Page 106 of Severed Heart (The Ravenhood Legacy #2)

“He went for a run because he’s fucked up and dealing with a lot right now. He doesn’t need you fucking with his head. End it.”

I still, keeping my eyes lowered. “We are friends, very good friends who care very much for each other—”

“Come on, Tatie, surely you can find someone your own age to play games with and deal with your bullshit.” His adamance to confront me forces me to lift my face to him. Panic rips through me as he stares back at me, utterly determined.

“I care for Tyler so much”—I swallow—“I would never hurt—”

“He’s not some lab rat for you to fucking experiment with.” Dom relights his joint and opens the sliding glass door. Keeping his eyes on me, he exhales a cloud of smoke, his searing judgment strangling me as I search for and spot my bottle on the counter, craving the numbness it promises.

“I am trying to change, Dominic. I am changing. I do not drink as much. I am doing all I can to—”

“Jesus, you’re so fucking selfish,” he spits, “fucking disgusting.” He flicks his joint before stalking past to slam himself into his room. Music blares from behind his door a second after I pass. My bottle is already at my lips before I close my bedroom door and drain every drop.

Dominic’s Camaro sounds a few streets over, jarring me from the memory of that morning, before it appears and he pulls up to the curb.

With the porch light off, I know he can’t see me as he remains idle for several minutes before finally cutting his engine.

When he exits, I stand to announce myself, hoping my white flag is evident in my expression as he begins to stalk toward the house, head cast down.

Just as he approaches and lifts his head, he pauses when he sees me as I clear fresh tears from my eyes.

“I thought you didn’t live here anymore, Tatie?” he utters softly, not a trace of animosity to be found in his question. Relief sets in at his gentle reception as I answer.

“I don’t. I’m here to wait for you.” My eyes start to sting again as he draws in, and just as I think he’ll pass me, he takes a seat on the bottom porch step instead.

I immediately join him, taking in the changes in his appearance with what little light filters on us from the lamppost across the street.

His build is far more muscular, his hair shorter, and his jaw more defined.

He smells of marijuana, but both his posture and expression reek of pain and defeat.

Pain he’s not making much effort to conceal, or worse, that he can’t, which has my eyes welling again. “I’m so sorry, Dominic.”

He gives me a slow nod before granting me an ironic half smile as he speaks. “Well ... silver lining for you is that your prediction came true, and karma got me on your behalf pretty fucking good.”

“No, Dom, shh.” I lift my palms to him in surrender as tears glide down my cheeks. “Please don’t speak of that out loud. This is not me gloating. That’s not how I feel.”

I lift a shaking hand to his shoulder, and he doesn’t deny my gesture as I will myself to speak again. “Through much, much therapy, I can now say things I never thought I would, and what I want you to take to your heart is that I never wish for your pain.”

He stares back at me as I release his shoulder to help clear my eyes. “Well, I’ll take your word for it because you’re leaking again .”

I can’t help laughing. “I have been nothing but an emotional woman since I stopped drinking, and I hate it. But if you can believe it, no matter how much I leak now, I am so much happier.”

“I see it in you. You look well ... healthy,” he rasps out, “I almost couldn’t believe it when Tyler told me”—he tilts his head—“but then I remembered noticing a real difference in you when I took you to Pretty Place for that sunset. You were sober that day.”

“Oui.” I smile. “I had just gotten sober. I have worked very hard to stay sober. Very close to a year now.”

“It shows,” he whispers low before a rare apprehension fills his eyes. “You know, Ormand personally escorted me and Sean to the airport last night.”

“Oh?” I say, dread settling low. “Good, he owes me many favors.”

“Tatie,” he drags out, his tone confirming that Ormand did much more than give him a ride. Fury instantly fills me as I gape over at him.

“What did Ormand tell you?”

“A lot that you omitted. You undersold the shit out of your past when Tobias forced the conversation between us before I left for MIT.” He nudges me. “Jesus... fuck, Tatie, why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because you were children , and it was my job to protect you from such vile truths. Of all my failures, it’s the one thing I successfully managed to guard you from, even as I failed to shield you from myself.

As you both grew older, I decided I never wanted you to know.

” I shake my head in fury. “Ezekiel still does not know, and it was not Ormand’s place to tell you anything,” I whisper shakily, “he had no fucking right, the fucking imbecile.”

“Well, you might be pissed at him, but I got the impression you’re his hero,” he relays ironically.

“I don’t think he meant any harm because he got pretty choked up as he rambled on about how he had wronged you.

He looked fucking terrified, too, like he had the fear of God put in him.

He kissed mine and Sean’s collective asses the whole ride.

So, while you might hate it, I’m glad I know what little he did tell us, Tatie, and that you’re here because I already decided months ago that I was coming to you after I got back. ”

My heart lights at his admission. “You did?”

“Through a coincidence—I’m now positive is named Tyler— I stumbled upon my grandfather,” he confesses.

“You met Francis ?” I gasp.

“And his son, Ranier, briefly, but yeah, and my conversation with him changed a lot of my perception of you.” He shakes his head, his expression dimming.

“After hearing Ormand last night... you’re not the only one who has an overdue apology.

I fucking”—he swallows—“I fucking made fun of you, antagonized you, and you...” His remorseful gaze prompts me to answer his unspoken question.

“No.” I shake my head. “This is not the conversation I wanted to have. I have put that in the past behind me, and you are suffering enough.”

“Tatie,” he urges. “This is the conversation I need to have. I have bits and pieces, but I need to hear the truth from you.” He watches me carefully as if through new eyes.

“I remember you before, Delphine. The aunt you were to me before my parents died. You weren’t a ball of sunshine, but you played with me and Tobias in the yard.

You read to me a lot to practice your English.

‘One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,’ ” he says as I mouth the last of the title with him.

“It was our favorite book, even if you did have a love-hate relationship with Dr. Seuss.”

I palm my mouth to hold in my emotion as he nudges me. “Tatie, tell me what happened.”

“You were a child,” I tell him. “Please let it be.”

“I can’t. Tell me what he did.”

Closing my eyes briefly, I nod. “If I tell you this, Dominic, you must promise never to share it with Ezekiel.”

He nods.

“I will not give you all the details, but to keep it short, Alain took a heavy ashtray from the kitchen table, a very heavy ashtray, and struck me here”—I point to my left temple—“causing permanent damage... he almost killed me, but it was Beau, your father, who saved me from that fate,” I relay in hopes it brings him pride.

“Beau terrorized Alain enough to scare him into hiding, and he never contacted me again.”

“Jesus Christ,” he utters. “All those times I fucked with you about it,” he darts his eyes away, “and that morning... I was so fucking vicious with you about Tyler.”

“Shh, Dom, no”—I glance back at the door in fear—“please don’t speak of this. I don’t want Tyler to hear or to know. Not ever. ”

“Fuck that,” he says, not lowering his tone by a fraction.

“I know you broke it off with him after I went off on you that morning,” he relays, guilt clear in his eyes, “because he enlisted just after and would never come near this house. That’s.

.. on me, and I’m fucking sorry for that, but I swear to God, Tatie, I thought I was protecting him.

” He palms the back of his neck. “Or maybe I was just too much of a fucking asshole to see it.”

“You weren’t wrong, Dom. You weren’t right, either, but time told us differently.

Tyler and I are very happy now. You just wanted your friend to have the best life.

It’s not so hard to understand why you had so many doubts.

.. I shared them with you, but please , please let’s not speak of this.

.. you know he has the hearing of a bat. ”

He nudges me again. “He really doesn’t suspect?”

“No, and he will never know ,” I vow.

“I don’t know if I can live with it. He deserves to know, and I deserve his wrath for it.”

“No,” I say adamantly. “No. Self-punishment is the absolute worst torture . Let it be, Jean Dominic, and don’t credit yourself so much.

You may have had something to do with my decision that morning, but you did not make the decision.

I did , and don’t forget that. You did not drink all those bottles, self-sabotage, and hurt your nephews.

I did. So, take the blame from yourself, make peace that you were young and acted like a natural asshole teenager, and let it be over.

We have all suffered enough from our past mistakes and circumstances, so enough of this,” I state again.

“You thrive on your relationships with your brothers. I do not want this to be another divide between what you hold so dear. Hear me, Jean Dominic, let it be, let it go, and never speak of this again. Do you understand?”

He stares at me for a long minute before he finally nods.

“But I will ask you for one thing , nephew. Just one thing.”

“I’m listening,” he mutters, exhaustion and ache in his eyes.