Page 88 of Haunted

Her eyes light up, but then dim after a moment. “Daddy won’t let me,” she says sadly. “He says I can’t stay with Uncle Luca anymore.”

That raises my anger again. He’s forbidding her visits to Luca because he’s mad at him and me. Luca loves Aria to pieces, and Aria loves him the same. His punishing Luca is also affecting his daughter.

“We’ll see what happens,” I tell her.

She nods dolefully. “Okay. Daddy hasn’t been very nice lately, so he’s been letting me stay with Gamma and Pa a lot.”

My throat closes, but I somehow force out the words. “Has… has he hurt you?”

Her eyes drop, and her words are mumbled so low I almost don’t hear them. “No. He just says mean things sometimes.”

My heart rate settles fractionally. Although verbal abuse is enough, I’m relieved he hasn’t hurt her physically. Theo wouldn’t have to worry about Luca coming after him, I would have myself. I’m meek and quiet most of the time, but the thought of Theo harming Aria sends rage rushing through my veins.

“Remember when I said people do things they normally wouldn’t?” At her nod, I continue. “Sometimes those things upset people so much they are mean to the ones they care about. For some people, that’s the only way they know how to get rid of the ugly feelings inside them. But it doesn’t mean they don’t love the ones they hurt. I know your daddy doesn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

I can tell she doesn’t fully believe my words from the way she’s biting her lip, and it makes me wonder exactly what he’s said to her. This is something else I’ll be talking to Luca about. I don’t like knowing Aria’s living in a place that makes her feel so uncomfortable, but I’m not really sure what can be done. Maybe he can talk to his parents about having them to talk to Theo. Ill feelings aside, he needs to know how much he’s hurting his daughter.

I look down at Aria’s hands that are clasped together in front of her. Something warm invades my chest at seeing her colored nails. They match my own. Our toes match as well. Seeing some of the color has chipped away and wanting to bring a smile back to her face, I take her hand in mine.

“I see you need a touch-up. I’ve got the polish in my purse. Want to go paint our nails again while we wait on the turkey to finish cooking?”

Just as I had hoped, Aria’s lips form the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. “Yes!” she exclaims excitedly.

I stand and look over at Luca. His eyes are still on us, but the worry has faded as he sees the smile on both Aria’s and myfaces. His lips tip up into the half smile I like to see on him. I motion my head toward the house to let him know Aria and I are going inside. His eyes dart around the yard, and I follow them until they settle on Theo, who’s sitting in a pair of lawn chairs with Helen. When Luca’s eyes come back to me, he lifts his chin.

I lead Aria into the house as she babbles away about the movie she and her Pa went to see a couple of days ago. After grabbing the fingernail polish from my purse, we both sit at the kitchen table. She does my nails first, and it’s so cute because she sticks her tongue out the side of her mouth in concentration, just as she does when she draws. I don’t mind the smears she leaves behind on my cuticles. She laughs as I dramatically shake my hands in the air to dry them. I do hers next, and I laugh at her when she does the same.

“I’ve missed you so much, Jules,” she says after I put the polish away.

I pull her into my arms. “I’ve missed you so much too, Aria.” I step away and gaze down at her. “I promise we’ll get to spend more time together.”

It’s a promise I plan to keep, somehow or another.

“I’ve got to go potty. You go on back outside, and I’ll be there in a minute.”

She skips away, and I’m glad her mood is lighter than it was earlier. She deserves to be happy all the time.

I go to the bathroom, but not for the reason I gave Aria. I need a moment alone to gather my emotions. Seeing Aria, spending time with her, and finding out she saw what Theo had almost done to me has frayed my nerves. I pray to God she doesn’t know exactly what Theo was doing. Revulsion has my stomach clenching at that thought.

I splash cold water onto my face to bring back color into my pale cheeks. My eyes are a little red, but hopefully no one willnotice. To mentally prepare myself to go back outside, I pull in several deep breaths before grabbing the door handle. As soon as I pull open the door, I’m forcefully shoved back inside, and it’s slammed shut again. My back hits the sink and a sharp pain radiates up my spine. Fear skitters through me when Theo pins me with his hate-filled glare. His back is against the door, and I can practically see the rage pulsing from his bunched-up muscles.

“Wh-what are you doing, Theo?” I try to put as much strength into my tone as possible, but it still comes out shaky.

“Has he fucked you yet?” he hisses through clenched teeth.

My eyes widen. “What? No!”

Fear seeps into my bones when he leaves the door and stalks my way. I try to press myself closer to the sink, but I’m already as far against it as I can be. My eyes dart around the room, looking for something to use as a weapon, but there’s nothing. And the room is too small for me to slip by him. I’m stuck with no way of getting out. I lean back until my head hits the mirror.

“You’re a fucking liar,” he seethes. He doesn’t stop until he’s standing right in front of me. “I can fucking smell him on you.”

He grips my hair and yanks my head forward. His face goes to my throat where he sniffs along the skin. I press my hands against his stomach and try to push him away, but he doesn’t budge.

“Theo, please. Let me go,” I beg, my voice hoarse.

He pulls his face away and the look in his eyes is feral. It makes my fear skyrocket. Something is seriously wrong with him.

“Let you go?” he asks. The laugh he releases sounds demented. He leans his face closer to mine and spit flies from his mouth and lands on my lips when he snarls, “I’ll never fucking let you go. You’ve always been mine, Jules. Not fucking his.”

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