Page 2 of Dark Time

That gave the hope in my heart a reason to grow, but I kept it in check.

“ That’s what you’re implying, Dylan. That my brother sent me to you to whore myself out in order to spy on you.” Now that I’d said it out loud, it really hurt. This time the tear that streaked down my face burned hot, and I swiped at it angrily.

“I guess that is how it sounds.” He sighed and leaned against the plush back of the couch, his right thumb and forefinger in his eyes. “Fuck, where did this all go wrong?”

“You assumed. A lot of people do that when it comes to me.” Now that his fury had passed, my own started to build. It wasn’t really logical, but now that I’d said it out loud, it made me angry that he’d thought I’d let someone do that to me. Or that my brother would sink that low.

Well, to be fair, Trent had been a huge dick lately, so maybe it wasn’t so far-fetched, but still, to think that I’d do that?

“I’m sorry. It was just … a shock.” He pulled his hand away and looked at me. His eyes were red from his rubbing, but they were the same gray eyes I’d come to adore so much.

My anger fled, hurt the final negative emotion to remain. I wasn’t sure how long that would take to ease, but I knew I wasn’t out of the woods yet.

“I know. By the time I figured out who you were, by the time Trent had even mentioned your name in my presence, it was too late. I didn’t know you, not really, and all he said was some complaint about you being here. In his town. Whatever that means.” I left off the part about patricide and kept quiet for a moment.

“I guess I mentioned Trent a time or two myself. So it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility for Trent to mention me. Yes, after our first meeting, I guess it was kind of hard to tell me who you really were. Not just because of your family, but because I could have used that as leverage against you.”

“I don’t think you’d ever do that, Dylan.” I started to reach out to him but pulled my hand back. “It’s just not who you are.”

“No, you’re right.” He got up, his eyes still on the screen, and for the first time I saw realization dawn on his face as he looked at me, hidden in the shadows. “You know, I saw the same thing on your social networks, and it didn’t really hit me until now. The only time you aren’t in the shadows is when you have a kid in your arms. The rest of the time … wow. That is pretty shitty of your family.”

He turned and looked down at me, sadness in his eyes.

“It’s nothing like your story.” I interrupted whatever else he’d meant to say.

“Well, no, it’s not. We all have our burdens to bear, in our own ways.” He didn’t even question how I knew exactly what his story was.

I’d learned it from the things he’d said and from the news stories I’d found online. He’d had a traumatic childhood, and mine would never compare with his, but as he’d said, trauma was relative.

“It’s hardly surprising you wanted someone to see you, Emily.”

The way he said my name, as if it was unfamiliar but already adored, made me smile. “I just wanted to feel alive, more than anything, Dylan. You do that. You made me feel real, and I didn’t want to lose that over who my family was. I wanted to tell you, I planned to tell you tonight, but you beat me to it. Or, Ember’s new album beat me to it.”

He shoved his hands down in his pockets and breathed in deep and slow. “What do we do now?”

“Well, I’ve officially been kicked out of my family. You remember that day when we saw Trent? That was the day he figured out I was seeing you and convinced my father to disown me.”

“Wait, what? He fucking did what?” Dylan stood. His anger made his gray eyes darker somehow, and I could feel the waves of his emotions as he stood over me.

“He convinced my father to…” I had to pause. My throat closed up tight, and white-hot tears leaked out of my eyes like traitorous little diamonds. I put my hand over my mouth as reality set in, and pain tore through me. I’d never see any of them again.

“Emily, Jesus, why didn’t you say anything to me, woman?” He came to me, knelt in front of me as I bent over my knees. Pain made my stomach ache, and my head swam as I tried not to sob. “Baby, please. Don’t make yourself sick.”

That’s when I started to sob.

Dylan

She betrayed you. She lied. She didn’t tell you the whole truth. Words and emotions swirled within me as Emily curled in on herself, her emotions out of control. She’d broken, and I hadn’t exactly meant to do that. Sure, part of me felt justified, felt as if she deserved to be so remorseful. She cried her eyes out, but it gave me no real satisfaction to see it come to life.

The man I was two months ago wouldn’t have cared. He might have even felt some satisfaction in watching a woman break down into tears, but that wasn’t the same man I was now. This moment brought me no joy, and I couldn’t let her carry on, so completely lost.

As I watched the only lover I’d ever cared about fall to pieces before me, I forgot the betrayal and anger I’d felt and tried to ease her discomfort. I wrapped my hands around her shoulders and pulled her into my arms. She didn’t resist at all; rather, she fell into my arms, and her face found its home in my neck.

“Shh, Emily, calm down, please. You will make yourself sick.”

I tried not to think about the way I’d felt, or how much I wanted to kill her family for making her cry like this. At that point, the fact that she’d hidden who she was from me, kind of made sense. She’d wanted a moment of not being a Thompson, of not being the sister/caretaker/nanny. She’d just wanted to have what even her brothers had been able to have. A fucking life.

I held her to me and let her cry herself out. We’d talk about the rest of it later. For now, she needed to know she was in a safe place, more than I needed to rampage like a wild animal because she’d kept her identity a secret from me.