Captive (Sequel to Infatuation)

Chapter 26

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♬ Young Blood by Bea Miller ♬

♬ There's A Place For Us by Carrie Underwood ♬

CHAPTER 26

❀ GRACE WALKER ❀

"HOW'S YOUR MOM?" 

Evan shrugged a little with a sad smile on his lips. "Okay, I guess. Todd is still staying with his parents because Frank took matters into his own hands. Apparently, his son has always been... angry."

I scrunched my nose. "I'm sorry, Evan." What else was there to say?

He gave me a look. "I should be apologizing to you considering you had to see, you know... him at his worst."

It was true that I'd never seen such a thing happen before my eyes. It was also true that I had been scared out of my wits and bewildered to no end. When my mom had been into heavy drinking, she had never physically abused either of her kids. There was once when she was really bad, right after Dad died, and she had slapped me over something ridiculous, but that was the first and only time she'd ever laid a hand on me. I couldn't imagine that being a daily thing, especially for poor Paige.

You always hear about child abuse and domestic abuse, but you never really expect such brutality in reality. It just never seems possible for a grown adult to hate their spouse or to hate their children so much that they feel the need to physically harm them. Before meeting Harry, I thought I had gotten the brunt end of the stick, but I hadn't even had a sliver of it. 

"You still going out of town tomorrow to see your family?" Evan's voice snapped me out of my down-spiraling thoughts.

"Yeah," I said. I left out the part of Harry going because every time it came to that subject, the hurt in his eyes just placed more guilt on my shoulders. 

"I hope your family reunion is better than mine."

Without thinking much, I hugged him. It was hard to see a close friend so close to mentally--and physically--collapsing. I hugged him because there were no words to say, no condolences that would mean a thing. I wasn't even sure if a hug would help, but it seemed wiser than sputtering words that held no significance. 

He pulled away and attempted a smile again. "Thanks. Kind of needed one of those."

"The cards will fall where they're supposed to eventually," I told him with a little shrug. "It's the waiting that's most agonizing."

"You should've gone into philosophy," he joked.

After the shift at the hospital and the heartfelt conversation with Evan, I headed back to the apartment to pack for tomorrow. I was anxious to get back home and spend time with family. I was even more so anxious because Harry was going, and relaxation was exactly what that poor man needed. I've been making a list of things I want to do the week we're back home, mostly for his benefit. Anything to keep his mind in a sane place.

Audrey was, once more, attempting to cook. This time it was even more complex--lasagna. She hadn't even known how to layer it, so I took time out of packing to help her. She argued at first, saying, "My cooking is so awesome, even the smoke alarm cheers me on," as if that would've convinced me to let her cook. 

Her lover was coming over tonight for dinner. Needless to say, she was an absolute wreck. She had a shirt on with no pants, half her hair brushed, and only one leg shaved. She hadn't even noticed that one until I pointed it out.

"The things I do for men," she grumbled under her breath, hanging her leg in the sink whilst she ran the razor over her leg. 

I looked at her, half disgusted, half amused. "You know we have a bathroom for a reason, right?"