Page 148 of In Harmony

foot in my ass and kick me to the street. As he took two steps toward me, I sort of wished he would.

Do it, I thought. I don’t deserve you, Marty.

Instead, he grabbed my shoulders and engulfed me in a hug. My eyes fell shut with relief and gratitude.

“I thought I was too late. I thought you’d hate me,” I said gruffly.

“I do hate you.”

“I don’t blame you.”

Marty pulled back and held me at arm’s length. “Are you here for real? To stay and talk? And be here?”

I nodded.

“Okay then, what I told you still holds. There’s no such thing as too late. If you’re really here then I stand by that. But Jesus, Isaac. What do I tell Willow?”

“I don’t want her to know I’m here. Not until after the performance.”

“She’s the reason we’re sold out,” Marty said, crossing his arms and smiling. “I don’t know where you’re going to sit.”

“I’ll stand in the back. As long as I can see her, I’ll be happy”

Marty’s smile fell. “Why did you come back?”

“For her,” I said. “For you and Brenda and Benny, but for her. I want to talk to her, to sort out what happened and—What?”

Marty was shaking his head. “No, no, no. I’ve grown very protective of her. Very.”

“I don’t want to hurt her, Marty,” I said. “It’s the last thing I want to do, but she… Fuck.”

“She hurt you too,” Marty finished. “You’re pissed off at her, but you don’t have the whole story. Not by a long shot. Did she tell you what her father threatened?”

“No, she refused to tell me.”

“You can’t guess?” he asked, his tone heavy.

“I don’t know. Yes, I can. He’d have me arrested for being at his house. He’d sue my dad into oblivion. He would’ve pulled her out of the show and we would’ve lost Hamlet but so what? I was willing to lose everything if it meant keeping her. She didn’t believe me.”

“It wasn’t just Hamlet you’d lose,” Marty said. “Her father threatened to have you arrested for statutory rape.”

The word hung in the air, ugly and vile. The blood drained from my face and I swallowed. “Okay,” I said slowly. “I should’ve expected that too. But even so—”

“Not even so. He vowed to use his position and power to destroy your reputation permanently. To label you a sex predator so no one in Hollywood would ever dream of hiring you. It wasn’t only Hamlet she was trying to protect. It was everything. You, the money your father owed, your future.”

“I never…I didn’t realize he hated me that much. Or her.”

“From what she told me, the night he caught you leaving his house was a nightmare. Beyond anything you can imagine. And I don’t say this to make you feel worse…”

“Fucking Christ, Marty. Too late.” I sagged against the desk.

“But I’m going to be honest with you. If you came back here with the idea of rehashing what happened three years ago with her, I’m going to kick your ass into next week. The girl has suffered enough. You didn’t know. She never told you, and you dealt with losing her the best you could. I get that. But I demand that you be careful with that girl’s heart.”

I clenched my jaw against the tears forming in my eyes. “I shut down,” I said. “It’s what I do. I just…”

“I know, son. You haven’t had it easy either.”

“I’m sorry.”