Lily
After the short flight home, Jaxon dropped our luggage in his bedroom, grabbed a duffel bag, threw in some clean clothes, and led me to the garage, where I slung the straps over my shoulder like a backpack and climbed onto the back of his Ducati.
When we were teenagers, Jaxon always talked about wanting a motorcycle, but I’d never ridden on one until I came back here. The thought of them used to unsettle me when I lived outside Toronto, especially after finishing my emergency room rotations and seeing firsthand the carnage they could cause. But here, the town was quiet, and the country roads were mostly empty. The pace of life was drastically different, with no traffic congestion, no tight spaces to navigate, and with Jaxon driving, I felt safe.
The adrenaline rush with each twist and turn in the road was mesmerizing. Vibrations from the engine rumbled between my legs as the crisp air whipped by, with a steady reminder I was alive and living in the moment.
I wasn’t hiding.
There were no more secrets or shadows taunting me, just me, breathing and seeing life through a fresh new lens.
When we arrived at the lake house, we fell into a comfortable silence. The past twenty-four hours had been a lot to digest, and we both seemed to be in our heads, processing. I knew the fear of someone recognizing me would still linger, waiting for the least opportune moment to strike. But knowing the material was gone, and that I could type in the username for the account Aiden had created under false pretenses and find nothing, felt incredibly liberating.
At his sentencing, the judge found him guilty of all the charges presented to the court: voyeurism and the unlawful distribution of intimate images and video sold for profit. Aiden received a sentence of seven years minus time served, and the court seized his bank accounts. The funds were eventually awarded to me and helped pay for my lawyer’s fees, student loans, and my subsequent relocation across the border to California.
What Aiden did was unforgivable. Finding out he filmed me without my consent and put all the material online was humiliating. If it hadn’t been for Anna from victim services, I would have faced it all alone.
My relationship with my parents had been strained since we left Sutton River, and it only got worse after I learned the real reason behind why we left. They didn’t offer any emotional support after my car accident, and even went as far as ridiculing me after everything with Aiden came to light. Their lack of care only deepened the loneliness and was the last straw.
I knew I had to protect myself and finally walk away.
After all, my parents had spent years putting their needs above everything else. It was about time I learned to do thesame. It was during that painful realization that I knew I had to make a choice: let it break me or pick up the broken pieces and fight for the happiness I deserved.
I refused to be anyone’s victim, and with that came change.
Moving to another country and returning to my roots was the first step in taking back my life. Reconnecting with Arizona had been a godsend. I’ll never forget the moment we saw each other again.
The tears, hugs, laughter, and comfort.
She filled my soul with so much light that I knew I’d made the right decision. I loved her something fierce. She was the sister I never had, and to know I hadn’t broken our bond—it meant the world to me.
Choosing Rockwood as my landing spot felt safe. I knew I needed time and space to heal and get re-situated in my career. While I wasn’t hiding myself from the world per se, which was next to impossible when you worked in a hospital, I was, nonetheless, consciously hiding from Jaxon.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about him every day. I kept imagining all the ways he might react to my return, and it was overwhelming. Living one day at a time and not looking too far ahead was what got me through, but as the days slowly turned into weeks, then months, and time kept moving forward, I found myself growing more and more afraid.
I built up a wall of assumptions, brick by layered brick of emotions he had likely felt toward me: anger, betrayal, disappointment, confusion, sadness, grief, bitterness, and heartbreak. Eventually, just the thought of seeing him again was enough to send me into a full-blown panic.
My stomach growling stirred me up from a nap I hadn’t realized I’d taken. Waves of heat pulsed through the air while Iarched my back and stretched out across the large porch swing that was more the size of a bed than a traditional swing. When I sat up, I noticed an outdoor space heater plugged in a few feet away, and it made me smile. My eyes then traveled toward the lake, where I spotted Jaxon sitting on the edge of the dock.
Feeling the need to be close to him, I slipped on my running shoes and made my way across the property. The closer I got, the more my smile dimmed. I could tell by the way his shoulders slumped forward and how his head hung low, directed aimlessly at the water, that he was internally beating himself up.
“Hey.” I sat beside him, tucking my arm through his, leaning my head on his shoulder.
“Hey,” he echoed.
“How are you?”
“I should be asking you that.”
“I’m worried about you.”
“I’ll be good, promise.” He kissed my forehead.
“I know, but I’d still like it if you’d talk to me. I know all too well the toll it can take bottling things up.”
“I’m in awe of you, you know that?” he murmured against my skin.
“Me?” I pulled back from him.
