Jett, Davis, and his team.”
Nate shakes his head, looking dejected as his voice softens. “Why didn’t you come to me?”
I offer a small smile. “Because you’re my big brother, and I didn’t want you to see me like this.”
“Pumpkin,” Dad whispers.
“I know, Dad.”
But knowing doesn’t change what happened. It doesn’t erase the pain. They were two thousand miles away; it wasn’t worth burdening them with my problems.
