Page 42 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

“You say that now. But that will change,” I whisper as I go to climb off his lap, but he stops me.

“Then, as your daddy, it’s my job to prove you wrong. I’m here for you, and I’m not leaving. I will gain your trust, Sweetheart, as will Ryan and Ethan. We will make this work together and give you everything you need.”

I lean into him and feel a tiny part of me take comfort from how he holds me.

“I don’t know how to process everything; it’s all so confusing,” I admit.

“I can imagine, Sweetheart. You have been dealt a lot of blows today; some have caused more upset than others, which is understandable. If you had to pick one emotion you are feeling right now, what would it be?” Travis asks. I take a deep breath and find it easier to answer than I thought.

“Angry.” I look up at him before looking at the others. “Did you know they had been in the country for nearly a week?” Ethan and Ryan shake their heads, but I don’t miss how they look at Travis.

“I found out this morning.” I hear Travis say. I turn my attention to him as my anger builds. “I do their accounts, and I did a little digging before we left as something she said was playing on my mind. I saw they had made a few transactions in London. I didn’t know anything for sure, as there could have been a simple explanation, like they went to get Christmas presents or something. I planned to speak to them about it when we got back.” He looks deep into my eyes as I feel the anger towards him subside.

“Until this morning, I had no idea; otherwise, I would have called them out on it sooner. I promise I wouldn’t hide that from you.”

I lean back into him, believing him. He had no reason to hide the truth from me. Why wouldn’t Dad tell me he was back? Even if he weren’t here, I would know that he was in the country at least. Then something Danielle said the other day comes to mind, and I feel my eyes burning with tears again.

“Do you know where they spent last Christmas?”

“They were here with you,” Ethan answers. I shake my head and look at the bed.

“They said they were stuck in the states.”

“Sweetheart, we offered to come last Christmas, and they said no. That they were spending it with you and then they would come and see us before flying back, they turned up the day after boxing day for a few hours before flying to the States.”

I shake my head as the tears start again; there’s no denying it anymore. He never wanted to spend time with me, not even during the holidays. I can feel myself shaking and know Travis realises as his arms tighten around me again.

“Let it out, Sweetheart. I’ve got you.”

“He went to a friend’s Christmas Eve party but didn’t even come to see his daughter! They came to see you all but not me! Why?” I cry into his chest.

“Baby, I wish we had the answers, but we don’t. Only Henry knows why he does what he does. I’m so sorry.” I feel a hand touch my back as Ethan's scent gets closer, and he kisses my head.

“If we had known the truth, we would have been here,” Ryan says. I want to believe them, but how can I?

“How am I meant to believe anything anyone says when my own father has lied time and time again?”

“You can’t, which is why we are going to show you all the reasons you can trust us. We promise never to lie to you,” Ethan whispers beside us. I turn my head away from Travis's chest and see Ethan sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at me.

“We will do all we can to give you whatever you need. You have to learn to trust us and always be honest with how you are feeling.”

“Why?” I ask, looking around at all three of them. “Why do you suddenly care so much about how I’m feeling and what’s going on? You never cared before.”

I see Ryan sigh at the same time as I feel Travis doing the same whilst holding me.

“Travis and I have known about each other's feelings for you for a long time. We had no idea that Ethan felt anything until recently. We all thought you were happy and had everything you needed. You’ve been putting on such a great show, masking your pain. If any of us had known the truth, we would have gotten to this point quicker and hopefully prevented a lot of what you have been through.” Ryan moves to sit closer to Ethan and takes my hand between his.

“None of us would have ever let you suffer to the point you felt self-harming was the only way to survive.”

I look away, ashamed that they know about that. No one has ever even suspected. I’ve always been so careful with concealing the cuts and scars.

“When did it start?” he asks, reassuringly squeezing my hand.

“A couple of years ago.” I look up to see all three guys watching me. “I was having a hard time with some things, and nothing I did helped. I cut myself shaving, and the pain took away everything else for the shortest time, but it was enough to make me think. It soon became a coping mechanism.” There’s no point lying; Ryan caught me and has seen for himself.

“I need to ask, Sweetheart. Have you ever thought about doing something more than just self-harming?” Travis asks. The lie is on the tip of my tongue, but when I look up into his eyes, the truth spills from my lips instead.

“Yes.”

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