Page 46 of Wilder
After Echo leaves the room, River meets my gaze. “She’s really nice.”
I stand up, nodding, unsure what to say about Echo and me. I deflect for a minute by putting away the medical supplies, since we’re mostly dealing with bruises. “Well, I’m glad you like her because she’s really important to me.”
River’s brow arches, but she puts the bag of veggies back to her eye without further comment, seeming to sense I’m not ready to discuss the nature of the relationship yet.
A moment later, Echo is back with some pills that she drops into River’s hand, and once she’s popped them into her mouth, Echo hands her a bottle of water. River takes several sips before giving it back.
Echo sets the water on the table, then turns back, lifting a careful hand to River’s brow. “Aren’t you awfully warm in what you’re wearing?”
I find it odd that River ignores the question, but stares openly at Echo and stutters, “I-I’m sorry to show up like this to your home. When Wilder texted me yesterday, he told me where he was in case I needed anything.” She lifts a shaky hand to hertemple. “Wilder, he’s going to be so mad. I didn’t know what else to do.”
My jaw works to the side. “You’re going to stop apologizing for starters.”
“I knew better than to confront him, I learned that lesson a long time ago… but I was so mad I couldn’t hold it in. This is my fault.”
No, no, no.My sister is a shell of the person she was before Brian. And I silently seethe… because River knows how I feel about her husband. “It isnotyour fault.He’s been a manipulative fuck ever since before you were married. He gaslights you at every opportunity, so you’ve gotten it into your head that the way he treats you is okay. Like you deserve it, because you’re somehow to blame for him taking his shit out on you.” My jaw tightens so hard, I swear I’m going to crack my teeth.
River draws in a sharp breath, turning to face Echo, who has been taking in the finer points of a situation she was only partially aware of until now. My sister murmurs, “You’re the one Wilder mentioned who helped him find?—”
Echo’s mouth forms an O, and her eyes widen. “Yes. The date circled on your husband’s calendar and the printout for the hotel stay.”
I’m trying to be cognizant of what a delicate, dangerous place River mentally resides in, all while desperately trying to beat back the angry beast hiding inside me. “Tell me what happened, Riv.”
“Like I said, I-I confronted him. The minute he got home, I marched outside and right there in the middle of the driveway, I asked him who he was seeing for the weekend at a local hotel when he told me he was going out of town for work.” She swallows hard, then stops to pull her arms inside her sleeves before tugging her sweatshirt up and off. “He’d been so pissedthat I found him out, he didn’t even bother to ask how I knew before he grabbed my arm and dragged me into the house.” She sticks her arm out. “This is what I was hiding.”
I can plainly see marks from the fucker’s hand on her forearm. Wrath burns inside my chest, and I have to wrench my gaze from it, but everywhere I look, I see my sister’s pain.
“He wanted me inside the house because we have cameras outside. He didn’t want what he was about to do to be recorded.” She points to the bag of lima beans covering her eye. “Got me good once before I huddled into a ball to protect myself.”
My eyes ping from one bruise to the next on her arms, every black-and-blue mark fueling the rage building inside me. “There’s more? Under your shirt?”
She nods. “My back, mostly.”
“Could you show me?”
River hesitantly stands and turns, curving her spine as she hikes the shirt up high enough for us to get a look.
Echo’s intake of breath and the muttered, “Holy shit,” is a match for everything I’m feeling. My sister is fucking black-and-blue. The thought of that asshole beating my sister makes me want to hunt his abusive ass down and beat him to a bloody pulp. Grabbing my attention, Echo holds up her phone and raises her brows in question.
“Riv, is it okay if we take a few photos? I’m not saying we have to do anything with them, but I’d rather have a record of it than not.”
Her body quakes, but she nods. “Y-yes. Go ahead.”
I signal to Echo that she should snap a few. Once she takes them, she sets her phone on the table and gently helps pull the T-shirt back down. River turns around, lowering the bag of frozen beans from her eye, and I gesture to Echo to capture a few up-close images of my sister’s face and arms, and then a full body shot so there’s no denying that what she endured happened allat once. Who knows what funny business might happen with any photos we submit to the police department. I don’t trust that piece of shit husband of hers not to have friends who’d help him get rid of evidence if it comes down to us reporting this. Which, it might… but if I know my sister, she’ll dig her heels in. But that’s fine because I’m ready to kill the fucker and dump him in the swampland east of here.
Throughout the documentation of River’s injuries, we remain silent because the situation seems to call for it, but now, looking at her, there are things I want to know because I need to know how best to help her. I exhale heavily. “I’ve worked hard to save as much money as I could because you told me you were scared. Tell me what you need me to do. I’ll do it.”
“I know you would. And I’ve got the money with me.” She blinks up at me, tears beginning to fill her uninjured eye.
“I don’t understand why you’ve stayed with him. Can you be honest with me? For once, River. Please.” My touch is gentle as I pull her into my arms, even as the beast inside me that wants to maim Brian threatens to burst free. Over her shoulder, I lock eyes with Echo and let her see all my worries and fears. I allow her this glimpse into our world. And she doesn’t look away. She simply waits, living in this awful moment with me. River tenses up, and I hold my breath, my head full of all the things she might be about to confess.
Against my chest, River’s heartache spills out. “Wilder, we got married because—” She releases a hiccupping cry. “We got married because I was pregnant.”
A gasp fires from between my lips, and my eyes widen as my mind fights to process what my sister is telling me. Echo covers her mouth with a few fingers.
“I wasn’t far along when h-he hit me. During an argument. I l-lost the baby.”
“River, why didn’t you tell me?” I whisper into her hair.
