Page 48 of The Legend
She spokefirst, quietly and mostly to her hands, “I’m sorry dad.”
“Ariesweetie, you have nothing to be sorry about.” I placed a kiss on her foreheadpulling back to look at her green eyes clouded with tears.
“Ishouldn’t have said anything to Brian when he came back from the race.” Hereyes fell to her hands. “I was mad that he pushed Axel.”
“Thatstill doesn’t give him the right to hit youorpush you back. No manshouldeverlay a hand on a woman, Arie. Nothing ever makes that okay.”
“I know,”she finally looked at me. “It doesn’t make it okay. I know how this looks toyou.”
My gazethat focused on the wall that I punched shot to hers, “What?”
“Witheverything that happened to mom...”her voice faded when she noticed my breathing increasing.
I tried tokeep the anger out of my tone, afraid if she heard the pure disgust when itcame to Darrin she would think this had something to do with her and Brian, butit didn’t. Unfortunately, there are just some things in life that you can’tforget. You try but you can’t. Your mind acts as a head sock to memories,blocking out the unwanted fire in them, but eventually the fire resistancegives way when you remove the head sock and you’re vulnerable again.
“Whathappened back then is in the past but yes, this reminds me of that,” I told herhonestly. There was no sense in lying to her about it. To understand myreactions to this, she needed the truth. “When I saw your face...all I saw was your mom twenty years ago,holding on to life.”
“It’s justa few bruises dad.” She shook her head with derision. “I wasn’t dying.”
“Doesn’tmatter if it was a bruise or not, he still hit you Arie. That’s unforgivable.”
“I wasn’tplanning on forgiving him.”
“Wellgood.”
Shelaughed at my satisfied but remorseful smile. “So I hear my idiot brother wasarrested.”
“Yeah,” Ilaughed thinking of Axel and Lane spending the night in the downtown jail.“Apparently I didn’t do enough damage. Your brother and cousin went apeshit.”
“Oh jeez,”
“Nocharges were pressed. I think Axel got his point across.”
“Yeah, Ithink Kale gave him a few licks too.” She held up her phone indicating she’dbeen in touch with her friends this morning. Kale was Lily’s’, Axel’sgirlfriend, younger brother who protected Arie as if she was his own sister. Hehas a secret love for her, but being only thirteen, he wasn’t exactly what sheconsidered a love interest.
Arielaughed, “The boys in this family are so protective.”
“You haveno idea.”
I didn’tbother telling Arie everything that happened but Brian ended up in this veryhospital somewhere, which I planned on having another talk with him. Just forgood measure. He needed to understand this wouldneverhappen again.
I was aboutto leave when Emma and Lexi walked in with a change of clothes for Arie andbreakfast for her. Arie stopped me, reaching out to grasp my hand. “Girls, canI talk to my dad for a minute?”
Theysmiled and set the bag of clothes on the chair next to her bed before slippingout.
“I hopethat you can get past it someday, dad,” Arie said to me, “I see the way ithaunts you.”
Truerwords had never been spoken. That time of our lives, did haunt me, in ways Iabsolutely hated. This was not me. I wasn’t the type of man to hang sodangerously on to something that happened in the past, waiting for time to washthe pain away. Nevertheless, it never ended for me. The problem with that waswasting time praying for that to happen. It was in the past and Sway was mine.Nothing would change that. More importantly, I could not control our lives.Shit happens. You would think after everything we’d been through in our livestogether I would have understood that by now but I didn’t. Deep down I wasstill that stubborn twenty-two year old that was scared to cross the line withhis best friend.
Aries’next statement is what hit home for me, “It hurts her too.”
My eyesfell closed, my head hung. All this time, for twenty some fucking years I onlyfocused on how this all mademefeel. Oblivious to the fact this hurtSway just as much. That vital bond between us was so true, so intense thatanything she or I felt, the other felt just as strong.
How couldI have missed that?
When Istepped outside, Sway was in the hallway with the boys sitting against thewall. Axel stared at his feet. Casten was focused on the nurse behind the frontdesk.
I kickedCasten throwing my arm around Sway. “Don’t be so obvious.”
