Broken

Chapter 16

I felt guilt and shame wash over me. My mom sobbed and shook her head.

“My poor baby,” she mumbled quietly.

“And you just believed them?!” my dad continued yelling. “It never occurred to you to talk to your sister about it?! It never occurred to you to talk to us about it and tell us that there was a fucking sex tape going around and that our daughter was in it?!”

I gulped and gave my dad a small nod.

“Of course it did, Dad,” I mumbled. “I was just too angry and too uncomfortable to do it. I couldn’t even watch the tape for more than a few seconds. I always protected Rory from those fuckers and being told that she was sleeping with them behind my back made me furious. I tried to talk to her, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.”

My mom sobbed again. My dad stood up and started pacing around the room.

“I can’t believe you, Sebastian,” my dad said angrily. “You loved her more than anything in this world. How could you believe them?”
My heart clenched painfully.

“Love, Dad,” I corrected him. “I love her more than anything in this world.”

My dad looked at me and narrowed his eyes slightly. He continued pacing around.

“What happened last night?” my mom asked quietly.

I looked at her and took another deep breath.

“I started doubting those fuckers when I showed the video to Rhys,” I said. “He was able to actually watch longer than I did and he knew it was fake immediately. They must have noticed that I started doubting them and they wanted to prove to me that they were telling the truth about Rory.”

“Prove to you how?” my dad asked angrily.

I looked at him and gulped.

“Rory said that there was a girl who was filming it,” I explained. “We didn’t see anyone else in the room, but she could have hidden after we entered.”

My mom sobbed loudly. My dad just clenched his fists tightly.

“It wasn’t a girl,” Rhys said angrily. “It was Amelia.”

My parents looked at him and nodded.

“She is going to jail,” my dad said. “She will never see the light of fucking day again.”

“Oh, my poor baby,” my mom mumbled, wiping the tears off her cheeks. “Why didn’t she tell me what was going on?”

“Because she didn’t know,” I said, my voice trembling. “I just stopped talking to her. I never explained to her why.”

My mom closed her eyes and shook her head.

“You need to go home, Rhys,” my dad said after a few moments of silence. “We need to talk to our kids alone.”

“But, Mr. A…,” Rhys spoke, but my dad interrupted him.

“You will see Aurora tomorrow, Rhys,” he said sternly. “Go home.”

Rhys was reluctant to leave. He looked toward the stairs and clenched his jaw.

“I will tell her to call you,” I told him. “She will be okay.”

Rhys looked at me and I saw fear in his eyes.

“I promise, Rhys,” I said, trying to sound reassuring. “Everything will be okay.”

He gulped and gave me a small nod. I watched as he reluctantly walked to the front door.

“I will see you tomorrow,” he mumbled as he kept glancing toward the stairs.

“Goodbye Rhys,” my mom said softly.

He walked out of the house and closed the door.

“You have no fucking idea how badly I want to kick your ass right now,” my dad said angrily.

“Richard!” my mom exclaimed, gasping loudly. “He made a mistake! You can’t talk to him like that!”

“He is right, Mom,” I said, keeping my eyes on my dad. “I wish I could kick my own ass right now.”

My dad tightened his jaw and narrowed his eyes at me.

“I hope that you are ready to do whatever the fuck it takes to make it up to her,” he said. “I hope that you are aware of the thin ice you are standing on. You are going to lose her if you don’t pull your head out of your ass.”

My stomach twisted.

“I am not going to lose her,” I said with determination in my voice. “I am going to do whatever it takes, Dad. I know how badly I fucked up. I will do whatever I have to do to show her how sorry I am and how much I love her.”

My dad nodded and looked at my mom.

“Go get our baby,” he said. “We need to talk.”