𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟

Chapter 11 : Midnight Snacks

Alex’s eyes are glued to the headline, and no matter how hard he tries to move past it, the words are etched into his brain. His ears are ringing, the world around him spinning, so he has to blink repeatedly to focus on the article.

He has a sense of what he’s about to read, and he feels like a coward. He’s been desperate to uncover the big secret, but now he’s not sure he wants to know—especially when he glances at Tyler, whose eyes are squeezed shut.

Alex turns the page.

"On December 17, 2018, the Bellow family emerged from court with a victory. Bellow, 20 years old, claims that her now ex-boyfriend Deféo, 24 years old, with whom she was in a two-year relationship, spent their time together being physically and emotionally abusive. Bellow decided to take her case to court when Deféo came home after a night out with friends, under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and sexually assaulted her. Her brother—Tyler Bellow—had been close friends with Deféo, whom he met a year after leaving the Rosa institution, but stood by his sister's side until the end. Deféo was sentenced to five years in prison by the Los Angeles court. The Bellows declined to comment."

At the bottom of the page is a picture of Ivy on the witness stand.

Alex feels like he’s going to throw up.

Out of all the things he imagined, this was never one of them. He has so many questions racing through his mind, yet the only one he manages to put into words is, “How the hell did that end up in the paper?”

“The night Ivy went to the police station was the same night Tristan raped her. She was smart enough to save every piece of…evidence…she could hand over. She went to the station literally an hour after it happened. Some girl saw her and filmed her walking—well, limping—to the station. The next day, it was all over the internet, and the media latched onto it even more when the hearings started,” Dexter explains.

“How come I never heard about this?”

“You were in London, and it wasn’t in the headlines for long anyway. It lasted maybe a week before it faded,” Mason answers with a shrug.

Alex is struggling to understand how anyone could hurt another person like that.

It finally makes sense—her lack of trust, the need for tidiness and security, always being aware of everything, the way she reacts to touch.

Ivy is living in fear that it could happen again, and Alex’s arrival has only made that fear worse.

He feels sick.

Luca must see the wheels turning in Alex’s eyes because he speaks again.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but we’re not going to answer them. We want her to come to you, but you need to know who you’re dealing with. She’s deeply wounded, Alex. If you truly want to be part of her life—and I think you do—you have to accept that it won’t be easy, and for good reason.”

Alex nods because he can’t speak with the lump in his throat. Even though it all makes more sense now, he’s left with more questions.

When he looks at Tyler, he finds his best friend already watching him, waiting for a reaction.

Alex clears his throat because his best friend, his brother, needs him right now.

“Is that why you never talked about her?” Alex asks gently.

Tyler sighs. “It’s my fault. I became friends with him, and I never noticed. She was so good at hiding it. I was so, so ashamed, Al. I didn’t know how to bring it up. Luca was right to tell you. I should have done it sooner.”