Page 39 of Taken With You

“Anyway, Coby and his club were even worse than my dad. They did so many horrible things. Mostly with drugs. And then I ratted them out.” I let out a shaky laugh. “At least, I thought I did. Not completely, though. They didn’t need my testimony to put Coby behind bars because they had enough evidence without it. They didn’t even need me to get into the house. They didn’t care that I was broken and bleeding when they found me.”

“Are you serious?” Sienna asked, rage in her voice. “I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t know if that’s actually the truth,” I said quickly. “They might’ve cared, I don’t know, but I was too hollow to process it. And I didn’t tell them everything. There were things that they never needed to know. All I knew was that the incident gave me the out I needed. I left, and I didn’t turn back. But my parents have always known where I am and constantly try to get money from me. That means anybody who blames me for what happened to Coby can find me.”

I looked down at my hands.

“I didn’t know Beckham was part of it. He wasn’t in the club when I was there, but he knew my dad. He must have. He had to have known exactly who I was when we met.”

“And he didn’t say anything,” Sienna whispered.

“No. And it’s hard for me to completely blame him because I didn’t tell him about my past either. I did horrible things when I was younger. Not anything illegal, but I wasn’t who I am now. And I should have told him that. But he should’ve told me, too.”

Tears were falling down my cheeks at that point, and the girls gathered around me, holding me close.

“It looked like he was out,” Harmony whispered. “Maybe he didn’t tell you because he didn’t know how.”

“That’s no excuse,” Violet said.

“I know. I’m just afraid. Afraid of what will happen if I let him in again. Because I thought I was out. I guess I was wrong.”

Then the tears fell harder, and the girls simply held me.

I’d thought I was good at being boring. That was safe.

It’d kept me alive this long.

Alive.

But Beckham had been part of it all along, and I didn’t know how to feel about that, even if he was out of the life.

I’d fallen once, and it had broken me.

I couldn’t fall again.

I’d already paid that price.

This time, I was afraid it would cost even more.

“What are you going to do?” Sienna asked, and I shook my head.

“I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything to me.”

“Maybe he’s giving you space,” Harmony said.

“Maybe. But I don’t know what to say to him. He knew about my past.”

“It sounds to me like he has even more baggage than you do, or at least an equal amount,” Sienna lamented. “He got out. He wanted to put all of that behind him.”

“I can understand that. And while I probably should have mentioned who I was to him, especially considering how long we’ve been together, he definitely should have mentioned that he knew me.”

“Yes, he should have,” Violet said, nodding. “And when he explains why he didn’t, you can decide if you’re willing to take him back or not.”

“I can’t. I can’t take him back. What if the club finds him again?”

“I don’t know, honey. But you’re not alone now. You don’t have your family, the ones that claim they raised you, but you do have us.”

Harmony nodded tightly as she said it. “We are your family now. All of us. And no matter what, you can lean on us. I promise.”