Heart Of Marley (15 page)

“Hey, Marley.”

“Hey, Bri,” I responded, taking several cautious steps toward her.

Sitting down next to her, I dangled my feet over the side, poking my legs through the safety grates that were there to prevent anyone from falling down below.

I had always been able to read people. Something about Brianna’s aura led me to believe that she was at war with herself…almost like she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs but, at the same time, stay mute. I had my suspicions that something was going on, but I had no idea what. I wondered if things weren’t quite over between her and Mason, as much as she probably wanted them to be. My heart began to break for her and I knew what I had to do, regardless of my aunt’s insistence that I pretend it never happened.

“Has Cam ever said anything about why we moved here?” I asked her. Like the rest of the town, she most likely knew absolutely nothing.

“No, he hasn’t.”

I kept my eyes trained forward and nodded. “My dad died when we were eight. I loved him. Well, of course I did. He was my dad. We had such a strong connection. He was a mechanic and loved cars. When I was just a little girl, I remember telling him that I wanted a Mustang when I got older and could drive.” I smiled at the memory.

“He was coming home from work one night and was killed by a drunk driver. It was Memorial Day weekend. Cam and I had just turned eight a few weeks beforehand. Mama had postponed our birthday party to have it that weekend. Instead of celebrating our eighth birthday with friends and family at a back yard Low Country Boil, we mourned my father and threw his ashes out to sea.”

I looked down when I felt a hand meet mine.

“Mama was having a hard time with Dad’s death. He was her soul mate…her one true love…her everything. She shut down and turned off. I always wondered what a broken heart felt like. Looking at my mama, I knew that she was suffering from one. They loved each other so fiercely. Whenever I was around them, I physically felt the love they shared. After he died, I no longer felt that. Part of Mama died in that car wreck, too.

“I remember Cam having to help me get ready for school the first day of third grade in September because our mama was too drunk to wake up. You’d think that, with her husband having died because of a drunk driver, she would stay far away from liquor, but she didn’t. She stopped going to work and we eventually lost the house that we had grown up in. We were forced to move from apartment to apartment…places that weren’t fit for habitation, but it was all she could afford.

“One day, a man appeared on our doorstep and, for a brief period of time, everything seemed like it was going to get better. Mama stopped drinking and using drugs. She cooked. She cleaned. She even got a job so that we could move into a better place. Then, one night, she fell off the wagon and started using again. I remember seeing her put the needle in her arm as we sat there watching TV on a Friday. She said it was her medicine and that she needed it. He didn’t do anything to stop her. It was almost like he encouraged her…almost like he had simply been biding his time, waiting for her to slip up and start using again.

“Cam and I shared a room. There wasn’t much space, but we didn’t mind. After being allowed to stay up to watch the ball drop that New Year’s Eve, we went to sleep. Hours later, I woke up to someone climbing in bed with me. Someone that weighed much more than Cam.”

Brianna gasped and squeezed my hand even harder.

“I looked across the bedroom at Cam’s bed, hoping that he would come help, but he wasn’t there. I was so angry with him for abandoning me, for not doing anything even when he could hear my screams and cries for help. It happened over and over, almost every night. I would go to school during the day and be subjected to abuse at night. Every few months, Mama would sober up enough to realize that something was going on and would get us away from him, promising to never let him know where we ended up. But once the cash ran out and she needed drugs and alcohol, she would break down and call him. No one at any of the schools we went to ever did anything. Kids were coming in without having eaten in days, so when a little girl comes to school with a few scratches and bruises, no one says anything. I wish someone noticed it, though. If they did, I wouldn’t have had to live that nightmare for nearly three years.”

I turned to look at her and saw the tears forming in her eyes. “One night, Cam had enough of listening to my cries. So instead of putting up a fight and trying to protect me when
he
came in, he left the bedroom. Not even five minutes later, he returned with my mama’s gun and shot him. Mama went to jail for a little bit for child endangerment and neglect. Guardianship of Cam and me was granted to my aunt and uncle until we turn eighteen. And that’s the real story of why Cam and I came to Myrtle Beach.”

I stared straight ahead as I tried to hold back the tears I felt from sharing my story with someone. It had been years since I had spoken those words. It felt alarmingly therapeutic.

“I’m sorry that you had to go through that,” Brianna said, breaking the heavy silence.

“Me, too. I wish someone had noticed something off about our home situation early on. That way, I wouldn’t have had to live the nightmare for as long as I did. I wish that someone had seen the signs, had heard the desperate pleas for help that I was shouting with my eyes.”

I glanced at her and noticed her tense up. “I get it, Bri. I know what you’re going through.”

“What?” Her voice grew loud. “What do you think I’m going through?”

I tried to stand my ground. I could only imagine what she was thinking at that moment, knowing that all her attempts to cover up the pain and torment had been for nothing. “I’m not sure, but I have a feeling. And, well, I just wanted to let you know that I’ll listen if you ever want to talk about it. Your secrets will always be safe with me, just like I know mine will be safe with you.”

“Does Doug know?” she asked, obviously curious.

“No, he doesn’t. Besides my aunt and uncle, and Cam, I don’t think many people know the truth.”

“They make you hide it, don’t they?”

“Yeah, but there’s only so long anyone can possibly be expected to keep it inside. I’m glad that I finally shared it…with you.”

“Why not Carla or Kristen? I know how close you are with both of them,” she said.

“I know, and I love them both dearly, but if I told them, it would be turned into the latest Hollywood blockbuster before the final bell of the day.” I met her gaze once more. “I trust you, Bri. We have a unique friendship that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I feel like I can tell you anything and you won’t use it against me or to benefit you.”

“I would never be able to betray anyone like that…even if I hated them.”

“That’s why you’re the perfect girl for my brother. You’re a lot alike in that way. He has a good heart, and so do you.”

“But what if he finds out? About me? I mean, if there
was
something going on, how will he react? I don’t want to hurt him, but I don’t know… I just can’t say anything, Marley. I wish I could, but I can’t.”

“Believe me, I know how you feel. Take your time. Learn who you can trust and who you can’t. Then slowly begin to share with those that you can. Those people who will never judge you for something you had absolutely no control over. Even if all you need is someone to just sit with and remain completely silent, sometimes that helps, too.”

“Like you and Cam and the roof?”

I giggled. “Yeah. Like the roof. This could be our roof, Bri.”

She wiped her cheek. “I like the sound of that.”

I
PULLED
UP
IN
front of our house after basketball practice, wondering what Brianna’s Beetle was doing parked alongside the road. Practice had been a bit awkward. Coach had to break up a few scuffles between Mason and me. He had this mania in his eyes, almost like he had this obsession with Brianna. Like if he couldn’t have her, no one could.

Entering the house, I was surprised to see Marley and Brianna playing with Julianne and Meg.

“Your boyfriend’s home,” Marley said in a teasing manner.

Brianna looked up from where she was constructing a log cabin made of play-dough with Julianne. Her smile completely melted my heart. Any fight I got into with Mason and Grady was absolutely worth it just to see her smile.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” she replied.

“Do you like Cam?” Meg asked, always the nosey one.

She grinned, her eyes remaining locked with mine. “Yes, I do. I like him a lot.”

“Have you kissed?” Julianne asked, butting in on the conversation.

Brianna’s eyes went wide, unsure of how to respond.

“That’s none of your business, munchkin,” I said quickly, saving her from having to answer my inquisitive sisters. Turning my attention back to Brianna, I lost myself in her brown eyes.

“Well, this is awkward,” Marley interjected. “Go shower, Cam. Bri came to see you, not me, and I think she’d prefer if you didn’t smell like the boy’s locker room.”

Meg giggled. “Yeah. Boys are smelly.”

“They sure are,” Marley replied. “And gross.”

“Is Doug gross?” Julianne asked.

I noticed Marley’s ears turn red, the signature Bowen indication that we were embarrassed. Grinning to myself, I retreated up the stairs just as I heard Marley respond that Doug was anything but gross.

Dashing into the bathroom, I took the quickest shower of my life, not wanting to keep Brianna waiting for too long. Once I was satisfied that I no longer smelled like I had just gotten out of basketball practice, I threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before running down the stairs, nearly pummeling into the six-foot frame of my uncle as he was walking in the front door.

“Sorry, Uncle Graham.”

“Where are you running off to?” he asked.

“Nowhere, really. I was just going to go for a walk with Brianna, if it’s okay.”

“Hi, Pastor Graham,” she said sweetly, sidling up next to me as we stood in the foyer. “I was sick this morning and wanted to talk to Cam about what I missed in class so that I don’t fall behind in my studies.”

Shaking his head, he walked away. “Miss Monroe, if you want to see my nephew, you don’t need to lie about it. Have a nice walk on the beach, kids. Just don’t tell your aunt I let you go, Cam. Technically, you’re still grounded.”

“Yes, sir,” I responded before grabbing Brianna’s hand and leading her out of the house.

“I hope I didn’t get you in trouble,” she said quietly as we crossed the street toward the shore.

“No. He tries to act strict, but there’s not a lot of follow-through. Last time we did something that landed us in hot water, we were grounded for a month. It lasted a whopping three hours.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah. We were grounded around four o’clock in the afternoon. By seven, Carla and Kristen showed up at our house and he allowed Marley to go to some study group with them that they had probably just made up. I’m pretty sure it was during summer, too.”

Brianna laughed. “Let me guess. Marley convinced him.”

“Yup,” I said in agreement. “She’s always had a knack for getting people to listen to her, no matter what. That’s probably how she won the election for class president.”

“That, and people love her. She’s easy to get along with. She’s caring and compassionate. And genuine. You know what you get with Marley, even though she puts up a front.”

“What do you mean?” I turned to her as we walked along the beach. “Do you really think she puts up a front?”
I
knew that she did, but I never thought anyone else was able to see through it like I could.

Taking a deep breath, she faced me, grabbing both my hands in hers. Closing her eyes, the wind whipped her hair and a look of complete ease washed over her face. At that moment in time, she appeared to finally let herself go and stopped pretending to be the girl she was told she had to be by her mother.

Opening her intense eyes, she said, “Marley told me.”

“Told you what?” I asked, confused.

“About what happened to her. About what you did to protect her.”

“What? Why?”

Releasing one of my hands, she shrugged and continued walking along the shore, pulling me with her. “Because she said she could trust me. Because she wanted me to know. Because…” She stopped short, turning to face me once more.

“What is it? You can tell me.”

She searched my eyes, the silence deafening as we stood on the sand, the storm brewing off the coast throwing her a bit off balance. “Because…” she began again, attempting to control her long brown, wavy hair, “sometimes things suck and you just want someone to know what you went through.”

A loud crack sounded and the sky opened up, drowning us both with a September storm typical of those in the late summer.

“Come with me!” I shouted over the rain. “Let’s get you home.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “No. I want to stay here, Cam. Do you feel that?” she asked, raising her arms and basking in the torrential downpour that was soaking both of us.