Chapter 14

fourteen

. . .

Demi

My ears were ringing,and my head was spinning as I listened with horror to what had happened to Romeo and River.

The injustice.

All at the hands of my brother, and possibly my father.

I couldn’t wrap my head around any of it.

My dad was a good man. He worked hard for our family. His investment company gave back to the community. I couldn’t fathom him going along with this.

I remember hearing bits and pieces about Romeo and River, but I hadn’t known the half of it.

“You were fourteen years old, and they sent you away?” I croaked, and now I needed to look at him. To feel all the things that he went through at the expense of my family. I needed to understand it and apologize and try to make this right in any way that I could.

“Yes. Originally, we were told that I’d be staying for six months, and River would be staying for a year, which was the appropriate time based on our age, apparently. We’d been presented to the judge like the scum of the earth. Two kids who ditched school and vandalized their neighborhood. One who had a dad who was serving time, and the other who didn’t even have parents who cared enough to stick around. So, they’d given us the worst. For a crime we hadn’t committed.”

“Did you tell the judge?”

“We told anyone who would listen, but after a while, we stopped telling our side of the story because our free legal representation said we were making things worse. They said we should apologize and take what they gave us.”

“Did you?”

“Fuck no. Neither of us was going to apologize for something that we didn’t do. But we stopped telling our side of the story when we realized no one wanted to hear it. Hell, Walt sat in that courtroom and couldn’t even look at us. He knew. He fucking knew. He claimed he had no memory, but I saw the guilt there. Hell, I still see it when I run into the asshole in town. I think Oscar figured it out, too, but your father made sure that none of this came down on your brother and whoever else was there with him.”

I shook my head frantically. “I can’t fathom that my father would send innocent kids away for a crime they didn’t commit.” But as the words left my mouth, I couldn’t help but wonder what he could, or would, do. I was questioning everything now. Things with my brother and everything that had gone down with Ronny. I knew image was important to my father, but this was unfathomable.

His gaze softened, as if he’d expected me to say that. “I know you love him, but your father and your brother both know what happened, Demi. I want you to really think about something, okay?”

“Okay.” I nodded, swiping at the falling tears.

“If your father had to choose between your brother getting into trouble or me and River, do you really think he’d do the right thing when his back was against the wall? Look at how he’s handled your situation with Ronny.”

A lump formed in my throat, and my voice wobbled. “What do you mean?”

I knew what he meant, didn’t I?

But admitting it would mean that I didn’t know my father at all.

“Come on. You’re a college graduate. A smart businesswoman. Do you really think there’s a situation where a father can go and get a restraining order for his adult daughter, where she doesn’t have to tell the police what happened? Where she doesn’t sign anything? A restraining order that’s sealed and kept private? What fucking good would that do? The whole point of a restraining order is to make sure everyone knows that the fucker needs to stay away. Why would it be a secret?”

His words were swirling in my head. None of it had made sense to me, but I trusted my father. Of course, I did.

I’d found the whole thing to be odd. He’d asked me to keep my mother out of it.

A restraining order that I’d never seen.

And now, hearing what had happened to Romeo and River…

That my father had been behind it. Slade was a kid. He couldn’t have pulled this off by himself.

“Did you end up staying there for six months, and River for a year?”

His hands settled on each side of my face, his thumbs swiping the liquid falling from my eyes. “No. My mother went to anyone who would listen. She found someone to look at our case pro bono, and he got us out of there sooner. We never knew exactly what happened, but I served three months, and River served eight months.”

“I’m so sorry,” I croaked, my words barely audible. “You must have been so scared.”

“Listen, Demi.” His voice was calm and even, and he waited for me to meet his gaze. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It sucked. There was some dark shit going on in that place, but we survived it. River went on to become a lawyer because of it. And I became an even better fighter. I learned at a young age to defend myself, and my three months in that hellhole made me tougher.”

I lunged forward, my arms wrapping around his neck. I hugged him so tight it took the air from my lungs. All these feelings, all these emotions.

“I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m sorry that my family did this. They robbed you of your childhood,” I said, still trying to wrap my head around it.

He pulled back so he could look at me. “No. No one took shit from either one of us. We made it out of there in one piece, and we’re stronger for it. And your brother got into that boating accident a few months later, and they covered that shit up, too.”

I could feel my head spinning. “What do you mean? He lost control of the boat. It was an accident.”

“Everyone in town knows that he was drunk and high, Demi. Boomer Wilkes was hospitalized for a month after that accident. But he, too, was silenced by your father back then, or at least that’s the story. There were four people on that boat, and none of them spoke about it again. They were most likely threatened or bribed. I don’t know what it was, but they were scared and didn’t say anything. I’m guessing your brother wasn’t hanging out with those friends after the accident, was he? Because they knew the truth.”

I rubbed my temples as I processed his words. I remembered the accident. The hysteria in my house when the call came late at night. I was in middle school then, and I just remember a lot of crying and panic.

“They said the boat malfunctioned,” I whispered. “And Slade was hurt, too, and that’s when he was prescribed opioids.”

“Your brother was an addict before that boating accident, Demi. Maybe it wasn’t that bad before the accident, but he was partying hard, and everyone knew it. They just covered everything up because they had the money to do it, and everyone around him was just collateral damage.”

“Do you think my mother knew about this?” I shook my head rapidly. “My mom is such a good person, Romeo. She would never be okay with this.”

But I thought the same thing about my father and my brother.

My head was spinning with thoughts.

“I don’t know. I know that your father went to see Walt at the hospital, and that’s when everything turned in our direction.”

“You believe that I didn’t know anything about this, right? I need to know that you don’t think I’d ever be okay with any of this.”

His forehead rested against mine. “I know who you are, Demi Crawford. And that’s why I didn’t want to go here with you. But I can’t seem to stay the fuck away from you, no matter how hard I try.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to go here with me? Because you think I’d blame you for what my family did to you?”

“At first, I thought you’d side with them. Hell, the guys and I never knew if you were aware of it before now—before I got to know you. I figured out pretty quickly that you didn’t know anything about it.”

“How?”

“Because your heart is too goddamn big. You’re so busy protecting everyone around you that you don’t realize that no one is protecting you.” He stroked my cheek, and I leaned into his touch.

“You going to protect me from all the bad guys, Romeo?” I’m not sure why I asked. I mean, why would he want to protect me when my family did him so much harm?

“I will if you let me.”

I’d never felt this connected to another person, yet at the same time, it felt like the world I’d known was crumbling around me.

“I don’t know why you want to be with me after what my family has done to you and River, and God knows who else,” I said, unable to hide the devastation from my voice as my words broke on a sob.

“Because you deserve better than the shit you’ve been dealt. I know you love your family, and a part of me has an easier time rectifying what your brother did than what your father did.”

“Why?” I asked, because they’d both been evil to do what they’d done to them.

“Because your brother was young and stupid and an addict. But your father knew exactly what he was doing, and he never owned it. My guess is that he’d been doing what he wanted for so long that he justified it. Probably thought it was for the greater good.”

“I don’t know what to do with this information now. I mean, I have to confront them. You know that, right?”

“I only kept it a secret because I didn’t want to hurt you. River and I are honest about what happened to anyone who asks. And do you know what the consensus in this town was when we told our story to the few that actually cared to hear it?”

“What?”

“They weren’t shocked, Demi. But they warned us to be careful who we told. So, I don’t think it’s the first or the last time your father has manipulated the system in his favor. People don’t respect your father; they fear him.”

“I need to talk to them. Find out what my mom knows. My mom…” I placed my hand on my heart. “She’s a good woman, Romeo. I just can’t fathom that she’d be all right with this. And her parents, Gramps and Grammie, they would not be okay with any of this. My grandfather is my idol. He’s honest and caring and—he’s really good, Romeo. I look up to him so much, and I can’t be that wrong about everyone in my life.”

“Hey, this isn’t on you. It’s not your job to find out who’s lying and who’s evil. That’s why I hesitated to tell you at all. Because I don’t want you to see the world the way I see it. To know that evil exists and that life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.” He smirked. “I like that you see the good in everyone. That you defended your asshole brother after he fucking robbed you. The world needs more Demi Crawfords in it.”

“And what do you need?”

“I need more Demi Crawford, too.”

“So, we’re doing this?” I asked, my fingers intertwining with his.

“Yeah, Beans. We’re doing this.”

My mouth crashed into his, and before I knew what was happening, he pushed to his feet. Our mouths never lost contact as he carried me across the room. When he pulled away, he set me on the bed, like I was something breakable.

Precious.

He pulled off my shoes and tossed them on the floor, and then he tugged his sweater over his head and climbed in beside me.

I ran my fingers over his chest, taking my time to trace every single defined muscle.

“Thank you for telling me the truth,” I said, feeling a heaviness on my shoulders and my heart and my entire being.

I believed Romeo, and I trusted him. Deep down, I always wondered about Slade’s accident. I was aware that he’d caused trouble in town, not just that one incident. It hurt that I might not know the people in my life. The people that I loved fiercely. The people that I trusted.

How could they do this?

“No more secrets, all right?” he said. His hand settled on my waist, and I squirmed the slightest bit. Desperate for his touch.

To feel something other than sadness.

He leaned over and kissed me before pulling back. “I want you so fucking bad, but tonight is not the night.”

I nodded in understanding and tried to make light of it. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not. And this was a lot. But I’m not going anywhere, so we can take our time, okay? And if you need to cry, I want you to cry. I don’t think you’re being disloyal to me by being upset after hearing that your family might not be who you think they are. That shit hurts. I know you feel bad about what happened to me, but I’m fine, Demi. River is fine. Right now, you’re hurting, and I want you to deal with that and not bottle it up, because it’ll fester and eat you alive.”

There was a lump so thick in my throat now that it was difficult to breathe. And I just let it all out. I lay in his arms as sobs wracked my body.

I cried, and I sobbed.

And I let go.

The sadness that my dad was not who I thought he was.

The fact that my brother’s struggles started long before I knew they did.

The truth that regardless of who in our home knew what, we were all living a lie. And I was done with it.

After my breathing settled, he continued running his hands through my hair and holding me close when I needed it most.

I listened to the sound of his heart, and it soothed me.

“You okay?” he whispered.

“I will be.”

“I don’t doubt that for a minute.”

I snuggled closer and tried to push away thoughts of a young Romeo living away from his family and being mistreated and scared, and I couldn’t get close enough to him.

One thing I knew for damn certain, I’d be getting Romeo and River an apology if it was the last thing I did.