Tully slams her hand down on the table and pushes to her feet. “He’s not stronger. You broke him. A parent should show love and protect her children from the ugliness of the world, and you did the exact opposite. You ruined him. You turned him into a closed off monster who’s too afraid to let anybody in. He’s ashamed of his life.”
Gina sits back, looking up at Tully who practically hovers over her. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” she questions. “Your eyes speak volumes. The same way Henley’s do every time Noah even flinches.”
I didn’t realize how close she’d been watching us or even how in tune she was. Hell, I didn’t think this woman even knew what it meant to be in love.
Tully clenches her jaw and I want nothing more than to reach out and hold her, knowing just how damn hard this would be but any kind of support from me and Noah is only going to make things worse. “You’re damn right I’m in love with him,” she tells Gina. “And it’s clear from the way you’ve parented him that it’s the only love he’s ever known. No wonder he has no fucking idea what to do with it.”
Tully goes to leave when she turns back and looks at her. “Thank God he had the balls to put you away. You would have destroyed him. You’re the monster, not him.” With that, she storms towards the door and barges through it, not giving a shit about finding the answers on Anton.
Gina looks down at the table and lets out a breath before raising her eyes to me. “If you’re here to tell me some bullshit that I already know, then you can both fuck off too. I’m not interested in reliving my mistakes.”
“We’re not here for Rivers,” I say, repeating my earlier statement.
She narrows her eyes. “Have you heard from him yet?”
I shake my head. “No. We’re hoping he’ll come home after boot camp. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
Gina nods and for once I think we agree on something. “Right. Then what are you here for? I’m not about to go digging into the reasons why I gave you up again.”
“We’re not here for that either.”
Gina’s brows furrow. “Then what the hell are you here for?” she questions, clearly becoming frustrated.
“Anton Mathers,” Noah states. Gina’s eyes widen and she sits up in her chair before looking at Noah. “What do you know about him?”
Gina leans forward in her chair, pointing at Noah as fury ripples over her. “Don’t you ever mention that name to me again,” she seethes.
“What?” I rush in. “Why the hell not? What do you know of him?”
“I know that if you’re involved with that man then you’re more of an idiot than I ever thought,” she yells, standing up so fast that her chair falls back behind her. She looks over to the guards lining the room. “Guard,” she hollers before seething down at me. “I gave you away to give you a proper fucking life and you repay me with this shit.”
The guards start running over.
“What are you talking about?” I demand. “What do you know?”
“Get out,” she yells as Noah clenches my arm, pulling me back.
“We just need to know-” The guards reach her, cutting me off as she scrambles against them.
Still not finished yelling at me, Gina yells out, “Get the fuck out and don’t ever come back, you hear me, Henley? Don’t you come back.”
A guard gets her down on the ground and I can’t help but stare as his knee slams into her back, holding her down as two others crowd her, desperate to get her cuffed and back in her cell.
What the fuck is happening, right now? This is ridiculous. Why does Anton have such an effect on her? And if she hates him so much, why didn’t she react when he was here last time? This is leaving me with so many more questions than answers.
The guards drag her away and she fights their hold, looking back over her shoulder at me. “Stay the hell away from him, Henley. He’ll destroy you.”
With that, she’s gone, and I’m left feeling absolutely deflated.
Noah’s hand slips into mine before he pulls me in hard against his chest and wraps me into his warm arms. “Are you ok?” he questions, both of us staring off towards the door Gina was just dragged though.
“Yeah, I think so,” I tell him. “It’s just…that was weird.”
“Yeah, no shit,” he tells me. “Let’s go find Tully. I don’t like the idea of her wandering around here all by herself. Then we can get the hell out of here.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
Chapter 9
I stand in my room, looking through my clothes for something to wear to this ridiculous party Tully is insisting on dragging me too. Apparently, I need to lighten up which is absurd. If anyone around here needs to lighten up, it’s her. She’s been a moody bitch since we visited Gina last week.