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Chapter Twenty

Carly

“Dottie?” I call, stepping into her house with the smell of cinnamon rolls greeting me and I close my eyes, breathing it in for a moment as a feeling of calm washes over me. I remember when we were little and Aunt Dottie used to make us cinnamon rolls for our birthdays. It’s what I need after a hellacious few days.

“Well, this is a surprise,” Dottie says, poking her head around the wall to the kitchen with a smile on her face. “What brings you by? And shouldn’t you be at work?”

I nod. “Yeah, but I kind of needed a personal day.”

With a frown on her face, she studies me for a moment before nodding to the kitchen table. “Have a seat, dear. I’ll get us some coffee and rolls.”

As I sink into the chair and wait for her, I let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose in an attempt to diminish this headache. Although, if the three aspirin I took earlier didn’t help, I doubt anything will. The past two days have felt like weeks and I’m so incredibly lost. The bruise I saw on Ivy’s arm has been haunting me and I don’t know what to do to help her. There is a very large part of me that wants to rush in and drag her away from him kicking and screaming even when, rationally, I know it wouldn’t work for long. Before I could even relax, she would be back in his arms and I might just lose her forever.

Even though worrying about my sister has taken up most of my time, thoughts of Chance have managed to sneak in a time or two. And each time, it feels just as fresh as it did when I walked out of that bathroom. Of course, it doesn’t help that he hasn’t stopped coming around. I don’t know how many more times I can listen to him say that he wants me and he’s not going anywhere before I explode. Honestly, I just don’t understand. He’s married – why on earth is he still doing this? It doesn’t make any sense at all and I’m questioning everything that happened. Not that I’ll ever get any answers because I’ve vowed to stay away from him. If the past few weeks are any indication, I have absolutely no willpower around the man.

“Here you go, sweetie,” Dottie says, bustling into the dining room with a full tray in her hands. She sets it down between us and passes me a coffee and cinnamon roll before taking her own and dumping some cream and sugar in it. After setting my cinnamon roll down on the plate and adding a dash of each to my own cup, I stir my spoon through the tan liquid, lost in thought again. “So, what’s on your mind?”

“I had lunch with Ivy on Sunday,” I whisper, glancing up at her as her eyes widen and she nods.

“And? How is she?”

“She seems okay…”

Dottie places her hand over her heart and lets out a breath. “Well, that’s a relief.” Pausing to stare at me, she tilts her head to the side. “Isn’t it?”

“She’s engaged.”

“Oh,” she whispers, staring down at her coffee as she chews on her bottom lip. It’s something she only does when she’s really stressed and I haven’t even told her the worst part yet.

“There’s more.”

She nods, still not meeting my eyes. “Out with it, then.”

“She…uh, she has a bruise on her wrist.”

Dottie’s head whips up and the pain in her eyes makes tears well up in my own. “You think he’s hurting her?”

“I… Yes. I asked her about it and she said she was being clumsy and he grabbed her when she fell but I just don’t believe that,” I admit and hatred burns in my gut as I think about someone hurting my baby sister. I set my cup down on the table and lean forward. “What can we do?”

Dottie is quiet for a moment, staring down at her coffee as she absentmindedly stirs it, before letting out a sigh. “Years ago, I had this friend who met what we all thought was the most wonderful man, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that something was off. I suspected he was knocking her around and even though I had no proof, I just couldn’t let it go so I asked her about it. She straight up denied it and got mad at me for sticking my nose where it didn’t belong. It tore our friendship apart and I didn’t see her for nearly a year when she showed up at my house in the middle of the night, six months pregnant, with a black eye and a broken arm. I had been right, but it didn’t matter because she wasn’t ready to face the truth.”

“What are you saying?” I ask, horrified that she might actually be suggesting that we do nothing.

“I’m saying if he’s hurting her, his hooks are already in deep and if we say something, we might just push her away when she needs us the most.”

I stare at her with my mouth hanging open and voices roaring in my head. “You can’t be serious. I won’t just let him hurt her.”

“If we do this and she pulls away, she won’t have anyone to turn to when she is finally ready to leave. Believe me, child, I want to do whatever it takes to get her out of there, but I know this is something she has to do herself, even if it kills me.”

“So, we do nothing?”

She shakes her head. “No. You be there for her. You let her know that no matter what happens, you are always by her side because she will need you. Maybe not right away but someday, she’s going to need her big sister to be there for her.”

“I can’t believe this,” I mutter, dropping my head into my hands and sucking in a breath.

“I know it feels like everything that you shouldn’t be doing, Carly, and trust me, I briefly considered grabbing my gun and going for a drive, but it won’t fix anything. And even worse, Ivy would never forgive us.”

“At least she’d be alive,” I hiss, looking up at her.