Page 8 of Stone
“A month after we got married, Jared started telling me the rules of the house and all the things I was doing wrong. At first,that was all it was. I’d seen how Dad treated Mom over the years and just thought that’s how families acted. Men ran the household and women were supposed to live up to their ideals,” Naomi admitted.
“Mom and Dad have a very dysfunctional relationship that is not healthy,” Lilah muttered.
“Agreed,” her sisters replied.
“I wasn’t happy, but I didn’t know life was supposed to be different. When I got pregnant with the girls, Jared started pushing for me to be more feminine, as he called it, and wear dresses. As big as my belly was getting, I was fine with it. Looser was better, but after the girls were born, he wasn’t happy. First, there was no boy to ‘carry on his name,’” Naomi recounted.
“Fucker,” Chloe spat.
“Asshole,” Lilah hissed.
“Dick for brains,” Tori growled.
“Agreed,” AJ chimed in.
Naomi smiled at her sisters’ solidarity.
“Then he said I needed correcting when the dinner wasn’t on the table as he walked through the door. First, he didn’t tell me when he left the office, and I had three babies I was taking care of by myself unless you guys came by,” Naomi said.
“We came by a lot when the girls were born, but Jared kept insinuating that we were bothering you all,” Chloe recalled, narrowing her eyes as she thought back.
“You all were never a bother. You were my sanity. Our weekly coffee time was the bright spot in my week,” Naomi said, tears filling her eyes. This was so much harder than she’d imagined.
“Do you want to tell them the rest, or would you prefer I shared?” Sarah asked.
“Would you, please?” Naomi pleaded, holding tight to the hand Lilah had reached out.
“Things got worse and Jared decided Naomi needed what he called corrections. He took a switch and whipped her on the back of her thighs. When she went to your dad after the first time, he didn’t support her. He told her she needed to behave better so she didn’t need corrections,” Sarah said.
“Friggin’ douchebag,” Remi growled.
“Oh, no he didn’t. I think I can find some switches to give him a couple corrections,” Beth snapped.
“You know, Mom has always worn dresses, and sometimes I’ve thought she was moving gingerly. I wonder if Dad holds to that same conviction. Maybe he should have some scheduled for him too,” Tori suggested.
“Thank you for not saying it was my fault. I worried about telling you,” Naomi said. Her sisters stood up and crowded around her, pulling her up to hug her.
“It was never your fault, and even if you robbed a bank and did something illegal, I am always on your side,” Lilah insisted, squeezing Naomi’s hand.
Her sisters giving her the acceptance she’d craved let loose the tears she’d been holding back for so long. The words of encouragement whispered and the hugs and pats on the back were more than she’d dreamed were possible. After she’d calmed down and sat back down, she looked around the room. The women were smiling at her.
“It seems to me that there is some research that needs to be done to find out exactly what Jared and your father have been up to. Does Jared have any custody of the girls, and if he does, do you have any suspicions that he might do to the girls what he did to you?” Regina asked.
The matriarch of Bluff Creek, who had welcomed them with smiles, had a strange look on her face that had Naomi wondering what she was planning.
“Jared has custody of the girls for one weekend a quarter. I tried to get sole custody, but the lawyer kept pushing me to give in on what he considered such a little point. I’ve been scared to death to have the girls with him because I don’t trust him. The first weekend is scheduled for the D-Day celebration. I didn’t realize how big an event it was when we scheduled the quarterly visits. I sent a text to see if Jared would change the weekend because of the events. He sent back, ‘No,’” Naomi said.
“Is that all he said?” Winnie encouraged.
Naomi shook her head. Why was his bad behavior making her feel this way?
“Can I see?” Jesse asked, holding her hand out.
Naomi handed her phone to Jesse. Jesse stared at it, then looked around the room.
“First, we need to have Sarah save all your texts from him because these are threatening. ‘Don’t ask for anything or I’ll make you sorry. Fuck no, bitch. You’re lucky you’re still breathing,’” Jesse said.
“This seems a good time to bring up that we,” Remi motioned to her sisters, “along with others, have an organization that helps abused women, children, and men escape from their abusers. Kathryn’s Wings operates in secret under the umbrella of our bail bonds company. I think it’s time Jared and your dad paid the price for their abuse, and we have the resources to make sure they do.”
