Page 65 of The Scars of Us

Stepping away from Kaiya, I clenched my fists in anger. “What the fuck are you doing here, Ethan?” I growled.

Ethan held his chin up confidently, but I could see the apprehension in his eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed nervously. “Good to see you, too, Ryker. Tristan’s birthday is coming up. I thou—”

“You thought what? That I’d forget what you and that whore did to me?” I seethed.

A muscle in Ethan’s jaw ticked as he gritted, “She’s not a whore. She’s my wife and the mother of my child—your nephew.”

“I don’t have a brother, so how can I have a nephew?” I asked condescendingly as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“I don’t know why I thought you would’ve changed. Everyone told me you wouldn’t have, but I hoped that you would’ve matured after this long,” he spat.

“This has nothing to do with maturity. This,” I emphasized as I gestured between us, “is because my own brother betrayed me. I don’t know if you forgot, but I told you that I never wanted to see you again. So, get the fuck out!” I roared angrily.

Ethan’s furious expression faded somewhat as sadness took over his features.Good—I hope he hurts as bad as he hurt me.Wordlessly, he turned and exited the room, glancing back only once before he walked out of my sight.

I don’t know how long I stood there before Kaiya tenderly placed her hand on my bicep. “You okay?”

I was far from okay—seeing him had ripped open my scars and threw acid in the open wounds. But I lied, not wanting to burden her with my issues since she had enough to deal with on her own. “I’m fine, baby.”

She gave me a knowing look as she moved in front of me. “You can tell me, Ryker. I’m here for you.” She linked our hands together.

Kaiya’s words thawed some of the ice that had started to freeze within my chest from seeing Ethan. She smiled warmly at me when I looked down at her. She’d already trusted me with so much, opened up to me more than she had with anyone else besides Kamden and Nori. I owed it to her to open up, as well. Sighing, I replied, “That was my brother, Ethan. We haven’t spoken in over four years.”

“Why?”

“Right after high school, I met this girl, Molly. We dated through college, and she ended up getting pregnant during our senior year. At first, I was scared, shocked actually, but then I was so happy. I loved her and was excited to be starting a family together. I proposed to her a few months after we found out, and she said yes.”

“What happened?” Her eyes held a look of concern as they searched my face.

I released another heavy breath. “When Molly was around eight months pregnant, she told me that the baby wasn’t mine—it was Ethan’s.”

Kaiya’s hand flew to her mouth as her eyes watered. “Oh my God! Ryker, I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t be—it’s not your fault. I blamed myself for the longest time, wondering what I did wrong.”Wow, I’m really opening myself up here.

“You did nothing wrong! They’re the ones who were wrong! I can’t believe that your own broth—” She abruptly stopped, her eyes widening as if she realized something.

“What?” I asked as she shook her head and hugged herself.

“Nothing,” she quickly responded. Avoiding my gaze, she began to tense up. Most people wouldn’t have even noticed it, but I did. I had learned so much about her over the past few months that I knew that she was holding something in.

Pulling her to me, I wrapped her in my arms. Even though she probably thought I was only trying to comfort her, in reality, I also needed to hold her, to feel her against me. Seeing Ethan had resurfaced so many bad feelings that I wanted her to wash away, like she always was able to do. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You can trust me, Warrior.”

She buried her face in my chest. “I know, it’s just hard for me to talk about.” Her voice was muffled against my shirt. “I… I don’t want you to be disgusted by me.”

Framing her face in my hands, I forced her to look up at me, “I could never be disgusted by you. Ever.”

Her lips trembled as tears began to rain down her cheeks. “I… I have another brother. His name is Kaleb. He… he was the one who abused me when I was little.”

Holy shit.I had no clue what to say, what to do to make it better, but I wanted to do anything to take the pain from her. “Oh, baby, no wonder you fight so much. I’m so sorry.”

“I didn’t fight hard enough—I should have made him stop, but I was too weak. I’m still weak,” she sobbed, burying her face in my chest again.

I tilted her chin up to look at me again. “Hey, you’re not weak. You know how strong you are to survive something like that?”

“I survived, but I’m… damaged—completely damaged. Everything he did to me slowly broke me, leaving nothing but fragments for me to try and put back together.”

Looking deep into her eyes, I caressed her cheeks with my thumbs. “I’ll help you pick up the pieces if you let me, Warrior. I want to be the one to make you whole again.”

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