Coney Island

Chapter 16

'Maybe we should move to England,' I said to Taylor as I flopped down on the bed after settling Hugo down for the night. 

We had come to England for a holiday, using Joe's unknown property as a means of privacy. It had been so peaceful and relaxing that I couldn't help but feel dread whenever I thought about going back to New York after the weekend because I knew what I'd be walking back into. 

It had been a month since Josh was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and it had been two weeks since he was sentenced to life in prison. He'd admitted everything while showing no remorse which made it an open-and-shut case. We'd escaped the day after we'd found out and I was still having a hard time accepting that he had rolled over so willingly. It seemed too good to be true, but Mikey, who had been there when he was sentenced, told me Josh hadn't really had much of a choice. The evidence against him was too much even without me taking the stand, which thankfully I hadn't had to do. On top of the video, Josh had also kept a collection of Journals that he had used to write about our marriage. He documented almost all of the abuse he'd put Hugo and me through along with detailed plans to murder us. There had been no way out of it for him and he'd known that especially since his family had publicly denounced him almost as soon as he was arrested. 

It was hard for me to accept the fact we had actually won. We were free and Josh would never walk the streets of America again, or anywhere else for that matter. He was locked up and he was staying there which meant that I could focus all of my attention on my beautiful family and therapy, which after a few sessions had already helped us all so much. 

Taylor and I were working on having better communication skills in couples therapy while I was also having one on one sessions to help me better deal with the Complex-post traumatic stress disorder I had been diagnosed with. Those sessions included a lot of talking and unlearning unhealthy behaviours as well as healthy coping mechanisms to use at home, which while I was sceptical at first, I had to admit were really helpful. Hugo was thriving in art therapy and after just three weeks we had already noticed positive changes in his behaviour, mainly his need to be carried to feel safe, which he rarely asked for any more. 

For the first time in nine years, I was optimistic about what was to come and fully believed that I could create a happy, bright, and loving future for my family though I was under no illusion that it would be easy. We still had a lot of obstacles to overcome and there would be days when I wanted to give up, but you can't have a rainbow without a little rain, or whatever Taylor said in ME! 

Taylor rolled towards me and laid her head on my chest. 'Are you being serious?' She asked as her hand snuck under my sweater and caressed my side, causing goosebumps to erupt on my skin. 

I rested my own hand on her ass. 'I don't know, maybe,' I replied, now genuinely thinking about it. 'Hugo loves it here. He's had the time of his life over the past week playing with Ollie and Archie and building forts and Treehouses with Joe and Matthew. Also, Oaklyn is the cutest, and watching you with her is so adorable. You're so good with her.' 

'You wouldn't be saying that if you had watched me with her while I was with Joe,' chuckled Taylor, 'I wouldn't even hold her in fear I would drop her. Joe took sole care of her when she stayed over and I mainly kept out of the way.' 

Her words made me laugh because after witnessing her with Oaklyn over the past week it was so obvious that she was a natural. 'I guess Hugo cured your fear of children,' I teased her. 

'You're laughing, but I think he actually did,' She replied before she swung her leg over my waist and straddled me. 'Coming to England for a holiday was a great Idea and I don't mind us spending our summers here, but I don't think I want to live here permanently.' She leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips. 'New York has always been our place. I've always associated England with my beards and Joe.' She made a face that made me giggle before I gripped the back of her neck and kissed her deeply.