Page 125 of Leave

Nolan looked around the room at his gathered family members. “You’ve all been wondering for years why I suddenly ditched a full ride scholarship to join the military, right?”

Everyone tensed, exchanging puzzled looks before turning them on Nolan. One by one, they all nodded.

“Is that…” John stared at him. “Is this why you did that?”

Nolan nodded slowly.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Carol whispered. “Nolan, we… You never said a word.”

“Who would’ve believed me?” Nolan shifted uncomfortably. “But knowing the way I suddenly changed back then, and what I said earlier—do you really think this is just something I made up this afternoon?”

His parents and siblings exchanged horrified and confused glances.

“Nolan.” John looked right at him, and he seemed to be internally bracing. He took his wife’s hand and quietly said, “Please. Tell us what happened.”

Nolan grimaced. “How much do you want to know?”

“All of it.”

Carol’s features crumpled slightly as if she were getting ready to fall apart, and she seemed to be gripping John’s hand for dear life.

“Are you guys really entertaining this?” Andrew growled. “Do you honestly think my wife—”

“I think I want to hear my son out,” his father snapped. “We heard her side. Now you’re both going to sit there and shut your mouths while we hearhisside.”

Everyone in the room went completely still. Andrew and Leann were clearly not happy, but they didn’t say anything.

John faced Nolan again. “Let’s hear it.”

Nolan glanced at Leann. “With her in here?”

“Why not?” Andrew asked in a challenging tone. “You don’t think she should be allowed to face her accuser?”

I bit back a comment about how in my line of work, victims and suspects made statements privately. Suspects could face their accusers in court.

But this wasn’t a police precinct or a courtroom. This was a family trying imperfectly to figure out what the hell had happened. It was not the time for me to play cop—just supportive boyfriend.

“If she had the chance to say her piece privately,” I said, “maybe he should too.”

Andrew glared at me.

Nolan squeezed my hand and shook his head. “No. I can… I can do it with her here.” He narrowed his eyes at her, and his voice sharpened as he added, “It isn’t like I’ll be saying anything she doesn’t already know.”

Anger flashed in both Andrew and Leann’s faces, but a sharpahemfrom John kept everyone quiet.

Turning to Nolan, John said, “It’s up to you. We can do this now, with everyone in the room. Or we can—”

“This is fine,” Nolan croaked. “I’d rather just say it allonce.”

That I could believe.

“All right.” John nodded. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Nolan stared down at our hands for a moment, then looked at me, brow creased. I nodded and squeezed his hand. He returned the nod.

Facing his family again, he took a deep breath, and just like he had with me the day after the bachelorette party, he opened up that vein.

I’d heard it before. I’d seen his trauma play out in his eyes and his body language. But hearing it now was like getting the gut punch all over again. Matt, Sophia, Carol, and John all vacillated between shock and nausea; Matt turned green enough at one point, I wasn’t surprised to see him eyeing the hallway. There was a small bathroom there, and he was probably gauging if he could get there fast enough. Sophia just kept getting paler and paler, her eyes wide and her jaw slack.

---