Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“He’s been a good dad.”
“What kind of tips do you think he’ll need?” Tristan asked, leaning back on the bed. He seemed to be getting more and more relaxed as the night wore on. I knew he’d need a lot more time to fully process what had happened to him, but the return of his easygoing smile so soon after he’d been abducted felt like a good sign.
“Well, for starters, my dad has terrible taste in men if he was going after that douchebag lawyer, so I’ll have to make sure he finds a good guy to settle down with. Plus, he’ll probably need help figuring out which Housewives franchise to watch. It’s a whole new world.”
Eric laughed and arched a brow. “Do you even watch any of the Housewives?”
“No, never have and probably never will. But that’s why I’d ask Noah. I think he has some of those episodes memorized.” He gave a stretch and a yawn.
“My family life would put an entire season of that show to shame.” Steven looked down at his chewed-up fingernails. A shadow of some heavy memories appeared on his expression, his eyes hooded by heavy lids. As if he were feeling a physical pain.
“What happened?” Tristan asked, head cocked.
Steven shook his head, looked out the window. “What didn’t happen?” He took a rattling breath before releasing it in a cough, covering it with his elbow. “My father was… he was a monster. And I don’t say that as an expression. He was a literal monster. He abused my mom and my sister until she woke up in the middle of the night and ran off. She took Hazel with her, but she left me.”
My jaw dropped open. Tristan put a hand over his mouth.
“I haven’t talked to her since. I know she did it because she felt like she couldn’t raise two kids on her own. I was older by seven years. But… well, she left me with him. He would treat me like an animal, but it got even worse when he found out I was gay. That’s when he’d lock me in a closet for days at a time. When I outgrew the closet, he would lock me up in the spare room. All I’d have was a fish tank to keep me company. I got so thirsty once I had to drink out of it.” Steven had soundless tears sliding down his face. My heart broke for him. How could anyone treat their own flesh and blood like that?
Steven was right. His father was a literal monster.
“Jesus… fuck.” Colton reached over and grabbed Steven’s wrist. “I’m so sorry.”
Steven tried to muster a smile, but it was a shaky one.
“Do you know where your sister and mom are now?” Colton asked.
“Nope. No idea. I tried finding them. Even hired a PI to do some digging, but they couldn’t find anything. And that’s okay. I made it through without them. I can keep on making it through.”
“Damn right,” I said. “No one should go through what you’ve been through, Steven, but just from knowing you these past few weeks, I can see that you fought your way out of that situation and kept your sanity. That’s extremely difficult to do.”
He nodded, and the ghost of a smile flickered onto his face. “I have my moments.”
“We all do,” Tristan said.
The conversation slowed down as we all digested the bomb that Steven had dropped. Exhaustion hung heavy in the air as the day started catching up to us. A lot had happened, and it would all need unpacking, but not tonight. Things were still too fresh. Too raw.
Tristan gave a stretch and a yawn, which seemed to jump around the rest of the group in rapid succession. Eric pushed his chair back when he finished with his stretch.
“Alright, you guys, I think it’s time for us to head home.”
Eric jingled the keys in his pocket and stood up. Tristan and I stood to meet them at eye level. Eric wrapped his best friend into a tight hug, joined by Colton. When they separated, I could see that both Eric’s and Tristan’s eyes were glistening.
“I love you, Trist. If you need anything, give us a call.”
“Thanks, Eric. I’ll send up the bear signal if we need anything.”
Eric winked and reached for Colton’s hand. They were gone moments later, leaving just me, Tristan, and Steven as the last men standing.
Tristan sat on the bed, his back against the headboard, his legs crossed underneath him. I didn’t want to be rude, but it was getting late, and I was ready for it to just be Tristan and me, but instead of getting up to leave, Steven moved over to the love seat and appeared to make himself more comfortable. He threw a blanket over himself and smiled at us, his gaze lingering on me before jumping to Tristan.