Fractured Sky (Tattered & Torn #5)(51)

Aidan didn’t say a word. I squeezed his shoulder, ducking down to meet his gaze. “This isn’t your fault. Your father’s a sick man.”

Aidan’s eyes glistened in the bright light of the kitchen. “I kept thinking if I just stayed two steps ahead, it would be okay. I’m usually good at it, seeing what might set him off: Not having dinner done fast enough, not getting the chores finished before he’s home, El’s toys not being put away. But I couldn’t stop spilled milk.”

A tear slipped free and slid down Aidan’s cheek. “He was going to hit Elliott. I could see it in his eyes.”

Rage pumped through my veins as I saw the incident playing out in my mind. “So, you stepped in.”

“I set him off, got him focused on me. Told him to get a grip. That it was just a little spilled milk. He usually just backhands me, but he punched me this time. I blacked out for a few seconds. When I came to, Elliott was crying. All I could think was that I’d failed. That I’d let Dad hurt him.”

I didn’t think. I simply moved, pulling Aidan into my arms in a hard hug. “You didn’t fail. You never could.”

Aidan’s chest heaved as he released it all, the weight he’d been carrying for so long. I held on tightly. “Let it go. I’ve got you.”

His sobs were silent yet powerful enough to shake us both where we stood. I simply kept holding on. I took all the pain and worry and fear. All I could think in the moment was that I needed to show him that it wasn’t too much. That he wasn’t too much.

I didn’t know how long we stood there. I didn’t have the right words to give to Aidan. All I could give him was my presence and the knowledge that I wouldn’t leave him to deal with all this alone.

Aidan pulled back, wiping at his face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be such a chickenshit.”

I gripped his shoulders. “No. Don’t brush whatever you’re feeling away. You do that, and it’ll eat away at you and slowly blacken your insides.”

Aidan’s eyes hardened. “I won’t be like him.”

“Then you have to let yourself feel it all. Turning it off changes you. But if you let yourself feel, you’ll never be him. Your heart is too good.”

Aidan wiped at his eyes again but nodded.

“I’m here any time you need to let this shit out. You want to scream and punch something? I’ll find you a heavy bag. You need to cry? I’ve got you. You just need to know you’re not alone? I’ll sit with you all damn night. I’m with you. Every step of the way.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Thanks.” He picked up the plate, his lips twitching. “Think we can finish cleaning up now, or do you have more shrink-like wisdom to impart?”

I choked on a laugh. “Such a smartass.”

He shrugged. “I am a teenager. Gotta have a little of that.”

And I was damn glad he hadn’t lost it. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, expecting to see a text from Shiloh, but it wasn’t her name that flashed on my screen.

Lor: Got space for a gelding at the end of the month?

I frowned at the screen.

“What’s wrong?” Aidan asked.

“Nothing. I just haven’t heard from Shiloh.”

I’d texted her a couple of hours ago to tell her I was staying for dinner, but she hadn’t responded. Shiloh wasn’t big on phones, but it wasn’t like her to go this long without responding.

“Call her. Sometimes, that text alert is too quiet.”

He had a point. Maybe it revealed a little too much, but my thumb slid across the screen to her contact. I held the phone to my ear as it rang. Each reverberation that went unanswered had my gut tightening. Finally, it cut off. There was silence, and then a male voice came across the line that I didn’t recognize. “Ramsey?”

“Who’s this?” I barked.

“Calder Cruz, Hadley’s husband.”

“Why the hell are you answering Shiloh’s phone?”

I didn’t care if I came across like an asshole; my need for information was too strong.

“Shy was attacked tonight.”

The world around me slowed, and each beat of my heart shook my entire body. This wasn’t happening. Images played on an endless reel in my mind, each one worse than the last. And all of them were my fault. Because I’d known that someone was out to hurt her. And I’d left her alone anyway.





24





SHILOH





I winced as I adjusted the ice pack on my cheek. My entire face throbbed.

“Walk me through it again,” Hayes gritted out.

Hadley elbowed him in the stomach. “Tone.”

“It’s fine,” I said. I could feel Hayes’ barely restrained rage, but I knew it wasn’t pointed at me. “I didn’t hear him coming. I was distracted.” And I’d be kicking myself for that for the foreseeable future. “He grabbed me from behind. It all happened so fast. I didn’t see his face. I think he might’ve been wearing a hat. It was dark, and when I kneed him in the balls, he punched me. I didn’t see anything after that.”

Not until a woman helped me sit up. And all she’d seen was a man running away.