Chapter 54

(Aaron)

Time moves on, even if we don’t want it to. One day flows into the next, and before you know it, weeks have passed. That is life, and there is no way of slowing it down.

Rylan and I settled into a very satisfying relationship. Our living situation is not how I want it, but I am letting her set the pace there. I know she wants to keep living in the penthouse with her sister for as long as Rosalie needs or wants her there.

Donovan was extradited back to South Carolina a few days after he was taken into custody in the garage. That was an enormous weight off our shoulders. Well, more Rosalie’s than anyone else’s. With that threat locked away, without bail until trial, that gives Rosalie her life back.

It has been two weeks since the clinic, and she has thrown herself back into her studies. My mom and Vivien have taken her out for some shopping, lunches, spa treatments, and overall pampering in the days since the clinic. She is slowly healing in their care.

Rosalie is becoming more confident by the day. She engages in conversations more and speaks up when she feels uncomfortable about a topic or situation. She actually yelled at Rylan yesterday to stop walking on eggshells around her all the time.

Finding her voice is something that Rylan is happy about.

I have to say that it is a delightful change, not that there was ever anything wrong with Rosalie to begin with. Not after everything she survived at the hands of that bastard. Seeing her become the woman she wants to be over the last few weeks has been interesting.

Rosalie has also joined a support group for DV survivors. Between that group, my mother and Vivien, she is opening up more to Rylan about her past. For her part, Rylan has been extremely supportive of her sister.

Today is going to be a hard day for me. It is the day I have been dreading since I made the appointment with Dr. West. Family session day.

Yay.

My parents are meeting me at West’s office because I wanted to talk to him alone for a bit before they arrived. I want to go over what I want to say to them once more. Choosing which one of my dark secrets to share was hard.

Ultimately, I chose to share the worst one first. The one that did the most damage to my mind, heart, and soul. I will never forget their faces and the fear in their eyes that day.

So, here I am sitting in my usual spot in West’s office, waiting for my parents to arrive.

I am bouncing one of my knees up and down nervously as I wait. West is sitting in his brown leather wingback chair. He is looking at me, and I see worry in those soft grey eyes of his.

“Are you sure you are ready for this, Aaron?”

It is a question he has asked me already today and one I have asked myself since yesterday. That was when I actually asked my parents to do this with me. I put off asking them for as long as I could.

Rylan persuaded me to at last ask them last night when they were at the penthouse for dinner. We had a family dinner night with my parents, Quinn, Annie, and Grace, then Annie’s parents. This will hopefully become a monthly thing.

So, I pulled them both aside after they arrived and asked them if they would sit in on my next therapy session. Dad hesitated, but Mom readily agreed. I told them the time and place, and then we all moved into the living room like the conversation never happened.

“Yes, I am ready. They need to know some of what I saw and did to understand my nightmares. I need them to understand that something in me is broken because of it all.”

“That is what we are all here for, Aaron. To help you heal. Your parents love you and will help you, even if you share none of what you experience with them.”

“I know that,” I tap my chest, “in here. But in here,” I tap a finger to my temple. “I need them to understand.”

“Will sharing your most painful experience make them understand?”

“I hope so.”

A knock at the door spares me from any more of his questions. His receptionist pokes his head in to tell us that my parents are here. West’s tells him to show them in.

The time has come to lay myself bare for my parents.

I take a deep breath and then stand up as my parents are let into the room. Mom walks straight to me and gives me a big hug. Dad gives me a nod before taking his seat on the leather sofa. Mom looks up at me and nods after she seems to see what she was looking for, then she sits next to my father.

West stands from his seat and points at it, showing that he wants me to sit there. I nod once, then walk to his chair and take my seat. I am now facing both my parents, and the full weight of what I am about to tell them hits me full force for the first time.

I feel West’s hand on my shoulder; he gently squeezes it once, then he lets go and walks to where I was sitting and takes his seat.

Here goes nothing.

“The worst day of my life started out like any other.” I start, and then over the next hour I tell my parents about that day and the nightmare that followed.

By the time I was done, my mother was in tears, which didn’t surprise me. What took me completely off guard were the tears on my father’s face. He was the first to leave his seat and pull me up from my seat into the biggest bear hug he has ever given me.

My mother followed a few seconds later, and the three of us stood there as a unit for a few minutes. All three of us were crying when West cleared his throat. My parents walk back to their seats, then West, and I switch places.

“I know everything you were just told was hard to hear. How do you feel knowing that your son lived through that?”

Mom looks at me for a moment and then looks away, but not before I see the look of disgust on her face. That one look was enough to confirm what I feel about myself. I am disgusting, and now my parents know it too.

“I never …” Mom speaks and closes her mouth. She reaches for my father’s hand, and he gives hers a squeeze. “I am so angry at you, Aaron.”

“Why are you angry with him?” West asks.

“If he had never followed Quinn into the Army, none of this would have happened to him. He would never have been in a situation like that or any of the other horrible stories he has to tell us. He would have been safe at home, and none of this would have happened!” She screams the last part before she breaks out in sobs.

And there it is, just like it was twelve years ago when I first told my parents that I enlisted in the Army with Quinn. My father was proud of me for wanting to serve my country, even though he kept silent in front of my mother. Mom, on the other hand, was irate.

Now here we are, and it feels like we are having that argument all over again.

“That is understandable from a mother’s perspective,” West states calmly.

“Understandable? Really? How can you understand what I am feeling? You are not a mother! He is not your son, but mine! You don’t get to tell me how I feel!” Mom screams at him.

West holds his right hand up as if to tell her to calm down. That was the worst thing he could have done. Mom shoots up off the sofa and then turns to me with fire in her eyes.

“You did this to yourself, Aaron! All you had to do was stay home, find a good wife, and just LIVE! But no! You had to follow Quinn everywhere he went, like a lost puppy!”

That was harsh and not Quinn’s fault at all.

“Victoria, that is enough!” Dad bellows at her.

She whips her head around to face him and then shoves a finger out in his direction. “No, it isn’t enough! Once that boy came into our lives, everything was pure chaos from there! You let them both run wild and free. No rules, no order, and nothing I said mattered anymore! You were proud of our boys for joining the Army, but I was scared to death for their lives. I was right to be scared! He got that woman and her daughter killed!”

My mother blames me for their deaths, too.

My mother, of all people, blames me for trying to do the right thing.

I get up from my seat and walk right past her until I reach the door. Once there, I open it and then turn to look at her. Before I leave, I tell her quietly, “I blame myself too, so thank you for that validation, Mom,” then I walk away.

(Rylan)

I just sat down at my desk after walking my last patient of the day to the door when I heard my phone buzzing in the pocket of my lab coat. It is on the back of my chair, so I reach into the pocket and pull it out to see who is calling. I frown when I see Tori’s name on the screen.

Why is Aaron’s mother calling me? Should she still be in the therapy session with Aaron and his dad? What happened to cause her to call me?

“Hello? Is everything alright?” I ask when I answer the call.

Tori sniffles into the phone, and my heart drops into my stomach. “Have you seen Aaron? He left the therapist’s office a few minutes ago and isn’t answering his phone. It is going straight to voicemail.”

“No, I haven’t. I have been with patients all morning. What happened, Tori?”

“I … I didn’t …” Sob fills the line, and then the call drops.

What the fuck happened during that session? I call Quinn, but when his phone goes to voicemail, I call Annie. Nothing there either. So, I leave messages with them both, then hop up from my chair, grab my purse and car keys, and head out of the hospital.

I called Aaron before I started my car, but just like Tori said, it went straight to voicemail.

I head straight to his house after pulling out of the hospital’s parking lot. My heart was in my throat the entire drive. By the time I pull up to the gate, I am beyond worried about him since all my calls have gone straight to voicemail, which is a rarity since we became a couple.

After pressing my thumb to the plate, I wait impatiently for it to swing inward enough for me to drive through. I park in front of his house and note that his car is not in the driveway, but it could be in the garage. I let myself into the house and head straight to the gym.

It is the one place I know he would go first to work out some of his hurt or frustration. I have a feeling that things didn’t go well in therapy, and he will have plenty of frustrations to get out. By the way Tori sounded, I fear it will be hurt more than anger.

I pray his parents didn’t react negatively to what he had to share with them. That is the last thing he needs to deal with on top of the guilt he already feels. My poor broken man doesn’t deserve that.

As soon as I enter the garage, my phone rings, and Quinn’s name flashes on the screen. A sliver of relief and hope flashes through me as I answer the call. “Quinn, have you found him?”

I ask this because I am certain that Tori had already tried Quinn before she called me. That is who I would call first anyway.

“He is not at the penthouse, and I am on my way to his place now.”

That sliver of hope shrivels up just like that.

“I am at his place now, and he isn’t here. Where else do you think he would go? Did Tori tell you what happened?” I ask the last question, hoping she opened up to Quinn at least.

“No, she didn’t, but she sounded awful. Something bad went down today. There are three other places that I can think of that he might go to. One is our office building. One is a sketchy bar downtown. And the third is the construction site for the outreach center.”

“Why would he go to the construction site?” I ask as I make my way out of the house and to my car.

“Max has practically been living in the trailer that he uses as an office. The site is shut down until we can get another crane in there after the one on site is basically fucked. There will be no one there to bother him.”

“You check the bar, and I will check the trailer.” I tell him as I get in my car. “Can you call your assistant to check if he showed up there?”

“I will do that first before I head to the bar. Will call if I find him.”

With that, he ends the call, and I start my car. Please, please let one of us find him before he does something stupid. The drive to the outreach center was worse than the drive to his house.

The second I pulled into the parking lot, I let out a breath of relief and then sent a quick text to Quinn, letting him know I found Aaron. I told him I would call him if I needed help, and then I shut the car off and got out.

I put my hand on the hood of his car to feel if it is still hot. It isn’t so; he must have come straight here after leaving Dr. West’s office. I take a deep breath and then walk to the trailer and up the three short stairs.

“Aaron?” I call out as I step inside.

Silence greets me at first, but then after a few moments, I hear it. Sobbing. Raw, heart-breaking sobs are coming from the back room.

I make my way to him, get down on the floor where he is curled up, and then wrap my arms around him from behind.

“I got you, Aaron.”

(Author's Note)

(To all combat vets reading this, thank you for your service)

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