Page 114 of Another Love, Another Time
“Oh my,” her mom murmurs. “All this time, all I wanted was for Melissa to feel like part of the family, to see that we cared about her. How could she do this to my baby? My intentions were good. I’m so sorry. Her father tried to tell me. I just thought… I guess it doesn’t matter because in the end, it didn’t work.” She covers her face.
“Don’t apologize to me,” I respond, trying to soften my tone. “You need to apologize to River. River tried to tell us. All ofus.” I look around the room at them. “Melissa may have shown us who she wanted us to see, but River got to witness Melissa’s manipulative side at a young age. She tried to tell us, but all you all ever did was play right into Melissa’s hands.” I purse my lips, disgusted with all of us.
“Why are you still sitting here?” I ask River’s mom. “Go after her. She moved here to rebuild your relationship, and you’re doubting her. You need to be there for her. I know she’s gotten help, but I think there is a lot of work for all of us to do to earn River’s forgiveness. If not, we’re going to lose her, and I won’t let that happen. I can’t lose her again. I will not stand by anymore and leave River’s concerns unheard. If you invite Melissa, I won’t be there either.”
My mom starts, “Auggie…”
“No, Mom. All my childhood, I did what you asked. I included Melissa even when I didn’t want to. I knew it was going to hurt River; I trusted you all to know what you were doing. You all knew River was the only person I wanted to spend time with. Like she said, we didn’t have much time together, and you all constantly separated us.
“I did what you asked because you were my mom, the adult. I trusted you all to know. I trusted you.” I start crying. I can’t go back and change what happened. “I was nice to Melissa like you asked. I made sure she was included, like you asked. I watched out for her at school like you asked.”
I shake my head. “We’re adults now, and I can make my own decisions. I don’t have to include everyone. If I don’t want people in my life, they don’t have to be in my life. I don’t have to spare anyone’s feelings. I love you, but do you all not see what you did to River? What I did to River?” I run my hands through my hair and pull at it.
My mom speaks again, “We were trying to do what we thought was best for all of you. You two— You and River were so close. I mean, when we would all get together, you two would disappear and not include anyone the whole time. You wouldn’t even include Logan sometimes. You both relied on one another way too much. I think we all saw that both of the girls had little crushes on you, but we thought it would go away the older you all got. I just don’t think any one of us could have had the foresight that Melissa could do something like that.”
“Well, she did,” I retort, “and if you want us to still be in your lives, you all are going to have to cut Melissa out of yours.”
Aunt Jess has been listening, taking everything in. “If River has proof that Melissa was behind the attack, how come you all have not arrested Melissa yet?”
Fuck. How do I answer this? I wish River would walk back through the door. “I don’t think it’s my place to answer. You’re going to have to ask River,” I respond.
She nods. Aunt Ashley is still crying. I know she is going to blame herself. After all, all of them have a share of the responsibility for what happened to River.
My mom speaks up again. “I think we all have had a big morning, and I know that you two have to go to work. We need to process this. Please let River know that we are sorry. We will tell her when we see her again. Please let her know that we love her.” She looks at Aunt Ashley. “Come on, Ash. Let’s get out of their hair. We’ll come back later.”
“No. I can’t leave,” Aunt Ashley cries. “I need to talk to her.”
“You will, but they both need to get to work. I have the feeling that she won’t come back while we’re still here. Let her calm down, and you can call her later, okay?” my mom coaxes.
My Aunt Jess walks over, pulls Aunt Ashley up out of her chair, and starts walking towards the door.
My mom turns around and grabs my hand. “I just want you to know that we love you. We love you both, and I promise you we only ever wanted the best for you all. I know that sounds impossible with what we just learned, but please believe our intentions were good. We owe River our apologies, but I want to apologize to you for putting you in that position. You’re right; you should have been able to trust that we would make the right decisions for you. As parents, we try to do our best, and sometimes, we make mistakes. I wish we could go back and handle everything differently, but we can’t. I’m sorry. I can’t go back, but I would if I could.” Her eyes are watering, and she wipes at them. Then, she drops my hand, turns around, and walks out the door.
Chapter 37
Auggie
I pull up to work, hoping to catch River before we go in. By the time the moms left, I barely had enough time to run home, take a shower, and change clothes. I had to leave before she came back to the house.
I want to make sure she’s okay. I need to talk to her, and I don’t want to put it off any longer. Now that we have everything out in the open, I’d like to discuss where we go from here.
I have a lot of groveling to do; I just hope she gives me the chance. I can’t lose her again. Everything is so crystal clear now. How the fuck could I not see through Melissa’s bullshit? I’m a detective, for crying out loud.
I shake my head in disappointment. When I head inside the station, I hear Mackey ask, “Is it true River broke psycho’s nose?”
I whip my head around and narrow my eyes. “How do you know about that?”
“Oh shit. It’s true, then. She had it coming.” He holds his fist up and laughs. “Psycho came in this morning and filed a report against River. As soon as River got here, the captain pulled her into his office. They’ve been in there for about ten minutes.”
I stop listening and immediately head in the direction of his office. I can’t believe this shit. River can’t be in trouble. Mackey’s right; Melissa had this coming.
I walk in without knocking. My captain looks up, and River turns around, eyes wide. I don’t wait for either of them to say anything.
“I don’t know what Melissa said, but River was just defending herself,” I explain. “I witnessed the whole thing. She’s lying.”
My boss rolls his eyes and gives me a stern look. “I know, Auggie. It doesn’t matter. I still have to question her. It’s standard procedure.”
“Well, I’m willing to write a statement on River’s behalf,” I say.
