Page 119 of Haunted

I hate to do it, but everyone needs to know. “He’s going to jail after he leaves the hospital and charges are being brought against him.”

Mom nods, but the pain is clear on her face. She understands, but is understandably still upset.

“Of course,” Dad says darkly, his eyes flickering to Jules in understanding.

I pull Jules closer to me.

“Fuckin’ hell,” Dad mutters. “He duped us all.”

“He was always good with computer shit,” Mom saystearfully. “Even as a kid. We’d hoped he’d do something with it, but we never thought he’d do something like this.”

“There’s more,” I tell the group and wait for everyone to look my way. “Jules was pregnant with my baby when she fell into a coma. She had planned to tell me the day Theo attacked her, but obviously never got the chance.” I pause for a moment, and the room turns eerily quiet, shock marring everyone’s features. “She delivered a baby by C-section. The baby was born February 1, 2011.”

“Wait! What?” Ella says loudly, straightening away from Vicki. “That’s Aria’s birthday,” she continues slowly. “Are you saying….”

“Yes,” I answer before she can finish. “Aria’s birth certificate shows Jules as the mother. There’s no way to know for sure, but it seems I’m her father since she was already pregnant by the time Theo raped her.

“Holy fuck,” Vicki mutters.

“We’re waiting a few days to tell her,” Jules adds carefully. “We thought about waiting even longer, but we’re hoping with Theo more than likely going to prison, it might help her with knowing she still has parents. I know it’s going to hurt her, but we’re hoping to ease some of the pain.”

Mom and Dad have been quiet, so I glance at them. Mom’s eyes are dry, and I’m shocked to see the blatant anger flaring in her green gaze. I’ve never seen that look in her eyes before. Dad doesn’t look much better.

I close my eyes and think back to all the dreams I’ve had over the years. The silhouette that I couldn’t quite make out, except for her amber eyes. Her voice calling my name, imploring me to save her. They started about a year after Jules went into a coma and drove me bat shit crazy. I wouldn’t have admitted it at the time, but thinking back to when they abruptly stopped, a small part of me missed them. When they started back again sixmonths ago, she was more vivid. I could actually make out her face. I still had no idea who she was, but the haunted look in her eyes called to me. I know now it was because my heart and subconscious knew her, even if I didn’t remember.

I think about the dream in the field. Jules smiling so brightly when Theo walked up. But it wasn’t him, it was me. And that wasn’t just a dream, that scene actually happened. It was the day I asked Jules to marry me. I believed my brother’s story so much that I inserted myself on the outside edges of the dream and put Theo in my place. That’s why I became enraged when I saw them together, because that wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

Another one comes to mind. The one of her pleading with me to not hurt her. Except that wasn’t the case. It was her beggingTheonot to hurt her and formeto save her. In my mind, it was my actions that put her in a coma, it was me that hurt her all those years ago, so again, I put myself in Theo’s shoes and he in mine. It fucking burns my insides that I so easily allowed him to fool us. I never questioned him. Not fucking once. I feel like an incompetent fool.

I had always assumed Jules’s dream silhouette was me. She said it was sinister, evil. What happened to her was definitely sinister and evil. In my dreams, she was my silhouette. Always sad and hurt. I realize now she was trying to warn me of the evil surrounding her. Begging me to protect her. To remember her.

Jules moves on my lap, and I realize my grip on her waist has tightened. I loosen my fingers and mutter, “Sorry, baby.”

Mom stands from the couch, and I watch as she visibly pulls herself together. “We’re going to leave and let you both rest.” She grabs Dad’s hand when he takes to his feet beside her. “I brought some food over so neither of you have to worry about cooking. It’s in the fridge.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Always, honey. We’ll pick up Aria from school and keep her for a few of days.”

I nod, knowing it’s for the best. “We’ll come by and we can all tell her together about Theo.”

“I think that’s a good idea. She’s going to need all of us.”

We follow them, Ella, and Vicki to the door. After more tears are shed, they all say goodbye, and I close the door behind them. My arms immediately engulf Jules, and I pull her to my chest, where she snuggles against me. It feels so damn good to have her there. I’ve held her multiple times since she came to stay with me, each time more perfect than the last, but it’s different now. There’s nothing holding back our feelings. No shame, no remorse, no guilt, no doubt, and no uncertainty. It’s pure and real and precious and there’s not a damn thing wrong with it. I’ve loved this woman for years. We may have forgotten for a while, but even before we got our memories back, I felt it, and I know she did too. Because of that, it’s stronger than it ever was before.

“Tired?” I ask, gazing down into a pair of eyes that captured me from the first moment I saw them and countless times while I slept.

She releases a sigh, and I have my answer before she speaks. “Exhausted.”

“Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”

I bend and scoop her up into my arms. I’m in heaven when she throws her arm around my shoulders and nestles close. She yawns and then kisses my neck.

I take us to the bedroom and gently place her on the bed. We both need showers, but that’ll have to come later. Jules’s body needs rest at the moment more than it needs to be clean.

I help her out of her clothes then she helps me out of mine. I snag something out of my pocket before my pants hit the floor. It’s not in the cards right now, but I want nothing morethan to make love to Jules… my wife. Fuck, I love the sound of that.

As soon as my body is settled against the sheets and before I get the chance to reach for her, Jules is on me. We lie facing each other, arms wrapped around the other, chests smashed together, and legs tangled. You couldn’t fit a piece of paper between us. Just the way I like it.

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