His grin was a shy, cheeky thing, his eyes darting back to the food after locking with mine for a second. For a moment, I felt like I’d just shared some kind of secret joke, but if you asked me what it was, I wouldn’t be able to explain. Whatever it was, I felt a weird sense of relief when he went back to his plate, picking up my own fork with grim determination.
I surprised myself by managing to eat a lot more than I’d thought I’d be able to. I guess I’d eaten nothing for days, so I had something to make up for. But there was something about the steady hum of happy conversations, of being caught up in a cocoon of functional family dynamics, I was able to relax enough to eat.
I was jerked out of a very nice food coma when Ophelia said, “Right, young ones. You’ve done your duty and eaten a proper meal. Mila, make sure there’s no fighting. Jenna, make sure the youngest serve themselves first, then the older ones. Kailey, make sure no one takes too much. I can’t stand waste.”
“She’s got them acting like little mothers,” I said with a smile.
“Mothers?” Greg’s wife said. “I guess they will be one day. No, Ophelia’s training them to be leaders.”
I watched the large crowd of boys fall into line behind the girls, their female cousins not shy about chivvying them into order when they felt like it.
“Can I go, Mum?” Kade said. Mila stood with her hands on her hips, looking at him expectantly.
“Sure, love. Just mind what Ophelia said, OK.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Flick. I’ll keep him in line,” Mila said.
I turned to Aidan to ask him what the deal was, but he watched the two of them with an indulgent smile. “How are you feeling?” he said, his voice a low buzz against the chatter of the table. “Bit better with a belly full of food?”
“Yeah, thank you. I didn’t think I would, but I do.”
“No problem.” Those hazel eyes slid up to meet mine. “Just tell me if there’s anything else I can do to make you feel better.”
A shiver slid up my spine, part fear, part something I couldn’t quite face right now. That felt like a line. It’d been a long time since someone had said anything like that to me, with that gentle but persistent stare, the close proximity, his body turned partially towards mine, arm along the back of the seat.
If he’s into you, his eyes’ll drop down to your lips, I thought, and sure enough, for a split second, they dipped down then up again.
I pulled back slightly, feeling my heart as it began to race, my fingers tightening into fists.
“Well, now that the young ones are occupied, let’s talk about Flick’s situation before they come back.”
Ophelia’s crisp words broke whatever was happening down my end of the table, everyone turning to face the older woman.
“Auntie…” Renee said, which earned her a damning stare.
“Flick, did you want to tell your story?”
If I thought I was uncomfortable before, I had no idea. Every adult down both sides of the table looked down at me, waiting. I swallowed, my mouth now bone-dry, a lump forming in my throat. My eyes began to ache as the silence drew out longer and longer, tears starting to prick at my sockets as I faced them all down.
“It’s OK, Flick,” Aidan said, taking my hand. It felt like it belonged to someone else, like I was watching him comfort one of the other women at the table. I couldn’t feel his skin against mine. Instead, I just stared at it for a second, the long, brown fingers, the big strong palm cradling my hand within his. “No one’s going to hurt you.”
I was about to wipe out all those pretty smiles around the table.
What Rick had done was a gift in a way. I wanted to pretend, to go back to the polite social rituals I’d observed before I met him, but the devastation he’d wrought on the both of us made that impossible. I obviously hadn’t wanted to be beaten, to see him do the same to my child, but unlike emotional abuse, I wasn’t going to be able to sweep it under the carpet.
I took a deep breath and faced down the table, not glaring, but not afraid anymore, and told them, “My husband beat me and my son. That’s why we have these bruises. I smashed a marble ashtray into his head and knocked him unconscious, and then we took off in his car. I just drove and drove, until we ended up here. Peter and Aidan found us when we broke down and my…” Was I going to say it? “My Tirian bit Peter.”
Weirdly, that got more gasps from the table than the rest of my story.
I paused for a moment, staring down at the white plate in front of me. “Aidan and Peter have helped me when I really needed it, are still helping me, and I’m grateful for that, but that’s why we’re here. We’re hungry and tired and sore and hurting. I know how small towns work. If you could circulate that to avoid any more awkward situations, I’d appreciate that.”
Ophelia nodded, her gaze still intense but not necessarily harsh. It was as if she could see everything that was in me without me saying a word, but she’d known me getting it out there would be for the better.
“When Flick is up to it, she’ll share this ‘Rick’s’ details and they will be circulated. Needless to say, any strangers that manage to come to Sanctuary will need to be reported directly to me.”
“Ophelia’s kinda a force of nature,” Aidan said as we drove up back to the house.
“You’re telling me! Is she going to pull me out of bed by my ear if I don’t turn up to her place?”