Page 47 of That Emerald Vow

“Mother?” I ask. Our eyes meet, and I can tell that there is mild guilt hidden deep behind the emerald eyes we share.

She takes a deep breath before saying, “Stop spreading lies. Disgusting behavior like this is why no one is ever going to be able to love you.” She abruptly stands up as I see fear and tears in her own eyes.

I clutch my throw blanket closer to me, not knowing what else to say. My body feels numb to the point that even my tears dry up.

“I am so ashamed to be your mother.”

My uncle takes him in, smirking, clearly seeing the challenge. I can tell the immediate disdain they have for each other with how hard their muscles flex as they shake each other’s hands.

“Glad to see Charlotte is makingfriendsin her new town.” I’ve lived there for over two years and he’s acting like I just moved there.“She was such a shy little thing when she was younger. Never wanted to leave her room. Isn’t that right?” I visibly cringe, remembering my childhood. “That all changed in high school though, when she started making morefriends.”

“It’s nice to have close friendships. People who wouldkillfor youbecause they want to keep you safe.” He looks at my mother as he hands over her drink. “Figuratively speaking of course. Seems like she didn’t have the right kind of company growing up.”

Hearing him defend me helps me find my voice. Usually, I avoid them both at these events. “It’s been nice to grow and find my forever friends. I’m definitelynotthe same scared girl I was as a child, or even the naïve one I was as a young teen.”

“Clearly, you’ve blossomed into a strong woman. I would drink to that, but I don’t have anything yet.” Demetri looks down to my mother.

“I’ll get you a beer. We got your favorite exported one.” She scrambles towards the bar. I often wonder if she got the same treatment as I did from my uncle when they were growing up. And if she had acknowledged my assault, that would mean acknowledging her own. Not that it would ever make what I went through or how she treated me okay, but her also potentially being a survivor of some trauma with my uncle would make more sense than the idea of a mother not caring for her child. Iron fills my mouth as I realize I’m chewing my cheek raw from this interaction.

“What do you do, Demetri? You look awfully familiar,” Damon asks with an intrigued look.

“Oh, you may have seen me from time to time on Dauntless Dashers Airlines commercials. I’m the owner. It unfortunately makes me travel for work.”Fortunately. “ I rarely get to see my family. This is a treat.”

“I’m not sure if that’s it,” Damon says.And most definitely not a treat.

“Charlotte!” I hear my dad’s voice call out.

I instantly feel even more relaxed. While my father and I aren’t super close, he and I share a disdain for my uncle. But as my mother wanted, he never found out what happened. Uncle Demetri tended to be on better behavior and avoided me whenever my dad was around.

“Hi, Daddy. Happy anniversary,” I say, smiling as I hug him. I feel mymother’s eyes boring into my neck before she runs over now that she sees my father is here.

He kisses my cheek before turning to my mother and planting a quick peck. “Hi, honey. Demetri.” He gives a brief nod in his direction.

“Daddy, I want you to meet Damon. He’s a close friend.”

Damon reaches out his hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

My dad smiles as he shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you too, young man.”

“Sweetheart, let’s get you changed into the t—” my mother starts to say.

“I can dress myself, thank you, Vivian.” His face is light and smiling, but his tone is clipped. “I’ll be right back. I definitely want to learn more about you, Damon.”

Damon grins. “Looking forward to it, sir.”

My parents walk towards the house, and Uncle Demetri decides to go find the beer my mother never brought him. I turn towards Damon and roll my eyes. “Everyone seems to fall straight in love with you.”

“Many can say the same about you, my little gem.”

I bite my lip as I stare into his twinkling eyes.

He breaks the heated silence by smirking at me before saying, “Come on, Char. Let me get a look into your life. I want to know everything about you.”

I smile warmly at him. “Okay. I know just where to start.” I’ve never wanted someone to know me more than this man at this moment.

“This was my happy place growing up,” Charlie tells me as her eyes take in the treehouse. There is a warmth in them I’ve never seen before when talking about her childhood. Her parents’ backyard is massive, so this is located a decent distance away from the party festivities, giving us some privacy.

“It’s amazing, Char.” This is out of every child’s dream. There’s a spiral wooden staircase that goes around the tree up to where the house resides with a wrap-around porch to stand and gaze out on. Looking inside, I can see it’s literally like a small house, and not even child-sized. “Do the lights wo—” Before I finish, she flicks the switch and lights illuminate the whole place.

---