Page 54 of His Forever

She nodded. He was using the bossy tone she loved so what else could she do besides nod in agreement? “What about the animals?”

“Paulie and Gray will take care of them. They went to grab Paulie’s barber kit and pack more stuff for him. They should be back in a few hours.”

“Princess? Your mother is on her way,” her dad said quietly.

“Why?”

“She needs to talk to you.”

“Now? Really?”

“Princess, it’s important.”

“George, I will not leave her, do you hear me?”

“She’s going to need you there, Zeus.”

Marleigh shook her head. Seeing that she was looking tired, he looked at the others in the room who, one by one, came and kissed her and left. Once they were alone again, she said, “I don’t know that I want to see or speak with her, Zeus. I mean, what can she possibly say that can make everything right?”

“Just hear her out, mi siempre hermosa. You don’t know what she has to say and maybe you’ll get answers to questions you didn’t even know you had,” he replied. “Now, relax and nap, okay? I’ve got you and I won’t let go.”

***

The cops had come by and taken her statement, such as it was because she couldn’t remember anything beyond texting Zeus. She was pressing charges against both Colton and Suri. Sipping some broth while Zeus flipped through the channels on the television, she heard a knock on the door.

“Come in,” she called out. Seeing her mother walk through the door had her stiffening. Only, she didn’t look as put together as normal. She watched as her daddy put his arm around her and led her over to the chair near the bed. Sitting down, he pulled her mother into his lap and leaned in, whispering something that she couldn’t hear from the bed.

Zeus leaned down and whispered, “Just listen, mi siempre hermosa. That’s all we ask.” She looked at him and could see something in his eyes.He knewshe thought.Whatever it was that had her mother treating her like she did, somehow he knew.She nodded.

“Mar…Marleigh?” her mother said, softly, as she reached to take her hand. “When your father called me, I headed here. I know…I know I’m probably the last person you want to see, but I need to talk to you.”

“I’m listening, Mother,” she said. Zeus squeezed her and she knew, just knew that her response had probably disappointed him. Hanging her head for a second, she glanced back at her mother and said, “Daddy mentioned that you would probably want to talk to me soon. I’m guessing what happened has sped that up?”

“You would guess correctly. I’ve…I’ve been seeing a therapist, so before I came out I called her to get her input and she also feels it’s time.”

“Okay, I guess.”

“When your sisters and brother were younger, I stayed at home during the day and took care of the house while your father worked. He had been out of town for about two weeks and was due to come home that day so while they were in school, I walked down to the market to get what I needed to prepare a nice meal to welcome him home.” She stopped and took a deep, shuddering breath. “On the way home, I was pulled into an alley and assaulted.”

“Oh, Mother, I’m so…”

Continuing as if her daughter didn’t say anything, she said, “It was brutal and horrible and all I could think was who would be home for the kids because I didn’t think I was going to survive. Someone heard the noise and came to my rescue. Instead of coming home to a nice home-cooked meal, your father came to the hospital to see his wife beaten and broken. His parents had your siblings and he was left to deal with a woman who was completely shut down. Back then, they didn’t have the resources they have now and the exams were hard to get through. Your father, though, never left my side even when I shut him out.”

“I’m sorry, Mother, for what you went through,” Marleigh said as she squeezed her mother’s hand.

“There’s more, Princess,” her dad said as he wiped his wife’s tears away. “Let her finish, okay?”

She nodded even as she gripped Zeus’ hand.I don’t want to hear this.

“Your father brought me home and he stopped going on the road so he could take care of your sisters and brother, as well as me. When I found out I was pregnant…”

“Wait, pregnant? With who?”

“With you, Marleigh.”

Stunned eyes looked into Zeus’ as she tried to process what she had just heard – she was a product of rape?No wonder Mother has always hated me. As tears began streaming down her face, she nodded at her mother to continue.

“Because of your father’s trip, we hadn’t been ah intimate in weeks and when I came home from the hospital, it was a long time before I could again,” her mother stated. “When we realized I was pregnant, I wasn’t sure how to handle things. I…I’m ashamed to say that I tried to abort you, Marleigh.”

---