An Inconvenient Attachment

Chapter Twenty Two

"Maybe you shouldn't keep using Nathan as an excuse, Lizzy," Shelly said over the phone as I scooped cookie-dough onto cookie-sheets.

"Why does everyone keep telling me that?"

"Because it's true, Lizzy. Look, Nathan is rotting in prison, behind bars, where he will stay for a very long time. Not to mention he's on the other side of the country, nowhere near here. Maybe you should just forget that part of your life even happened."

"You really think I'm not trying to do that? It's not like I want to constantly remember what happened, Shelly. You of all people should know that."

She sighed over the phone. "Listen, you know damn well I would've burned that bastards house down and chopped his dick off if I could do it and get away with it, I wish you never met the guy, trust me. But he's an abusive asshole, he's not even a man, so don't let someone like that hold you down forever, Lizzy."

I huffed, placing the full cookie-sheet into the oven and starting the timer, leaning against the counter. "Alright, alright. You're right, I know all of that but that doesn't change the fact that I am just constantly being reminded of what happened. It's just...it's just hard dammit."

"And you have been very brave getting through it, you at least came out of hell almost the same person," we both laughed. "Now, listen, when are you going to come visit your nephew and niece, huh? They keep whining to me, when's aunt Lizzy coming? And I don't even have the nerve to tell them that you're busy as fuck."

"I'll try and make time soon, when is their spring break?"

"Two weeks from now."

"I'll make plans then," I told her. "Alright, I gotta go tackle these cookies, I'll talk soon. Bye Shelly, love you."

"Love you too Liz."

With that, the call ended and I sat my phone aside, rubbing my temples tiredly. I turned my head, staring out my back door, looking out at the night sky. I looked away, down at my phone to catch a glimpse of a message from my mom. I looked back over to the back door, nearly jumping out of my skin. Instead of being greeted with the sight of the night sky, I saw a figure, hunched over in the darkness. I carefully stalked through the kitchen and immediately flipped the light-switch on for the patio, Jason's hunched over figure coming into view.

I slapped a hand over my heart, taking a silent breath of relief. I opened the back door, being welcomed with the chilly night air. I took a step out into the patio, looking directly at Jason's bare back.

"Come inside," I told him, watching as he turned his head to look at me over his shoulder. "If you sit out here half naked, you're gonna end up getting sick again."

I turned away, listening as he slowly stood and followed me inside.

"Take a seat," I ordered, pointing to one of the barstools. I stood on the other side of the counter, opening the freezer and pulling out an ice-pack. I tossed it to him, watching as he caught it with ease. I glanced at his torso, his wounds less substantial than they were the other night. I moved to the oven, taking out the freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies and setting them to the side and stared at him. "How many more times do you plan on coming to my house like...this."

He stared at me, his eyes hardly holding any pain. He said nothing. I let out a breath and moved to the fridge again, grabbing a bottle of water and sliding it over to him.

"You look better than the last time I saw you," I commented, placing the freshly baked cookies on a plate. "You don't have to talk. I'm sure you know where the bathroom and guest bedroom is from the last time. Do what you need to."

"It was my father."

I froze. My arms locked in place, my back completely straight. I stared at the cabinets ahead of me, waiting for him to continue but he was dead silent once again. I turned around slowly, looking at him, his gaze already piercing me.

I was scared to ask anything, afraid he might leave without curing my curiosity. "H-How...How long?"

"Years."

I shut my eyes. "Why?"

He let out a breath and sat the icepack on the counter. "Like all businessmen, he needed to be in control. He can't work anymore, the company wasn't signed to my name. My father still owns it. He uses me to run the company, for now."

"But why?"

He shrugged. "I don't spend any of my time wondering why my father does the things he does."

"You...Doesn't it hurt?"

He went quiet, his eyes almost instantly reddening, nearly on the brink of tears. He blinked them away, leaning his elbows on the counter. "His mood depends on the feedback he gets from the meetings I go to. If there's good feedback he leaves me alone if it's not where he wishes it to be he does this, like a coward."

I chuckled, popping open a bottle of wine and pulling out two glasses. "I think we both need some of this," I commented. "Any man who is able to do that shouldn't even be considered a man."

"His actions are not worth my time."

He took a swig of the wine, as did I, and we sat there for a moment, in silence. "Call me ignorant, but I never would've suspected your father to be that type of man."

"He's the absolute definition of two-faced," he commented.

"Yeah, I witnessed that at the mans own party," I sighed, finishing my glass of wine and pouring another.

Another wave of silence fell and I watched as Jason played with the edge of his glass, staring and the sheer pink liquid in his glass. I was about to ask another question but he beat me to it.

"What did your ex-husband do to you?" He seemed uncomfortable to ask, almost, as if he didn't want to ask. A slight twinge of anger was evident in his voice but he drowned it out by taking another swig of wine.

"He found out I had been contacting the police," I began, avoiding his gaze. "I haven't actually told anyone what happened. Not even my own family."

He stared at me, no doubt ushering me to continue. I took a deep breath and swallowed another gulp of wine before continuing. "He had threatened me not to tell anyone of what he was doing, he always left marks where I could cover them. But, when he found out I was trying to get his ass in jail, he stabbed me; three times. He did it somewhere with cameras, so blinded by his own rage to even think clearly. That was enough to get him sent to prison for attempted murder."

"Where?"

I knew what he was asking and, for some odd reason, it wasn't hard telling him all of this. I felt like I could tell him this. I hardly spoke about that night with my family or even with Erica.

"Once in the shoulder, the arm, and then my stomach," I said quietly, feeling the phantom pain of the stab wounds in those three spots. "Nearly bled to death. If that cop car hadn't been patrolling when it did, I probably wouldn't be standing here."

He gulped and looked away from me, blinking rapidly.

"I know what you're thinking," I commented. "Oh, god, she had it so much worse than me. Sure, I did, but the stab wounds weren't what caused me the most pain."

He watched me, a glint of emotion in his eye I couldn't read.

"It was the fact that he betrayed my trust, lied to my face about everything and used my loyalty as a weapon against me," I finished. "You see now why I live alone, Jason?"

He scoffed. "At least you can live alone. My father won't stand to have me out of his sight. I can't do a damn thing. I'm a prisoner in that house."

"Well, you've already started to make yourself comfortable here. Might as well just stay in the spare bedroom anytime you want. Just promise me no coming in in the middle of the night half naked and freezing cold, it's troublesome."

He chuckled and for once I had enjoyed an evening with a man. Talking about what happened actually helped to alleviate some of the weight on my chest and it felt like I could finally breathe easily. Maybe this wasn't in my job description but that didn't mean I couldn't be friends with my boss.