Page 26 of The Banned Books Club
Gia’s eyes were riveted on him. He saw anger flashing in them, but he thought he saw hurt, too, which took even more fire out of his reaction. It undermined his conviction, too. He also had that call with his father working against him, when Evan had backed away—far too easily—from challenging Gia about her lies. It’d felt almost as if he’d called because he was afraid Cormacwouldapproach her, and he was worried about how that might go. Was it because he just wanted Cormac to continue to accept his version of events?
If there was a chance, even a remote one, that Gia could be telling the truth, Cormac and Louisa—Edith, too—had done her a grave injustice. He hated the thought that maybe they’d only made things harder on a girl who really had been molested.
He couldn’t bear to even consider that possibility. It was easier to stubbornly believe what he’d always believed. But he couldn’t help asking himself...what if?His mother must’ve asked herself the same question. And she must’ve arrived at a very different answer, or she probably wouldn’t have left Evan, at least not when she did.
He should’ve asked—with a much more open mind—why she’d doubted her husband enough to leave him. Did she know something they didn’t?
He hoped it was only the humiliation that’d caused the divorce, as Louisa claimed. Because calling Gia a liar and sticking with it all the years since would be—
Blocking the rest of that thought, he cringed. “We won’t try to contact her again,” he told Gia. “I apologize on behalf of my sister. We’re sorry. Truly.”
Tears welled up in Louisa’s eyes. “You’reapologizingto her?”
“Louisa, stop.” He sent his sister a sharp look before addressing Gia again. “There’s no fight here. You can go on your way.”
He thought Gia might continue the argument. How well he remembered the argument he’d had with her in the hallway of the high school way back when. She hadn’t backed down one inch. She was even more formidable as an adult. She came off as strong, confident.
But she glanced between them, made a sound of disgust and rolled her eyes before turning on her heel and marching out.
“What the hell, Cormac?” Louisa dashed a hand across her cheeks as soon as the door swung shut. “So much for confronting her and getting a retraction!”
“Do you think whatyoudid has helped our cause?” he asked.
“I’m sick of it,” she said, amidst fresh tears. “What she claims happened paints such a terrible picture in my mind. It turns my stomach. And I’ve had to live with that for almost half my life!”
He almost said,That might not beherfault, but bit his tongue. He couldn’t start to doubt their father at this late date. That would open up a whole realm of unpleasant possibilities—including the idea that he and his sisters had made a bad situation even worse.
8
Margot found herself humming while she was doing the dishes. Just having Gia in town was enough to buoy her spirits. It was her sister who was going to make it possible for her to get out of her current situation, and seeing the way out was almost as exhilarating as actually running through the door. She wanted to spend time with Gia and her parents while she could, so that tempered some of her impatience to get away, especially because she was finding that Gia’s confidence—or at least a little bit of it—had a way of transferring over to her when she was around. Margot knew she was taking a big gamble leaving her husband. She’d never been in the workforce, wasn’t sure her business degree would afford her much after so long, but she’d find a way to pay the rent. She’d do whatever she had to for the sake of her children. Besides, she had no choice. She’d become smaller and smaller and would disappear entirely if she didn’t dosomething, and there were no half measures with someone as controlling as Sheldon.
“Could it take you any longer to do a few dishes?” Sheldon demanded, coming into the kitchen.
He’d been cleaning his guns in the living room while watching an old Liam Neeson movie. After putting the boys to bed, Margot had assumed he’d be occupied for the rest of the evening and was taking her sweet time, enjoying being alone in what had become her sanctuary. Since he left all the grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning to her, the kitchen was the best place to retreat when she wanted to avoid him.
“I decided to wash down a few cupboards,” she said. But that wasn’t true. She didn’t plan to be living in Wakefield long enough to make such an effort worthwhile. She was leaving him the house. If he wanted clean cupboards, he could handle that himself.
Or Cece could do it...
“Really? You gotta wash cupboards on a Friday night when I’m home?”
Just the sound of his voice made her cringe inside. Apparently, this wasn’t going to be the easy Friday night she’d hoped. The realization dragged her spirits down considerably. “You were busy,” she said. “Talking to your friends on the phone, watching TV, cleaning your guns...”
“I gotta get ready for the trip, don’t I? What do you expect me to do?”
She hadn’t complained about what he was doing.Hewas the one complaining about whatshewas doing. “Nothing,” she replied. “I was just making myself useful while you were occupied with other things.”
Coming up behind her, he slid his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him, and it was all Margot could do not to stiffen.
“I’ll finish cleaning my guns in the morning,” he said. “I can think of a lot better things to do now that the kids are asleep. Why don’t we go back into the bedroom?”
He demanded sex almost every day, but Margot couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed it. He didn’t treat her like he cared about her; he was simply using her for pleasure the way he used her to fulfill his other demands.
She was grappling for the self-control to dry her hands and let him lead her down the hall, when he added, “I’ll be gone for a whole week. Might as well stock up while I can, right? I wouldn’t want to leave my wife at home alone, hungry for a man.”
He thought he was so funny. But it was beyond her to laugh. Gritting her teeth, she steeled herself for the next fifteen or twenty minutes. “Sure, no problem,” she said.
Apparently, acquiescence wasn’t enough, because she saw his expression change almost immediately in the reflection in the window over the sink. “God, you don’t have to act like it’s such a chore!”
