Chapter 11
My throat closed up. The strength drained from my legs. I pressed my palm against the cold wall to steady myself.
“Why?” The word scraped past my lips.
But Nolan remained silent, his presence. solid beside me as I stared at the stranger my father had become.
Dad’s head snapped up. His eyes met mine. through the window, but there was no recognition there. Just confusion, then fear. He scrambled further into his corner, his movements jerky and uncoordinated.
“No, no, no,” he chanted, covering his face with trembling hands. “The shadows are back. They’re watching. Always watching.”
I stepped back, my heel catching on the smooth floor. My shoulder bumped against Nolan’s chest, but I barely registered the contact. This broken man couldn’t be my father. The tyrant who’d ruled our home
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with iron fists and razor words had dissolved into this frightened creature.
“There’s more.” Nolan’s fingers wrapped around my wrist, gentle but firm. He guided me forward, past my father’s window and toward another room.
My breath caught in my throat. Behind the second window, a woman with matted gray hair rocked back and forth on a metal bed. Her once–proud shoulders hunched inward, her hospital gown hanging loose on her frail frame.
“Mom?” The word came out as a whisper.
TT
Her vacant eyes stared at the wall, her lips
ving in silent conversation with ghosts y she could see. The strong–willed woman who’d wielded her words like weapons had vanished, leaving behind this hollow shell.
My knees buckled. Nolan caught me before. I hit the floor, pulling me against his chest. The dam broke. Tears soaked into his shirt
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as sobs wracked my body. These broken people – they’d hurt us, scarred us, driven us away. But seeing them reduced to this…
“Why?” I clutched at Nolan’s jacket. “How did they…how could this happen?”
“Drugs.” His hand moved in slow circles on my back. “After you and Adam left, they spiraled. Started with pills, then harder stuff. The addiction ate away at their minds until there was nothing left.”
I pressed my face harder against him, trying to block out the sight of what remained of my parents. The mixture of grief and relief and guilt threatened to tear me apart. They’d been monsters, but they were still my parents. Still the ones who’d given Adam and me life, even if they’d
made that life hell.
“I shouldn’t care,” I whispered. “After everything they did…”
“They’re your parents.” Nolan’s voice rumbled in his chest. “It’s okay to feel this
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way.”
“Adam’s been taking care of them,” Nolan murmured into my hair. “Pays for their treatment, visits every week. Has for the past four years, since they hit rock bottom.”
My brother. My chest ached. All this time, he’d shouldered this burden alone. While
I’d hidden away, building my life with a man who’d betrayed me, Adam had picked up the pieces of our broken family.
“He never told me.” I pulled back, wiping my tears with shaking hands.
“He wanted to protect you.” Nolan’s thumb brushed a stray tear from my cheek. The gentle touch sent warmth spreading. through my chest. “That’s what big brothers do.”
His eyes held mine, green and intense. Something shifted in the air between us.
“Come on.” He placed his hand on the small of my back, steering me away from the windows. “Let’s get out of here.”
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Back in his car, I sank into the leather seat, emotionally drained. Nolan slid behind the wheel, his movements fluid and controlled.. Even exhausted, I couldn’t help noticing how his muscles flexed as he gripped the steering wheel.
“You know what you need?” He shot me a sideways glance, a playful glint in his eyes. “Retail therapy.”
I raised an eyebrow. “A dangerous man suggesting shopping? That’s a first.”
“I’m full of surprises.” His lips curved into a smirk. “Besides, watching you try on clothes beats paperwork any day.”
Heat crept up my neck. “Careful, DeLuca. That almost sounded like flirting.”
“Maybe it was.” He winked, starting the engine. “Is it working?”
Despite everything – the heartbreak, my parents, the weight of Adam’s sacrifice – I found myself smiling. “Maybe.”
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