Page 36 of Ensnared By Silence
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“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUwon’t be here for Thanksgiving? I thought we were going to have dinner with Elise and her family. What changed since we talked on Friday?” Aubrey asked sadly as we sat snuggled together in the hot tub.
We both worked all weekend so we could have a long holiday weekend. There were moments we could see each other, but after long shifts at the bar, all I wanted to do was sleep. After a pleasant Sunday dinner together, we found our way to the hot tub, and she was resting in my arms.
I could feel the pain and rejection in her question, and I wanted to push those negative thoughts away but wasn’t certain I could answer her without some deception. I didn’t want to lie to her, but I couldn’t tell her the truth either. It had been eating away at me every time she smiled up at me. I felt like I was betraying her by not telling her, but they were right, I needed to get something more concrete before Tucker could be dealt with.
And I needed to find out who else was there and whose idea it was to hurt her.
“She kept calling me, laying on the guilt about never coming to see her, and I got her to promise she would leave me alone if I came for Thanksgiving,” I replied, kissing the back of her head as the warm jets massaged my lower back. “I also need to make sure they aren’t trashing the house or trying to make deals without my approval. I don’t trust them to not try to make agreements behind my back.”
“Do . . . do you want me to come with you?” she asked, and I felt a part of me shatter at the sadness in her tone.
“I don’t want you anywhere near them,” I responded, and she flinched in my arms. Trying to pull away, I tightened my hold on her as I pressed on. “They’re horrible people, and I don’t want to subject you to their judgement or venom.”
She relaxed and I kissed the side of her neck. She sighed and looked over her shoulder. I kissed her softly on the lips before she turned back in my arms, settling her back flush against my chest before resting her head on my shoulder.
“I wish I could be there with you, but I understand the reasons why it might not be a good idea. When will you leave?”
“Thursday before sunrise and I’ll be back before midnight. I don’t want to be there any longer than necessary.”
“Are we still going to Nashville on Saturday afternoon?” she asked, and I smiled.
I got tickets to a concert on Saturday night and was planning on showing her around Music City. I had a few friends who owned a restaurant on Lower Broadway, named Lower, and I was eager to see my old college buddies. Sebastian, Ivan, and Nathaniel were great guys, and I couldn’t wait for Aubrey to meet them and their wives.
“We’ll get on the road early so we can get settled into the hotel before the concert.”
“I’m so excited.” Aubrey’s sweet voice filtered over the bubbling sound of the steaming hot tub, and I smiled at her enthusiasm.
“I can’t wait to pop your concert cherry. You’re going to have the time of your life.”
The next morning, I met with James and Devlin over coffee in their condo. After getting instructions on how to lead the questions in the direction we all feared, I took the dress shirt with the button camera and microphone, ready to nail that stupid asshole with his admission.
If we were wrong, I had no idea where to look without asking her to tell me. That was a pain I wouldn’t cause her, so I prayed we were on the right track. I spent the next three days showering her with love and affection, hoping to show her how much I genuinely cared. I still felt like a liar when I looked at her, and I could only hope she would forgive me for my dishonesty.
Leaving her on Thanksgiving morning was difficult, and I opened the app, watching her as she slept peacefully. Disgust filled me as I drove away from her, headed back to my family home and possibly the place where my sweet Aubrey lost a part of herself. Three hours later, I pulled into the driveway and parked my car in front of the garage.
I neglected to tell my mother I was coming, and I couldn’t wait to see the look on her Botoxed face when I knocked on the door. The climb up the stairs was tense, and I clenched my fist before I pounded on the door. A few minutes later, my mother opened the door, clasping her bathrobe close to her throat. Agnes already had a full face of makeup and her hair was coiffed to perfection. Her eyes grew wide when she saw me, and as she ushered me into my childhood home, I vowed that no matter what, she and her new family were going to have to find a new place to live.
No longer did she get to mooch off my deceased bastard of a father.
“Hayden, I wasn’t expecting you to come.” She kissed me on the cheek and glanced over her shoulder as laughter sounded from the kitchen. “Come on back. We were just about to sit down for breakfast.”
I followed her down the hallway and saw there were new photos hanging on the wall. Not taking time to look at them right now, I watched as she stiffened her spine before walking into the kitchen. A fake smile spread across her face as Dick and his two dickhead sons came into view. They all looked up, and Tucker and Wesley paused with their forks in midair before smiling at me.
“Hayden, my boy. It’s good to see you. Your mother didn’t tell me you were coming for Thanksgiving. Welcome, welcome,” Richard gushed, and I fought an eye roll.
I never hid my disdain for him, but he really wasn’t to blame for the shitty relationship with my mother. I used to think he was the poor schmo that she was milking, but I now realized he was using her for what he thought she had. Turns out, he was mistaken, and from the reports Devlin gave me, both Dick and Agnes had lovers on the side.
He looked at my mother, who was pulling down another plate from the cabinet and pouring me a cup of coffee before she sat down next to Richard. He took her hand, and she suppressed a pout before she smiled at me.
“I thought I’d surprise you. It’s been years since I could make it home for the holidays,” I replied vaguely as I shrugged and took a sip of the black coffee.
I took small bites, fighting the urge to punch Tucker and Wesley in the face as they talked about their boring day-to-day lives. Tucker was almost finished with his degree at Stanford and Wesley recently started working for an investment capital company in Atlanta. When they inquired about my business, I could see the shock in their gaze at me settling for being a bar owner over living the high life courtesy of my trust fund.
After breakfast, everyone went to get ready while the caterers set up the food for the meal. The house was three stories and the clatter from the formal dining room echoed as I walked the familiar halls. Memories of the arguments my parents used to have rattled around in my head and my anxiety was growing with each step. I wanted to grab Tucker and shake the truth from him so I could escape the past that was pressing down on the middle of my spine.
I wasn’t neglected but a had to dodge a few slaps and fists growing up. Rather, it was the emotional abandonment that was the hardest pill to swallow. My parents didn’t love each other, and most of my life, I felt they didn’t love me either. Shaking off the heavy memories, I started looking over the pictures that seemed to be in every room. There was one of me in the hallway, surrounded by family portraits and vacation shots of her and her new family.
