Telling Alice {ManxMan} | MPreg

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen:

Lauren's face was more or less exactly what Eshe had been expecting to see. She was obviously confused, her eyes gleaming with a blatant disbelieving and slightly judgmental look. Cyro's face, however, was blank. He seemed to be lost in thought, looking right at Eshe but through him. They sat in an awkward silence for what felt like hours but could only have been minutes before Lauren finally found her voice to say something.

"You're joking, right? I mean, the whole family knew you were reckless Eshe, everyone heard about the parties and shit you got into when you were younger but a married man? What the fuck were you thinking? Did you not know, did he not tell you?" Lauren fired off as she began pacing around the office, shooting Eshe unbelieving glances every once in a while as if she was seeing a whole other person sitting before her.

"I knew, I knew from the minute it started to the minute it ended." Eshe sighed watching his cousin stop and turn to him. Her eyes wide, mouth twisted down in an unsightly scowl, she opened her mouth and closed it several times clearly ready to give him a piece of her mind but couldn't seem to find the perfect words to say it. Eshe waved her off, grinding his teeth as he tried to remain calm. "You're the one who encouraged this, I didn't ever want to see him again, so don't sit here and judge me."

"Me wanting Alice to know her father has nothing to do with what I think of you as a person Eshe! I just wanted Alice to have a better relationship with her father than the one you have with yours! What kind of person does that? Gets into a serious relationship with a married man are you serious? That's so dirty!" Lauren shouted back, finally putting together what she had wanted to say to him.

"I'm not the one who broke any vows, why the fuck should I care?" Lauren stared back at Eshe for a moment, the gravity of Eshe's words falling hard around her before finally turning away and stomping out the office, slamming the door behind her. Leaving him and Cyro behind, Eshe settled his gaze on Cyro's, who seemed to still be off in thought. "Are you going to yell and leave me too?"

"Now why would I do that?" Cyro replied, looking at Eshe his face filled with shock. It was almost as if everything that had been said had somehow gone completely over his head, Eshe almost asked him if he'd heard what had just happened but when he opened his mouth Cyro waved him off. He went back to looking through Eshe, back to his own thoughts deep in his mind and Eshe let him.

Neither one was sure how long they sat in silence just alone with their own thoughts, it had to have been a half hour at least. Eshe wondered what Cyro was thinking but he didn't ask. He wondered if Lauren would come around but he didn't text or call her. He wondered how his mother and Jerome would react at the dinner that had been planned later that night but he pushed those thoughts aside. Mostly he wondered what Alice would think, his eyes looked to the clock on his desk, she and Maxine would be coming to the cafe from school in about an hour and he was in no way ready to see her.

"Eshe, six months ago I was raped-"

"You don't have to talk about it Cy," Eshe interrupted. "I know it upsets you."

"And this situation obviously upsets you so let me talk." Cyro replied shooting Eshe a glare, Cyro's eyes seemingly turning a dark seafoam color before him. "I was raped by a man I really thought I could trust, and I felt like such a piece of shit after, especially because Vance told me not to stay away from him, he warned me so many times. And after it happened I refused to testify and he got off free, cops said its people like me's fault guys like him get away with that shit. They're right."

Cyro paused taking a few deep breaths as he looked down at his hands, picking at his nails. It wasn't anything Eshe hadn't heard before, it wasn't anything Cyro had never said to him before but even now it was clear how much it upset him to talk about. Eshe wanted to tell him they didn't need to talk about it but it was obvious Cyro was going somewhere with this and needed Eshe to hear him out.

"The cops called me about two weeks ago and said that he'd gone missing, fled the country or some shit, there was some nonsense about him clearing his accounts and leaving all his money to his victims, apparently I was just one of about fifteen or so." Cyro paused his breath hitched as he fought to keep himself from tearing up. "That man didn't flee the country, okay Eshe, he's fucking dead. I know he is, and I know Vance did it, but he won't tell me anything."

"Cyro, that's insane, Vance would never do something like that." Eshe gasped focusing hard on Cyro's gaze trying to find a sliver of doubt in his eyes but there was none. Eshe sat back in his seat, mouth open in shock, his mind blank of anything he could think to say for comfort. He'd wondered why Cyro had been so closed off when it came to talking about Vance lately, he'd never imagined it would be something so insane.

"But that's not the point, the point is that after all that happened to me, I, well I didn't have a single person I could tell, I didn't think there was anyone I could turn to but you were there. Eshe we were basically less than strangers but you were there anyways. And now, even after all that, I date other men, even though I know how much Vance loves me. That man has literally killed for me and I still won't say I love him unless he forces me to yet I sleep next to my husband every night like it's no big deal. Eshe everyone has their demons. Whether you pretend like they don't exist or someone else demons are worst than yours is everyone's own prerogative but you are my best friend and I love you and I accept every part of you, so if you think I'm going to call you a whore and storm out the room, you're dead wrong."

"Fuck, what would I do without you, Cy?" Eshe mumbled dropping his head back against his chair, staring up at the ceiling, tears welling up in his eyes. He could hear Cyro laugh a bit, before clearing his throat and sighing.

"Same thing I would do, crash and burn like the total wreck I really am, duh."

"Oh yeah, probably."