Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
I force myself back up to my feet, grateful at the thought of soaking some of this pain away. I follow Talon into the bathroom to see that he’s run a bubble bath for me. He helps me out of my clothes and allows me to hold onto his good arm to ease into the water. It stings when I first try to sit, but soon the hot water is comforting to my aching body.
“Thank you.” I breathe.
“Of course. It’ll help with the bruising and some of the superficial pain.”
I look at him and frown. “Are you going to come in?”
“I would, but…” He gestures to his arm. “I can’t get these bandages wet just yet.”
“Oh, right.” A comfortable silence falls over us as I let Talon wash my hair. Though he doesn’t say anything, I can tell he’s still angry at Tristan. “You shouldn’t be so hard on Tristan,” I murmur.
Talon’s face scrunches up in bewilderment at my statement. “What he did to you was unacceptable.”
“It’s not like I didn’t deserve it.” I sink a little deeper into the soothing water and lavender bubbles. “I’d said something at the hospital that I didn’t mean, and I’m sure he was still upset about that.” I slightly shake my head. “I don’t blame him.”
“He should’ve known that wasn’t true,” he mumbles. “Still doesn’t give him the right to do all of this stuff.”
I shrug. “It’s not like he put me there. I did ask Lucian to set me up with another deal in Hell because I wanted to make more money.”
“But you had money,” he says, confused. “Why go through all of that all over again when you already had the money you earned from us?”
“I guess I just didn’t feel right using it after everything that’s happened. I gave the cash back to Purgatory.” I swallow the knot of anxiety that tries to lodge itself into my throat. “I think it’s high time I told you the real reason I left.”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Cleo.”
“But I do.” I glance at his bandaged arm. “You deserve to know, and I already told Tristan.”
“All right then.”
I take a deep breath and finally reveal the truth. Emotions bubble up in my throat and threaten to spill out in the form of tears, but Talon reaches into the water and gives my hand a gentle squeeze. The memories of the abuse try to drown me as I speak them out loud, but Talon’s presence acts as a life jacket that keeps me afloat. The heaviness that lived in my chest for all these years slowly dissolves as I finally let go of this secret.
For the longest time, I’d been afraid of telling my truth, afraid of people not believing me. I’ve now realized how much holding that in has trapped me all these years. This secret caused me to give up two people that I loved more than anything and finally revealing all this to them has removed the burden I’ve carried around for so long.
“So yeah,” I say when I finish, releasing a big sigh. “That’s what really happened.”
Talon is quiet for a long moment. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Cleo,” he starts off softly. “If you would’ve told us, we would’ve understood.”
I sniffle. “I didn’t think you’d believe me.”
“Well, I do believe you,” he murmurs. “I knew it had to be something bad for you to leave without saying goodbye.” He shakes his head sadly. “I just didn’t think it was because of something like that.”
“I should’ve told you guys sooner. I’m sorry that I didn’t.” I sigh softly. “I was already so ashamed when I realized that you two were my clients that I thought telling you guys would only make things worse. I know how you guys practically worship the ground your father walks on, so I thought it was just best to keep it to myself.”
“You were our family, too, Cleo,” he reminds me. “We wouldn’t have thought any differently of you. Sure, it’s a hard pill to swallow to find out our dad is a fucking creep, but we would’ve still been there for you.”
I nod in agreement. I’ve seen the way they’ve shown up for me without even knowing the truth. They helped me even before they officially knew who I was, which should’ve been a strong indicator that they’re trustworthy and not anything like the monster that raised them. Tristan may have had some bad moments, but he also had moments that reminded me of the guy that I always felt safe around when I was younger.
When the water starts to cool off, I finally feel okay enough to get out. Talon helps me step out of the tub and carefully wraps me in a soft towel. I look up and notice Tristan standing in the doorway, his appearance catching me off guard. His face is riddled with guilt, his eyes red and puffy as if he’s been crying.