Page 39 of Haunted

“Have any of them… hurt you?” I ask haltingly. “Have they put their hands on you?”

I hold my breath and wait for her answer.

Water slings from her hair and lands on my hand when she shakes her head. “No. They just say mean things sometimes when my daddy isn’t around.”

“Have you told your daddy?”

She grabs a little brush from the dollhouse and starts running it through Molly’s hair. “Yes, but he just says they don’t mean it.” She leans forward and lowers her voice, her nose wrinkling. “Sometimes I hear them in his bedroom. He thinks I’m asleep, but sometimes I hear the women yelling or crying.”

Revulsion twists my stomach. I want to reach out and pull her into my arms. I have no doubt in my mind the “crying” and “yelling” is Theo and whatever woman having sex. No child should hear that from adults, especially from a parent. How could he be so careless?

Anger at Theo has my hands balling into fists on my lap.

“Are you going to yell or cry when you sleep with Daddy?”

“No.” My answer is immediate. I reach out and smoothaway a lock of wet hair from her forehead. I soften my voice and repeat, “No. You don’t have to worry about that anymore, Aria.”

“Good. Because I don’t like it. That’s why I like staying with Gamma, Pa, Uncle Luca, or Aunt Ella.”

She looks back down at Molly and attempts to braid her blonde hair. She only parts the hair into two sections, so it’s more of a twist instead of a braid.

“Want me to brush and braid your hair?”

“Can you do Molly’s hair too, so we look alike?”

I smile at her hopeful look. “Yes.”

She gets to her feet. “I’ll get the brush.”

While she walks away, I get to my feet and walk to the bed, taking a seat on the edge. When she comes back, she has a brush with a couple of bands wrapped around the handle. She walks to me, hands me the brush, and turns her back to face me. I start at the ends, and as I slowly work my way up her hair, a pang hits my chest. I used to do this with Teresa every night after her bath. I wonder what she looks like now, and if she’s forgotten about me.

Once I’m done, I tie off the end. Aria turns and holds out Molly.

“I’ll hold her while you braid her hair.”

I’m just finishing Molly’s braid when I hear a throat clear. I look over to the doorway and see Theo leaning against the frame watching Aria and me. When his eyes meet mine, something flashes in them. Before I can figure out what the look means, he looks to Aria, reminding me of her words a few minutes ago. I force back a scowl.

“You ready for bed, Aria?”

“Yep.”

She skips over to Theo, who scoops her up into his arms. As wrong as it is that Theo’s put Aria in situations she shouldn’t be in, I see the love shining from his eyes for his daughter.

“Guess what?” he asks.

“What?”

“You get to sleep with Daddy tonight in his big bed.”

“Yah!” she chirps, her eyes lighting up. “But why do I have to sleep in your bed?”

Over Aria’s shoulder, his eyes shift to mine for a moment before going back to her.

“Because we’re going to let Jules have your bed for now,” he explains.

She frowns. “But why isn’t she sleeping with you?”

When Theo looks back at me, I drop my eyes away. I hate knowing I’m taking Aria’s bed away from her, but the thought of sharing a bed with Theo has my stomach churning with nerves.

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