Page 63 of Watch Me Burn
I reeled, my anger momentarily deflated. I envisioned a world where Anna crumbled under the weight of her family’s sins, a broken shell compared to the strong woman she was now, even amid this storm.
Anna wasn’t as dilemma stricken. “And when you got back from going shopping, you just magically put two and two together and came up with a plan to shield Nathan?”
Sobbing, Ms. Hudson shook her head. “It wasn’t like that at all. When I returned from the mall, I found Nathan tearing down the street, every ounce of his being screaming distress. The moment he got into the car, he was a broken record, repeating over and over that he’d killed Dad because of what he did to Lisa. As I raced home, a million thoughts ran through my mind, trying to figure out a way to make it look like an accident. But the scene that met me was beyond my worst nightmares. Your horrified cries, Ethan stained in blood . . . I didn’t initially point fingers at him, but when the police quickly arrested him, everything inside me wanted to ensure my children would be spared from any more pain. In that moment, it felt like the universe had presented an escape route, however twisted it might’ve been.”
Brushing aside Anna’s scathing look, she persisted, “Nathan was practically shell-shocked after the act. He was so out of it that he just followed whatever was suggested to him. I orchestrated the alibi, using the shopping trip as cover. I even showed the police my dress receipt as proof. If you hadn’t been there, Ethan, they might have dug deeper. But with you there, they didn’t have to look any further.”
I felt a bitter laugh bubble up. “The junkie’s kid, living off his grandma’s meager social security,” I said, my voice heavy with a mix of disgust and sadness.
My head was hurting.
For half of my life, I lingered in doubt about whether I even deserved a normal life anymore. I started to ponder whether I was even worth being loved. I was never as smart as Anna, and life as the surviving son of two drug addicts always seemed like I was never meant to be anything more than that anyways.
But now . . . now I felt like I was the true son of a bitch in all of this! Besides Anna, I was surrounded by so many pieces of shit who couldn’t even look after themselves. Sexual abuse, deceiving authorities, ruining lives, and standing by as an innocent grandmother cried her last tears alone, longing for her grandson. Yet they carried on, seemingly unbothered by the vile paths they’d forged.
I was sick of it. I was sick of the fact that this lie was allowed to spread like wildfire and doom my life into the ground.
“Let’s go,” I said to Anna. I started toward the front door without so much as offering a goodbye. She was a cruel, twisted woman, and no amount of “I had to sacrifice for my family” pleas would wipe my mind of that judgment.
“Anna, wait,” her mom called after us. But Anna followed closely behind.
“Anna! I said wait!” Her tone got more demanding.
But we kept going.
When we reached the driveway, I stopped and turned to face Anna and tilted her chin upwards. “I’ve started to realize that the people on the outside are just as fucked up as they were on the inside. But at least on the inside, you knew what was up. You know I gotta pay him a visit, right?”
Anna looked down at the cement. “I know. We have to see him. But promise me that you won’t hurt him.”
“I won’t kill him, I can promise you that.”
Anna nodded. I didn’t know if her heart would be able to bear another visit just like this one with her mom. But then, my Anna was a hell of a woman and most likely much stronger than I was.
Chapter 31
Anna
My hand trembled in Ethan’s as we pulled into my brother’s driveway. All pretense of optimism had evaporated. At this point, I had to be brutally fucking honest.
I was stuck in a whirlwind of emotions. Knowing the monstrous secret my brother harbored for fifteen years, I grappled between wanting to comfort him and feeling a burning anger for the lie that decimated Ethan’s life.
I’d called him beforehand but couldn’t reach his cell. So, we headed toward the backyard. The scene was breathtaking. The pool’s turquoise water shimmered under the midmorning sun, reflecting the pristine white flowers, all beautifully choreographed with the sleek, modern ambience of the landscape.
“Fancy, fancy,” Ethan murmured.
I just nodded in agreement.
My brother had built a lot for himself in the course of his dental career: his own private practice with five more dentists under him, a beautiful wife, and loving children. It used to warm my heart. But now, a stinging resentment crept in. I thought about Ethan. While my brother was out soaking up the best of life, Ethan was rotting in a hellish cell, facing daily threats and chowing down on shit barely fit for a dog.
As we rounded the back of the house, little Heather was near the swing set, her laughter punctuating the air as her mother spun her around. Catching sight of us, her face lit up.
“Anna!” she exclaimed, breaking into a run.
Heather leapt into my embrace, her small arms squeezing tight. “Aunt Anna!”
Her mother’s gaze shifted to Ethan, a hint of distaste evident. A product of her elite social circle, she looked Ethan up and down, skepticism evident. “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced?”
Ethan’s patience had to be wearing thin. Hell, standing in the million-dollar backyard of the man who knowingly put him away? It would break most.
