Page 68 of Restitution

Aria coughs, but it’s more of a sobbed-out laugh.

“When you turned thirteen, I took you skiing in France. You were shit, but I was worse, remember?”

Kade nods once, hugging his knees to himself harder.

“You’re with us, Kade. Not there. They can’t hurt you anymore. Say it.”

“They can’t hurt me anymore,” Kade repeats quietly. “They can’t hurt me anymore.”

“No, they can’t. Say it again.”

Silence, then Kade fists his hands. “They can’t hurt me anymore.”

“They’ll never hurt you again. Look at me.”

Lu links our arms as Kade looks up, his cheeks soaked with tears, his eyes swollen and red, the material usually covering his scar lost in the forest somewhere. Everyone can see the damage done to him, but no one speaks as Jason nods.

“See? It’s me. You’re safe, little bro. You’resafe. It’s going to be hard for a bit, but you’ll get through it, because you have all of us.”

Kade’s face contorts, as if he’s in disbelief, and Lu lets go of my arm and walks forward, lowering to her knees beside Jason. “Youhave all of us, Kade.”

Kade looks at her. His eyes brighten, and his voice breaks as he says, “Luciella?”

“Yeah,” she replies softly with a warm smile, taking his bloody hand and clasping it between both of hers. “It’s me. I’m okay. And so are you.”

Base is standing beside me as Aria and Tobias join Lu and Jason. As soon as Tobias sits beside him, Kade erupts in a fit of sobs and apologises over and over, and all four of them sit around him, holding him in an embrace.

Luciella is crying, and I can see how much Base wants to go to her, but this is their moment. His family. They all need this time together. Kade is bawling in his dad’s arms while Aria hugs into his side.

“Sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” It’s like a mantra. A desperate plea for forgiveness as he grabs Jason. “I hit you. I thought you… I’m… sorry. Sorry. I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me. I didn’t want to. I didn’t… I didn’t… I didn’t want to hurt them either. They made me, they m-m-made me.” His words are rushed out and broken. “Please.”

Tobias grabs his face. “You aren’t alone anymore, son. If those bastards try to come anywhere near you, I’ll make them pay. Do you hear me?”

“I want them to pay,” he says, his chin and bottom lip trembling. His body shudders as he tries to breathe. “He hurt me, Dad. He hurt me, and I couldn’t do anything to defend myself. Archie. He… He…”

“I know.”

His voice cracks. “What if he comes for me?”

Tobias grits his teeth, a tear on his cheek. “He’ll never get anywhere near you again, and that’s a promise. I’m going to fuck up his life.”

“We aren’t letting you out of our sights,” Aria says. “I’m sorrywe didn’t do something sooner. We should’ve known you were in this much trouble.”

Base puts his arm over my shoulder. “We should give them their privacy.”

I nod and give them all one last look before we leave the small, wooded area. “I have no idea what to do,” I admit.

“I don’t think anyone knows what to do,” he replies, taking a smoke from his packet and offering me one. I take it, and we both light them as we wait. “I need to ask you a favour.”

The rain has stopped, but I shake from the cold, my fingers barely getting the cigarette to my lips. I exhale, hating the feeling of it burning my lungs – already sore from running and yelling out Kade’s name. “What?”

“Keep an eye on Kade and Ella. I can’t come back. I was only allowed to bring her here as one of my conditions for accepting the marriage. Once I leave, I’m gone.”

“Are you really marrying someone?”

He sighs. “I have to. It was the only way to get her free. My family is toxic, to say the least. They’ve wanted me to take over for years, but I always said no. It’s not my scene.” He shakes his head and blows a cloud of smoke above him. “The girl’s being forced into it. Just like me.”

“I’m sorry you need to do that, but thank you for getting my best friend back to us. I’ll look after them,” I say. “Just look after yourself until you figure out how to get back to them.”