She glanced at him, her eyes blurring with tears. “Turns out she left everything to me in her will and they kept it all from me. I never thought about why they always insisted on getting the mail. But, well, it was so they could keep me ignorant.”
“Jesus, why would they do that?”
“To keep me with them. They lied to me. Oh, my dad’s heart attack was real. There was no way to fake that, but it certainly wasn’t as bad as he and mom made out. The cancer was completely fabricated. So were my dad’s kidney issues, unless they’ve started doing dialysis in bars now.”
“They faked their illnesses to keep you with them?” They’d used her. Taken advantage of her love for them and her innate need to care for and please them.
“Sounds like something out of a soap opera, right? I mean, why take care of yourself or pay someone to do it when you can have your own little slave? And the worst part of it is I never even suspected. Poor, stupid Ellie, she believes every word we say and she’ll just keep slaving away, doing whatever we want. I only found out because my dad left his phone in my car after I dropped him off at the hospital. I turned around to take it back to him. Imagine my shock when I saw him walking along the street ahead of me. I followed him. He walked into a bar. I still didn’t believe it. I thought maybe something happened to his appointment and he’d had to go to the bar to call me. Stupid, but I didn’t want to believe the worst. I followed him inside just in time to see him buy a drink, which by the way he wasn’t allowed with his illness.”
“What did you do?”
“Well, I didn’t confront him then and there. I thought about it. Dreamed of storming over to him and telling him what I thought of him. But I don’t like confrontation. So instead, I went home. Like a wimp.”
“Careful, little girl,” he warned. “You’re already in trouble for putting yourself down.” He hated that she thought so badly of herself.
She gave him an incredulous look. “I don’t think it can be considered putting myself down when it’s the truth.”
“It is not the truth.”
“Damn it, Bear. You don’t understand what a doormat I was. They used me. For years! And I never once questioned it. I just went along with everything like a stupid, foolish child.”
“Enough.” He leaned over and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her gently onto his lap. He tucked her in against his chest as she started to cry. She kind of melted into him. Not for the first time, he’d wondered if she was a bit starved for touch, affection. Now he was almost certain.
“Enough,” he repeated more gently. “None of this was your fault. It was all on them, baby. All them.”
“I c-called their doctor. I pretended to be worried over my father’s kidney treatments. I could hear from the silence on the other end that the doctor had no idea what I was talking about. I thought he’d tell me he couldn’t say anything because of confidentiality agreements. I’d known Doctor Steward all my life. He kind of cleared his throat then told me that my parents were two of the healthiest people he knew. That my dad’s heart attack had been mild and he’d been lucky but as long as he didn’t drink too much and ate healthy, he’d be fine.”
She placed her hand on his wide, warm chest, soaking in his comfort. Even though she knew this really was her fault.
Naïve, stupid idiot.
He ran his hand up and down her back, crooning to her under his breath. “So, you left?”
She nodded, taking in a shuddering breath. She wiped at her cheeks. “Not right away. I didn’t have any money or anywhere to go. So, I pretended everything was okay, while I squirreled away money. Whenever I was alone in the house, I went through any paperwork I could find. One day, I found the letter from the lawyer about Aunt Rose’s estate. It was like a Godsend. I packed a suitcase, filled it with everything I wanted to take which wasn’t much. I thought they were hard up for money so I’d been wearing the same clothes I had since high school. Just as well I hadn’t put on any weight. Thankfully, my aunt had bought me a secondhand car for my graduation present.”
He kept rubbing his hand up and down her back.
“My parents walked in as I was coming down the stairs. They both wanted to know what was going on, why had a suitcase. I told them I was leaving. That I knew they’d been lying to me and I was no longer staying here to wait on them hand and foot. They were furious. They threatened that if I walked out that door then I was no longer their daughter. They’d cut me off entirely.”
“Oh, baby. That had to hurt.”
“I told them I didn’t care, that parents who loved their child wouldn’t treat them like they’d tr
eated me. They yelled horrible things at me, how I’d never amount to anything, how I’d come crawling back when I realized that I couldn’t make it on my own.”
His heart hurt for her. “None of that is true. You did a brave thing driving halfway across the country to a place you’d never been to. My poor little girl. It’s okay. You’re not on your own now. I’m here.”
“It felt so freeing to leave. Sure, it was scary. I didn’t know what would happen when I got here. I don’t know how much is in the trust my aunt left me. I’ll probably need to find a job. I don’t know what state my aunt’s house is in.”
“No wonder you were so scared.” The bravery it had taken her to do what she had astounded him. Even as he couldn’t help but think of all the things that could have gone wrong.
“I’ve lived all my life by someone else’s rules. Done what others wanted of me. I feel like for the first time I get to be me. To be on my own.”
Guilt filled him. Because now she was living by his rules. But it was only temporary. Once they left this cabin, it all ended and she could get on with her life. A knot formed in his gut and he realized there had been a kernel of hope inside him that they might be able to take this beyond these few days. But this sort of relationship would be too constrictive long-term for someone who’d just found their wings and wanted to fly.
He kissed the top of her head. So, he’d shelter her while she was here and then let her go when this had to end. Sounded like she’d spent years in virtual slavery and even though being with him wouldn’t be like that, she’d be restricted all the same.
And this was why it was a bad idea to hope. He should have remembered that.