|Paul's POV|
It's been a decade since Dan and Stacy passed in the car accident. A car accident that never made any sense to me. Of course I had investigators looking into their cause of death. Neither was intoxicated. The truck driver that hit them miraculously survived. Nothing sat right with me about it, but still nothing was proved beyond if being a drunk driver killing. I thought at first Dan was having one last hurrah. I mean, he did try and kill Stacy once before. We'll get to that. Maybe I should've said something to Jamie sooner, but she blocked them out. Her cousin popping up brings back all the horrific memories. Thinking of Stacy's fractured mental and bloody body, she deserved so much more than the man I had grown up with and called a best friend.
Daniel Brooks was not perfect by any means, but I had noticed a positive shift prior to his passing. We talked extensively about how he wanted Jamie to finish high school in mine and Steph's care while he tried to salvage whatever was left of his marriage. Most importantly, he wanted to distance himself from his family as they had always butted in. Coming from someone who has an extremely tight knit family, the issue with the Brooks is that they were malicious and calculating.
Growing up in New Hampshire, we had the Brooks family as our neighbors. Dan and I became quick friends. I had my younger sister Lynn and he had a younger brother and sister, Jimmy and Rebecca. Jimmy was around us a lot growing up, only being a couple years younger. Rebecca was almost 5 years younger than us, closer to my sister Lynn's age.
Rebecca or as we called her, Beck, was always a pain in the ass and being the only girl, she always got what she wanted. Very entitled. Lynn tried being friends with her, but she always tried to boss my sister around and Lynn wasn't for that.
Stacy grew up with us as well. She went to middle school with us, but didn't catch Dan's eye until high school. She and Izzy's mother were friends and oddly enough ended up pregnant at the same time. My parents were more supportive, Dan's not so much. I mean we were adults when it happened. Young adults, but adults none the less. We were all in love and wanted to build our families. After graduation I stayed in New Hampshire, wrestling. Dan and Stacy had a shotgun wedding, enrolled at the University of New Haven where Stacy had a full ride. Dan's parents moved to Florida.
Stacy was ready to begin her career as nurse. She has it all mapped out. She wanted her bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees in nursing; ultimately wanting to teach. Having a baby was not slowing her down one bit. Dan on the other hand was unsure of what he wanted to do.
When we had our girls, I lost the love of my life and in a way, Dan lost his. He started to resent Stacy in so many ways. Even with a newborn she finished college with honors. She had the career and he ended up at a random job. It's not that he wasn't capable, Dan just often did what everyone else wanted him to. Everyone else meaning his parents. He parented Jamie a certain way because his mother said to. He spoke down to Stacy because his father said she needed to know her place. He would send money to his siblings because they needed their "big brothers" help.
The first time Dan hit Stacy, she called me. She was hysterical and was worried he was going to hurt Jamie. She was just one at the time. Dan apologize and smooth talked her. We got into a fight of our own after he told me just because I had lost Izzy's mother, I wasn't going to take his wife away from him. That just landed him with a black eye. I was a hot head and grieving them. Any word of disrespect usually ended in me knocking someone out. Dan was no exception.
Stacy was my friend above anything else. I also knew how easily Dan could be persuaded by his family. Once he took his head out his ass, he apologized to me and apologized to Stacy. Things were fine for a while, or so I thought.
Dan had a problem with Stacy working at the hospital and made her quit. He accused her of cheating with the doctors, no proof to that. He was verbally abusive and had his family attacking her. Stacy was making more than Daniel and he was upset about it. Anything she wanted to do, he had to know. The abuse became physical, once again, and she wanted to divorce him. She tried to get away, his family was overly involved.
Dan grew angrier and damn near killed her. She went to the hospital for a brain bleed caused by blunt force trauma. She was in ICU for weeks to monitor her condition. I was getting my break in my career finally when all this happened. I wish I could've been there for her more. My focus was my job and being a dad to Izzy. I had my parents help, thankfully, but I couldn't help but worry about the safety of Stacy and Jamie.
Stacy was threatened by Dan and his family to drop the divorce. He told her she had nothing and at that time, he was right. She had become a stay at home mom, unwillingly, but he would use that against her. Things went back to normal as if nothing happened. While I had got frequent calls from Stacy, they became less and less. Our girls became distant as well which Izzy didn't understand. She would call me crying saying she missed her best friend. Her "sissy" as she called her. I knew Stacy was going through a lot and I knew how miserable the Brooks were.
Fast forward to teenage Jamie and she started acting out. Stephanie and I didn't want Izzy around her. This was the Jamie we didn't know. Thinking she was just rebelling against her parents, it all made sense once I found out Dan was back to his old ways. Stacy was going to leave for a third time. Well, the rest is history from there. Stacy went and took some time with her mom and Dan went to rehab. He seemed like his old self, the Daniel I knew from high school. Jamie stayed with us and he and Stacy worked on rebuilding their relationship. His family wasn't too happy about Daniel all of a sudden defending his wife and financially cutting them off. That's why they were so angry that Steph and I received custody of Jamie. It was all about control with them.
That's just scratching the surface. There's so much more.
"Uncle Paul..."
I snapped out of my thoughts, turning to Jamie. We had just arrived to the park. I was hoping a peaceful scenery would make it easier to talk to her.
"Yeah, sweetheart."
"Whatever it is, you can tell me. I need to know."
I sighed looking over at her. The older she got, the more she looked like Stacy. She had her father eyes, but everything else was a spitting image of her mother. She's come such a long way and while the darkness could have swallowed her whole, she's become stronger and more resilient than I could imagine. My Goddaughter was now an incredible wife and mother. I was so proud of her and I know her parents would be too.
"I don't know where to start, Jamie."
"Just say it. If I have any questions, I'll ask."
For the next hour, I took her down memory lane recounting her parents relationship and how it turned violative early on and just how involved his family was. She listened to every word, not interrupting once. As I finished, she sat there. Maybe I had said too much. Maybe I should have...
"They put out a hit on my parents, didn't they?"
"I have no proof of that. I wish I did. My gut tells me there's something more to their death, but, I have no proof. If anyone of them was to be behind it, definitely your Aunt Rebecca. She hated all your fathers and uncles girlfriends. She's been a bitter person from the day I met her. It's no wonder she's divorced. Then again, their relationship was toxic from the start."
"I need to end this once and for all. No more hiding. I need to know the truth."
"The truth is not going to change what happened or bring your parents back, but if it brings you peace of mind, I'm right here by your side."
"Uncle Paul, this not only affected me, but you saw what it did to my Grandma Dora. She didn't last long after my mom died. If you knew all of this was going on with my parents, of course she did too. I loved my dad, but knowing my mom was in a domestic violent relationship, I hate him for that. I hate that he did that to her. I wish I didn't have these feelings, but she didn't deserve that. I ended up an orphan at 17 years old and over what? Anger and jealousy?"
"Your father loved you, Jamie. He just veered off and was a monster at times. It was like Jekyll & Hyde with him. Your mother didn't know who was going to walk through the door."
"Here I was mad at Brandon thinking he didn't want me to work, but my father actually had my mother quit a job she loved. Do you think she cheated on him?"
"Not at all. Your mother's world revolved around you and your father. She wanted you to have the family and upbringing she didn't. She loved you so much. Hell, she was willing to take Izzy and raise the two of you as sisters. I hit a real rough patch after she was born. Grief is bitch. Your father was jealous and even accused me of sleeping with your mother because we were so close. She was my friend and how she was there for me I was there for her. There was nothing more to it. She was such a compassionate person. I hated to see her dreams and life go up in smoke from the harassment and abuse from your father and his family."
"This is a lot to take in, but it all makes perfect sense now. My mother never wanted me going to Florida with my father alone. They'd fight over time spent with relatives. My dad always wanted around his family and his family only. My mom always tagged along and was very strict. I thought she was being mean, but now I see it was her form of protection."
I nodded.
"There's one last thing I need to tell you."
She looked over at me apprehensively, but gave me a nod to continue speaking.
"Your mother was raped by your Uncle Jimmy."
"What?! Did my dad know?"
I shook my head.
"No. It was while she was pregnant with you. He came to visit them in the apartment. Your dad was working nights. Jimmy got drunk, stumbled in, and raped her. She confided in me when it happened. This was around the first time he hit her. She told me everything that had been happening."
"I think I'm going to be sick."
She quickly unbuckled and went over to the tree, crouching over. I got out following her. I watched as her hand rested on the tree. She turned and saw me standing there. I could see the tears in her eyes.
"I can't do this, Uncle Paul. I can't. I just want all this to go away. Now they're trying to break me how they broke my mom. It's not right. It's just not!"
I opened my arms and she crashed into me, sobbing, I held her tightly as she got out her cries and yelled in frustration. I hated to see her broken like this, but she needed to know the truth. Still, why do I feel like garbage for telling her?
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Author's Note—-
Thoughts on Jamie's father and his side of the family? Was Paul wrong for telling her what he knew?
Should Jamie confront them or leave the past in the past?
Likes and comments appreciated!