Free (Sequel to Trapped)

Ch. 35

Ariana

Wednesday, 3:17 pm

"What the hell is he talking about?" Pattie says.

"Um, I.. I have no idea."

"Don't lie, dad." Justin says.

"Justin, I think you and I need to have a private conversation." Jeremy replies.

"Oh no. We wouldn't wanna leave mom out of this, would we? Who is Josh?"

"I don't know."

"Stop fucking lying!" Justin yells.

"Baby, calm down." I whisper.

"You won't tell her, I will. Mom, I recently discovered Josh. He's the one who's been bothering my family. Before you, dad had another girlfriend. He got her pregnant, and left. When Josh found out, he was pissed. And he wanted revenge. So he took it out on my family."

"Justin, I.." Jeremy starts, but Justin cuts him off.

"Shut up! My wife could have died, my daughter could have died, my unborn child could have died. I could've died, dad. But you don't care. You care about yourself, and what would've happened to you if you told mom."

Justin's about to continue when the door opens and Aviella walks in with tears running down her face.

"Are we gonna die, mommy?" She asks.

My heart drops as I look at her face.

I stand up and pick her up.

"I'm sorry, I tried to tell her to stay upstairs but she wouldn't listen." Jazmyn says.

"It's okay, Jazzy. I know she's stubborn." I rub Aviella's back and take her out of the office.

"Avi, listen. We're not gonna die, baby. You're safe, baby girl. I promise. Just stop crying please. You're breaking mommy's heart."

"Mommy, why did daddy say we could've died?" She rubs her eyes.

I place her on the floor and kneel down next to her.

"That's not true anymore. Remember the man who was in your room?" She nods as I pull her hand away from her eyes.

"He was dangerous. But he's gone now, so it's okay."

"Promise, mommy?"

"I promise, angel. You're safe. Especially with me and daddy."

She nods and wraps her arms around my neck. I kiss her head and squeeze her tight before letting go.

"Go upstairs with Jazmyn and stay there until I come get you, okay?"

"Okay." She turns around and goes back upstairs.

Now that I wasn't talking to Aviella, I could hear Pattie and Jeremy arguing in the office. I walk in and stand next to Justin. He wasn't saying anything. He just had his arms crossed and he was looking out the window.

"Are you okay?" I whisper, ignoring Pattie and Jeremy in the background.

"I'm fine. Aside from the fact that I want to kill him."

"Calm down. I know you're upset-" He opens his mouth to talk but I put my hand up.

"If you even think about interrupting me, we're going to have an issue." He closes his mouth and I continue talking.

"Like I was saying, I know you're upset, but you need to chill out. Don't let all the anger build up. You need to have a normal person conversation with your dad and solve these 'problems'."

He nods and I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Good."