I have an odd feeling I’m not going to like this line of discussion any more than I like talking about my parents or her assault. But, it’s Daphne. And I’ve never wanted any other person to know me like I want her to.
She eyes me cautiously, like she’s beyond nervous to ask. “Did you know something was happening in Xander’s house?”
My jaw twitches. “No. And I feel fucking terrible that I didn’t. Thinking back, there were signs, but I was just a kid and didn’t know about shit like that then. I shouldn’t really get into it. That’s his story. He didn’t tell us until they were free of his dad. I still don’t know the full extent of it. We’ve never discussed it. It’s always seemed like he prefers not to.”
She shifts on her feet, still in my embrace. “I wondered. Scarlett only shared a little about Xander’s past—that he’d been abused before his mom divorced his dad. And, of course, she told me his father was prepared to stand by and allow Justin to do whatever he wanted to her that night. So—” Her voice cracks, and she’s unable to continue.
“Yep. Joseph Grey is one fucked up individual. The world is a better place with him put away. You know, Xander was always just trying to protect his mother—even when he was way too small to have done anything but get hurt himself.”
She winces, pressing a hand to her chest and rubbing. “That poor little guy. It makes me feel sick inside knowing there are families that go through things like that, and no one is the wiser. I know what happened to me was bad but I can’t imagine prolonged abuse like that. It makes me sick to think about.”
If she knew how fucked up the majority of the families are around here, she’d probably die. Everyone is in each other’s business. Half of them are in each other’s beds. It’s amazing what you think you can get away with when you have money like the Roses all do. Because money is supposed to magically fix things. It’s the cure for everything that ails us.
Only, I’m not stupid enough to buy into that. Money has never done a fucking thing for me but cause trouble. It’s been pretty much the same for all of my friends. All it does is poison everyone who comes into contact with it.
“It’s hard for me to think about. I would like to think I could have found a way to help him, if I’d known. Something.” I scrub my hand over my hair and blow out a breath. “It makes me wonder if we’re as close as I thought.”
“Oh no. Don’t think that. I figure I didn’t tell anyone because it was too much to bear—I didn’t want anyone to know. When the pain is that bad, sometimes it gets buried because day-to-day survival depends on it.” She kisses my jaw, her soft lips brushing over it like a feather. “You guys have each other’s backs. And for the record, not one of you is anything like I’d assumed.”
“Not just a bunch of intimidating jocks, huh?”
“Nope. I’m no longer intimidated. You aren’t at all like the guys who hurt me.” She gives me a small smile. “You’re actually pretty great. Like a brotherhood of your own making.”