Page 87 of Someday

Fred tries to weave between us, his usual smile looking more manic with his concern.

“They were fighting about Pastor Fryer,” I whisper. I take a deep breath, my voice growing louder despite still sounding shaky. “When I got back from the party at your house late that night…I came up here when I heard them fighting. He was pressing his arm against her windpipe, yanking her hair. She seemed exhausted already, like maybe they’d been fighting for a long time before I got here.”

I look past him, seeing the smack my mom got across the face after she argued for me to leave.

“She wanted me to get out of here, even said to go back to your house, and he hit her again.”

I close my eyes and when my legs start to give, Theo holds me up.

“Let’s get you out of here,” he says.

“No.” I shake my head. I point past the bedroom door. “I yelled at him to let her go, told him I was going to call the police. He said if I did, you’d be dead.”

Theo curses and I start crying so hard, I can’t stand up. He lowers me to the floor, his arms around me and his legs too, enveloping me on either side. Fred leans in to lick my face. I lay the back of my head against Theo’s chest and point to a place on the floor near the door.

“When I got in his face, he let go of her enough that she was able to get free of him. She almost made it to the door but turned around when she heard him punch me. I knew this time was different because he wasn’t careful to hit me where I could cover it up. I’d seen him angry so many times before, but this was…” I shake my head, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. “He got a hold of her and threw her across the room like she was a rag doll. I helped her up and we got to the hall, almost to the stairs, when he knocked her down again. He grabbed a pillow from that loveseat near the top of the stairs and started smothering her with it.”

“My God,” Theo says.

He shifts so he’s in front of me, his arms and legs still wrapped around me as his hands move my hair out of my face, the tears off of my cheeks. He’s crying too, and I can’t stop the words from pouring out of me now that they’ve started.

“I jumped on his back, trying to stop him, hitting him as hard as I could, but it was like a dream where your hands don’t work right—it didn’t even faze him. Her arms had been flailing and they stopped and when I stopped hitting him and tried to pull the pillow off of her instead, he backhanded me. I think I was knocked out for just a few minutes, but enough that when I came to, I was alone in the house.”

I pause, thinking about the adrenaline that kicked in once I was outside. I remember thinking I wished I’d had that burst of energy when I’d been trying to pull him off of her, because in that moment, I didn’t feel the pain of his fists, I felt powerful and ready to save my mom from him for good this time. I’d get her away from him and we could finally be free of his madness.

Theo squeezes my hand and I take a shuddery breath.

“I ran down the stairs and couldn’t find them, and when I went outside, I found them way out in the field past the barn, past the fence. He had her up on her horse, Melody, and when he slapped the backside of the horse, it took off, and my mom fell off. I think she was already gone, but if she wasn’t, the fall took care of the rest. That’s how he was able to get away with it. Everyone thought her injuries were from falling off of Melody, and no one assumed that the perfect Gil Copewell had anything to do with it.”

“Did he try to kill you?” Theo’s voice is hoarse from crying, and I start wiping his face now, my tears finally coming to a stop.

“I thought he was going to.” I close my eyes and see my dad’s eyes straining as his hands wrapped around my neck. “It was the closest he ever came to killing me.”

Theo chokes back a sob and I open my eyes, looking at the one person that I’d give up everything for all over again if it meant saving his life.

“He told me to leave and never tell a soul what he’d done and in exchange, you would live. I believed him, Theo. I saw him kill my mom and I knew he meant what he said. He would kill you too.”

“Sofie,” he cries out while our foreheads are pressed together. “I can’t believe I didn’t know. How did I not see it?”

Tears stream down his face, his body wracked with sobs. He clutches me harder to him.

“You left to save me when I should have been the one saving you all along. I’m so sorry. For all of it. I’m sorry you were alone. I’m sorry for treating you like shit when you finally came back to me.” His voice breaks and I press my hand over my mouth to keep my own sob suppressed. “I love you so much. I’ll never forgive myself for not moving heaven and earth until I found you…and for ever believing that fucking letter.”

I shake my head. “No, Theo. You cannot blame yourself for any part of this.”

I lean into him, my lips touching his. The taste of our tears mingles as we breathe in each other. His touch is like an injection of strength, and I feel bolstered enough to keep going.

“I have no doubt he would’ve destroyed you and your family. We wouldn’t be here now. He found me within the year. He sent a letter, saying he knew exactly where I was. We only spoke once in all those years, and it was the night I got that letter. I called and told him I was keeping my end of the deal and to never forget his threats went both ways. If you or anyone you loved so much as got a broken ankle, I’d tell everyone what he’d done to my mom…and me.”

He releases a long exhale and wipes his face.

“Were you surprised he left the house to you?” Theo asks.

“Yes and no. Sometimes I think it was his sick way of haunting me after he’s gone. But other times, I think he was narcissistic enough to believe I’d continue to keep his secrets and that he’d want me to continue his legacy with his horses. That’s why I sold almost all of them when I got here, so thatwouldn’tbe happening. I don’t want to be a horse breeder. I want to rescue all the horses out there who have been mistreated. And not here either. Now that Hilary and Abby are moving to Landmark, I can either give the place to them or sell it and be done.”

Theo’s thumb caresses my jawline, his eyes bloodshot. “I can’t believe all you’ve survived.” His eyes fill again, and he shakes his head. “I don’t have the words right now to tell you what all I’m feeling, but I swear to you, Sof,” his hand grasps my cheek tighter, “I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving you and trying to make up for all the sacrifices you made for me. I’ll always wish it had gone differently. That I hadn’t been so oblivious. That you’d never been hurt or that we’d taken your father down together. But right now, I’m just grateful you’re here, with me, and we’ve been given this chance to live out our lives together again…” His voice cracks, and he chuckles under his breath as he sniffles and tries to clean up his face. “Thank you for telling me the truth,” he whispers.

I kiss him again and this time the rush that comes with it is so powerful, I truly believe the two of us can take on anything as long as we’re together.

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