Montgomery leaned forward, as though he could change what happened twelve years ago. Tension lined his body. The same tension Zeke felt.
“Monty was enlisting. Our dad came home. Said he was moving back in with me and Mom.”
Zeke remembered the night. Montgomery’s going away party. Everything screeched to a halt when Jeffrey Rose walked in. Abusive and mean, he’d been gone for years, but he obviously knew what was going on with his family. He saw the opportunity to rub Montgomery’s face in shit and showed up to tell his son he was returning.
“Mom… Mom couldn’t handle it. The only reason she was still alive was because Monty ran Dad out of the house.”
“You knew about that?” Montgomery asked.
Nina looked up at her brother. “I knew about all of it. I knew you protected me and Mom. I knew you took him on when he was drunk. I knew you would never let him near us once you were old enough to throw a punch. And I knew you were the reason he left. I was so grateful. I would lie in bed at night and wonder if he would hit me, too. I saw Mom’s bruises once. She tried to hide them, but I walked in when I didn’t realize she was in the bathroom. She was trying to see the bruises on her back.”
“What did she tell you?” Montgomery asked.
“She said she fell, but I knew she was lying. She wouldn’t look at me when she said it. I didn’t figure it out right away, but I never forgot the look of those bruises.”
Nina rubbed her throat. The move was subtle enough that Zeke didn’t think she knew she was doing it, but that made it worse. It wasn’t the first time that bitch choked Nina. She’d done it before. Many times if Zeke had to guess.
“Anyway,” Nina focused on Frannie again, glancing at Lorelei. “Mom took a bunch of pills that night. Killed herself so she didn’t have to live with Dad. When we found her in the morning, she was long gone, and Monty was going to give up his enlistment to be there for me. I couldn’t handle holding himback. He’d already stayed local for college so he could help us. But sacrificing his career? I knew I had to do something.”
“You called Beth?” Frannie asked.
Nina shook her head. “Beth came to Mom’s funeral. She invited me out afterward, and I met Gwendolyn that night. Gwendolyn was so nice and friendly. She said if I ever needed anything to let her know. She gave me a drink, and I quickly got drunk. I spilled the whole story to her. I told her everything. She said if I ever needed a safe place to go, I could come to Club Curves. She promised me someone would get in touch with her if I ever showed up, and that she would take care of me.”
“She manipulated you,” Montgomery hissed.
Nina nodded. “Yes, but I was scared. You were leaving, and Dad was coming home, and Mom was dead. I was alone. And the only person I was going to have with me was Dad. I knew what he was capable of, and I was afraid he would come after me every chance he had.”
“I would never have let that happen,” Montgomery growled.
Nina smiled at him. “I know, but at the time, you were leaving. The next night I overheard you saying you were going to give up your assignment and stay so I had you home my senior year of high school.”
“And that’s why you left.” Montgomery looked defeated. As defeated as Zeke felt. The conversation she overheard was one Montgomery had with Zeke. Zeke wanted to do more, but he wasn’t family. He had no legal right to step in. If he tried, if he moved Nina in with him, if he stood up to their father, he could have gone to jail. It was a part of the conversation. The one where Montgomery decided his only option was to delay his enlistment.
“I couldn’t let you do it. I couldn’t let you risk your future.”
“And I would have gladly done it for you.” Montgomery sounded lost. Broken.
Zeke felt it, too. He walked into the kitchen that night, after losing the argument with his best friend and knowing there was nothing Zeke could do to fix the situation for his friend and the girl he loved. He saw Nina at the back door, her hand on the doorknob.
“Don’t,” he whispered, barely making a sound.
“Please let me go, Zeke. I have to get out of here,” she said back.
“I don’t like you wandering alone at night.” Zeke knew she did it a lot. She liked to be outside. Free. In the fresh air. She’d always been fine, but he didn’t like it.
“I can take care of myself,” she snapped.
Zeke hated it. He wanted to haul her against him and take care of her. Be the one she turned to. But he wasn’t family. He wasn’t allowed. She was too young for him. He couldn’t have her. “Be back before he knows.”
Nina hesitated, but she nodded.
Now, Zeke knew what that hesitation was for. She never intended to come back. He told himself something happened to her. She was taken. She couldn’t return. But now he knew she never intended to.
“I went to Club Curves. Gwendolyn wasn’t there, but I told someone I needed to see her. She showed up not long after I did, and she told me everything would be okay.”
“She made you feel safe.” Frannie’s history with Gwendolyn carried weight. She knew the woman, and she understood Nina and what she went through.
Zeke wasn’t sure he would ever understand. He didn’t have the best childhood, but he never considered running away. He never felt unsafe in his home. Unloved, sure. But never unsafe.
