Page 58 of Loving Trent
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. You did the best thing you could have for me. You called Uncle Joey, and he saved me.” Uncle Joey lays his hands on our backs, giving us a moment.
“When I turned sixteen, I met April, and that’s when everything changed. She had just moved into town, and up until we became friends, I thought something was broken inside me. I wasn’t like the other girls in my class. I didn’t feel anything for anyone. Everyone was getting boyfriends or had crushes, while I just sat there numb inside. Then, all of a sudden, on my seventeenth birthday, I felt attraction for the first time.
“April and I had been friends for a year and were as close as any two people could be. She took me out for breakfast. While April was eating her French toast, I was staring at her mouth, wondering what it would be like to kiss her.” Betty pulls back out of my embrace, and the smile that is on her face makes the air between the three of us feel warmer. “Of course, I was freaked out and tried to put distance between April and me, but she didn’t let me go. Instead, she helped me figure out what was going on with me. Turns out I’m Demisexual. It was like once I figured out who I was, the rose-colored glasses I was wearing broke.”
Uncle Joey chuckles. Betty and I turn our heads towards him. “What’s so funny over there?” Betty’s question doesn’t hold a hint of malice.
“The reason I was kept away from you kids was because Eve knew I was gay. She said that if Josiah ever found out she allowed me to see you, he would flip. Apparently, his worst fear was that my sexuality would rub off on you two,” Uncle Joey says, still smiling.
“That’s not how it works.” Shaking my head, I wonder how naïve people really are if they believe things like that.
“I also find it funny that someone like Josiah Anderson sired two kids who aren’t straight,” Betty says, letting a small giggle slip past. “Anyways, I started to question our upbringing more and more. Then I started to ask questions about where you really went. I also started to question Josiah’s beliefs, and that’s when the abuse started. Josiah would force me to kneel on the ground for over ten hours without reprieve on rice. He called it repenting for my sins.”
A red haze drifts in as the beast wakes up and rattles his cage. “One day, I came home to find my room completely cleaned out. He had taken everything, including my clothes. I had a blow-up air mattress and a set of paper-thin scrubs to wear. His reasoning was that it was a lesson in gratitude,” Betty continues, not realizing what her words are doing.
“I eventually broke and told April, who told her parents, who called the police. They helped me file for emancipation and refused to give me back when the police told them that there was nothing they could do. Thankfully, a judge took pity on me, and I was finally free of them. But then everything changed five years ago…” Betty pauses and leans her head back to the sky and sighs. “Eve’s dead, and right before she died, she called me, asked me to come over. She told me she had something to tell me about you, Trent.”
Two things happen at the same time. Uncle Joey roars in pain, stands up, and literally runs away. The front door opens and Ryan flies by after him. Secondly, Betty looks at me and without saying anything, a hundred-pound weight drops in my stomach, the ripples it causes spread, turning into white, hot anger. Josiah killed Eve because she was going to tell all his dirty secrets. We sit in silence until Ryan and Uncle Joey come back and join our circle.
“I’m sorry about that,” Uncle Joey says. His voice is rough as if he swallowed a handful of gravel.
“Uncle Joey,” Betty says, reaching over and grabbing his hands. “There’s more. Shawn and Sonny told me that there is no evidence that Eve actually died like Josiah said. There isn’t a dead certificate, no obituary… Nothing.”
Uncle Joey scoots forward, wraps both of us in his arms, and says, “I’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise. I’m sorry that I let both of you down. I love you.”
Before I can reassure him that he did nothing wrong, he’s up, in his car with Ryan and backing out of the driveway. Betty turns to me with tears in her eyes and says, “I’m sorry you didn’t think you could come to me about what you were feeling.”
Wrapping her hands in mine, I press them against my chest. “Betty, we were both children at the time, and I was scared to even admit out loud what I was feeling. There was no way I could have told you.”
She nods and squeezes my hands. She looks back toward the small cottage and smiles for the first time since she spoke about April. “Shawn seems like an amazing guy. We didn’t get to talk a lot, but the fact that he is willing to confront me speaks loudly to the type of person he is.”
I return her smile once she looks back at me. “He is pretty amazing. I’m lucky that he is willing to give me a shot.”
Just as I’m about to ask more about April, the front door opens, and Harley’s voice filters over the yard. “Trent, is everything okay?”
Looking over my shoulder, I wave her to come closer. “Everything is good. There is someone I’d like you to meet.” When Harley gets closer, I let go of Betty and scoot back, giving Harley enough room to sit down. “Harley, this is my little sister Betty. Betty, this is?—”
Harley holds out her hand and cuts me off with her reply. “I’m his daughter.” Betty chokes on air as her pupils dilate, and her eyes fill with what I assume is shock. I hide my reactionto Harley calling herself my daughter, but inside, I’m jumping around like a kid on Christmas morning. Harley wastes no time explaining how she came into my life and what I’ve come to mean to her. Halfway through, Betty wraps her arms around Harley and gives me a look full of rage and murder on Harley’s behalf.
To turn a weighty atmosphere into something light and bright, I look at both of them and say, “Now that you’re both here, do you want to help me plan my very first date?”
Harley squeals as tears still roll down her face, and Betty throws her head back in laughter, and all I can think is what a beautiful sound that is.
“Where are we going?” Shawn asks from the passenger seat.
The plan was to take my bike for the night, but it started to rain when I asked Shawn if he wanted to go on a date. Even though I’m a hundred percent sure that Shawn likes me and everything is going to go according to plan, my insides are still jittery. There is a slight tremble to my hands. Going on your first date at twenty-five is embarrassing and sad, but I refuse to allow myself to see it like that. I’m looking at it as if I chose to wait for the perfect guy.
Reaching over, I lace my fingers with Shawns and bring his hand to my lips. “It’s a surprise,” I say, then ghost my lips across his knuckles. The sound of his sharp inhale of air and the tiny wiggle he does in his seat has my dick thickening.
Shawn lays his head back on the headrest and turns to look at me. I force myself to tear my eyes away from his handsome face to focus on the road. “We didn’t have enough time to talk at home about how you’re feeling since seeing Betty again.” Thequick change in subject matter takes care of my little problem instantly.
It was a mad rush for both of us to get ready for tonight. More so him than me because Betty and Harley took care of everything from picking out my clothes to making sure we had reservations at a nice restaurant, plus tickets to the new movie, Shawn apparently talked Harley’s ear off about. All I had to do was shower, put on the only nice, collared shirt I owned, and a pair of dark wash jeans, and let Betty style my hair. When Shawn’s eyes turned dark with lust the moment he saw me, I knew I had made the right decision to let her pick my clothes.
“I’m doing surprisingly okay. I never allowed myself to think about trying to contact Betty because it caused me so much heartache. I assumed she would be a carbon copy of Josiah and Eve.”
Shawn’s deep, rich laugh fills the truck’s cab, turning my blood into lava. My dick twitches in my jeans like his laugh was a physical touch, and it just stroked my shaft. Honestly, the rush of blood leaving my head leaves me lightheaded. Does this man know what he does to my body? “I wasn’t sure what to expect when we pulled up at her house, but it was never that.” He waves his hand in the air as if to conjure an image of my sister.
“I know, but it suits her, and as long as she’s happy,” I say, shrugging my shoulders. “I’m good.”
