Total pages in book: 150
Estimated words: 143633 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 718(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143633 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 718(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
“No doubt he built you up to it. Compliments, playing suave. I know how charming he can be.”
I shook my head. “No. He didn’t build me up to it. He fought it.”
He looked up at the ceiling, more tears welling up, despite his tough exterior.
“Didn’t fight very hard, then, clearly.”
“Trust me,” I said, “he fought it.”
I saw the slam of hurt there in his heart. His lip trembled.
He took a breath. “My brother is a predator. A deviant. He’s uses girls, and exploits them. Manipulates them into giving him what he wants.”
My stare was fierce. I didn’t budge an inch to let him past.
“How do you know that?”
“It’s obvious.”
“Why is it obvious?”
I remembered Lola talking to me about Peter, just as I’d talked to her about Julian. I remembered the assumptions people had made based on age and nothing else, and they were wrong. All of them. Michael was wrong about Julian, too.
“Of course it’s bloody obvious,” he said. “The girls are too young to know better. They go along with his games because he primes them. Coerces them. Builds them up over time, until he’s ready to strike. Just like he’s done with you!”
I tried to stay calm.
“I’m asking you again, how do you know that?”
I saw him bluster, he shrugged.
“Of course I know it!”
“How? Have you spoken to them? Any of them?”
“Hell no! That’s the last thing we’d want to do! Make the girls relive it.”
He sounded like one of the people from this place. So quick to condemn things they don’t truly understand.
“Maybe you should speak to them, don’t you think? Get their opinion before you make judgements?”
“And maybe you should get an opinion of a therapist before you head back upstairs even one more time.”
Still, I didn’t move.
“I don’t need one. I love your brother, and he loves me.”
He laughed, shook his head at me. “He’s old enough to be your father.”
“Actually, he’s almost old enough to be my grandad.” I shrugged. “It’s an age gap, nothing more.”
“A thirty year age gap. THIRTY YEARS!”
Still, I didn’t budge.
“Yes, and so what? What does it matter?”
“It matters a LOT, I think you’ll find.”
“To who?”
“Everyone.”
I smiled, wishing he could see for just one second how his brother saved me, and stood by me, and loved me through the hell of it all.
“You mean it matters to you? Yes?”
His cheeks were tear stained, but his eyes were fierce.
“And his children. Grace and Ryan. Katreya. I doubt he’s told you about any of us.”
“He’s told me about you all. I know a lot, I promise you. I even know the colour of Emily’s last birthday dress. He told me how she bounced on Katreya’s knee when Grace brought the dragon cake in. I also know how much he misses you. All of you. So much he can hardly stand it.”
Michael didn’t say anything, so I carried on.
“He told me how you used to play rugby together. How once you were on rival teams, and wouldn’t speak for a week on the run up. He said your mum shouted at you over the dining table because you were giving each other scowls while she was trying to talk to you.”
He couldn’t help but smile at that, just for a second.
“I know how Katreya had an affair with Grace’s gym instructor. I know how he overheard her talking about him with her friends. I know how he felt when Grace’s friends got older, and he realised he wanted them.”
“Stop this,” Michael said at that. “He’s been filling your head with nonsense!”
“It’s not nonsense though, is it? Tell me which part of it is nonsense.”
“He’s using it!”
“How?”
“To seduce you!”
My eyes stayed calm. My smile was real.
“I seduced him. I can tell you how, if you like? I can tell you what some of the other girls did, too. How they hung around in the kitchen, pretending they needed a drink while Grace was in bed. How they made suggestions. How the university students brushed past him after lectures, begging for extra help with their studies, just so they could get his attention. Just because girls are young doesn’t mean they are innocent. Some are. Some aren’t. I wasn’t.” I paused. “So, maybe you should speak to some of the girls who Julian preyed on and find out how they really feel about the whole thing? I think you might be surprised by their answers.”
He didn’t speak.
I didn’t move.
“Has Grace spoken to any of them?” I asked.
“No, she hasn’t. She doesn’t want to dig the disgusting pit any deeper than has already been dug.”
“So, you don’t know, do you? Not for sure.”
“We don’t NEED to!”
“Please, just talk to them,” I continued. “Some of them. Maisie was the first girl he was with. She was messaging him for three months solid behind Grace’s back, begging him to see her when Grace wasn’t around. Then it was Serena from gym class. She used to make sure he could see exactly the right parts of her in her leotard.”