Page 51 of A Constant Reminder

Chapter 32 – Tyler

Sam was silent for a few moments, and I tried to read her thoughts. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked about James, but I figured maybe a little talking could be therapeutic.

Finally, she began, “When James and I started dating, we were young, only fifteen, I think. He was sweet, and it all started so innocently. We’d go to movies and hold hands or just hang out with friends. When he finally got up the nerve to kiss me, it gave me butterflies. We’d spend all our time just making out, completely infatuated with each other.

“But as time went on, the kissing quickly turned into more. Both of us thought we were ready for sex. We weren’t, but we did it anyway. That’s when everything changed.”

She took a breath, so I said, “Doesn’t sex always change things?”

“I guess, but this was…a drastic change. My once-sweet boyfriend turned into a jealous monster. All my guy friends, friends we both shared, suddenly because our enemies. If I so much as smiled at another boy, James would be mad for days. Suddenly, my clothes were too revealing, and I was too flirtatious and had too many friends.”

“Why didn’t you just break up with him?”

She thought deeply for a moment. “Because most days, he was still the guy I fell in love with, albeit puppy love. To make up for being a jerk, he’d show up with flowers. Back then, he’d never laid his hands on me, and I didn’t realize the abuse he was doling out was emotional. He’d try to convince me that I was so lucky to have him because no one else could possibly want me. I didn’t question it because I thought that’s just how things were.

“He wanted me to be little Miss Perfect. I was far from it, but I tried to make him happy. Tried to put on a happy face, but when Mom died, I just couldn’t. And he didn’t understand why I couldn’t just get over it and move on. I was spiraling, and instead of helping me through it, he made it worse.”

I continued massaging her feet as she seemed to get lost in a memory.

“Sam, I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

She shook her head. “Like I said, it wasn’t like he was always a monster. Maybe I turned him into one.” Her last words came out in a whisper.

“The hell you did,” I retorted. “He always had that buried rage. It was just searching for an outlet.”

“Well, now that it’s out, there’s apparently no putting in back in the box.”

“Why do you think he’s still so angry?”

“Everyone in that town viewed James as the golden boy. He was nice to everyone, the type to go out of his way to help an old lady with her groceries. He never wanted people to see the monster. When it came out what he did to me, of course most didn’t believe it, but there was still a bit of tarnish on that perfect reputation of his. In his mind, I’m unfinished business.”

The thought that this psycho was still after her made the pit in my stomach feel like lead. He wasn’t coming near her. I’d kill the bastard.

I wasn’t sure if she would like what I had to say next, but that didn’t stop me. “Tomorrow, we have to call Detective Macintosh.”

Her eyes found mine with a look of defeat. I was ready for a fight, but she gave none. “You’re right. I’ll call him in the morning and see if he can drop by.”

“Maybe he can track down his phone number or something and find out where he’s been hiding.”

She nodded, but I knew she highly doubted anything would come out of this new development.

Trying to lighten the mood, I called Mason up on the bed with us. Immediately, he put a smile on Sam’s face. I’d do anything to see that beautiful grin, and I couldn’t wait until one day, she smiled because James Sinclair was finally behind bars.

---