Page 42 of Touch Of Fate
“Addy,” Mavin hisses.
“He has,” she responds, patting him on the arm. She turns to Rome and tilts her head. “Remember the redhead? She was super nice, and you messed that up. We knew she wasn’t your soul bond, but you could have treated her better.”
“Or the blond,” Margarete says, leaning toward her. “She had the prettiest eyes. He had no game with her.” Adeline nods.
“Are you done?” Rome grits out. “Why are you bringing them up?”
“Son—”
“You’re going to piss me off,” Rome says.
“Rome,” I say, rubbing his arm. “They don’t mean anything by it.” His jaw clenches, but slowly relaxes as I continue to caress. I turn my attention to his family. “Thank you for caring enough to come. I can see the love between you, and I respect your intentions. Please don’t talk about the women in his past. If it’s something Rome wants to share with me, we won’t be doing it in front of his family. Plus, I don’t like thinking about anyone being with him but me. The only family I have now is my sister, so it’s nice to be among family who love Rome so much. Andmaybe, the reason those women didn’t work out was because they weren’t me.” Rome stares at me, his gaze burning. Everyone is silent, their attention bouncing between us.
“I think I’m going to cry,” Margarete says softly. Rome briefly covers his face with both hands before running them through his hair.
The waitress interrupts as she brings a tray of glasses. I lower my eyes. She delivers the drinks, placing down Rome's and then mine. As she pauses between us and drops her tray, it catches on my napkin. It falls to the floor, and I reach for it.
She reaches for it too. My fingertips brush her hand as we both grasp the fabric. It happens so fast, I don’t have time to prepare or warn Rome. Her life flashes through her to me, and I am gutted.
She had a stepfather. I close my eyes as my vision is flooded with all the things he did to her. It started when she was twelve and continued until she ran away at eighteen. I see his face, and the evil in his eyes is paralyzing. She felt helpless. Her mother didn’t believe her. She told a friend at school, and the friend thought she was making it up because she was upset that her mother had remarried. I see her crying in her bedroom every night, before and after he would come in. She thought it was her fault.
“Mara.” I hear Rome but can’t respond.
“Is she okay?” The waitress releases the napkin, but it’s too late; the memories are flooding through me.
“We need to go,” Rome says, sliding his arms underneath me. “Archer, drive us. Mom, wait for Lace. I’m taking her home. Mara, let me have them.” I feel his healing touch, but the woman's memories are too painful, too fresh to ease the images. He lifts me, and I drop my head to his shoulder. He pushes through the restaurant. Later, I will worry about how it looks.
He beat her severely when she fought. She thought it was easier to give in, and I feel her guilt and confusion. Was it her fault? Did she give him signs? I feel sick at her misery. She tried to run away many times, but he always found her. He brought her back to the house of hell, and she thought she must deserve it. Her mom was in love. He treated her well and supported her and the daughter who wasn’t his. When her daughter admitted what he was doing, her mom slapped her. The sting of it is as if it happened to me.
“Baby, I’m here. Come back to me.” The car is moving and I’m on his lap in the back seat, but I’m lost.
She was humiliated. Over and over. Used in the most horrible way. When she turned nineteen, he found her. He comes into the restaurant and watches her. He threatened her to keep her quiet. She just wants to forget his hands. Whether balled into fists or touching her, she needs to forget. Her nightmares are filled with him.
I have to kill him. Kill the man in her dreams.
Hopefully this time, my magic won’t overpower me.
Chapter Nine
Mara
The world comes back into focus, and I’m pressed against Rome in my bed. He took away the emotions, yet the images stayed with me. Knowing she went through such disgusting things shut me down, and my feelings took over. The facts of the situation held me in limbo, my mind adjusting to the invasion of her life.
“Are you back?” Rome mumbles. His hands circle my back as if he can somehow hold me together.
“Yes,” I whisper.
“Fuck, Mara. I took as many of the emotions as I could. The amount of pain she suffered was too much for you.” He rubs his cheek against my head.
“You couldn’t have done anything more,” I say, squeezing his sides. “It was my emotions that kept me in the memories. I don’t know how to control them yet. Our bond has expanded everything, and I have to learn how to adjust.”
“We need to practice and learn the boundaries,” he says.
“I have to find him.” Killing him won’t take away what happened to her, but it will stop him from doing it again.
“We will,” he assures me.
“Sofie deserves justice,” I mutter. Her name wasn’t on a name tag. I saw it in her mind.
