16
SCARLETT
“It’s not an easy story to hear, Scarlett, but it’s part of who I am,” he bit his bottom lip before going on.
“I’m here,” I placed my hand on his arm, “if you want to tell me, I want to learn about your past.”
His shoulders hunched forward and his eyes became glassy as he inhaled and expelled a deep sigh, “35 years ago, and I still remember everything about that night. Late at night, I slept, and he came into my room to wake me up. At the time, he had recently moved out of our house because he and my mom were estranged.”
Aiden picked up my hand and kissed it, again and again reverently before pulling himself back to his tale and saying, “So sick. He was sick. He took me into the living room where he beat my mother for the last time, shoving me back every time I tried to sa
