CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

TAMARA

"What about Katherine, Is she his daughter?" I asked. I just wanted to know if Thomas was actually telling the truth that he adopted the two of them because Alex has already revealed that Thomas wasn't his father. There was this voice in my head that kept telling me he had cheated on my mother even before they got married, I was sure about after but not before.

"Sadly yes, Katherine is Thomas’s biological daughter, he didn't adopted her and yes he was with my mother while he was also with yours, I was the one he adopted" Thomas said 

"Wow, I knew he was lying when he said he had adopted you when he married Lillian but I didn't want to believe it," I said and I felt pure rage within me, my gut was right all along, he was cheating before and after he married my mother, Alex just sat there watching me while he playing with his fingers, he does that when he his nervous, "So who is your father?" I asked and his previous nervous expression instantly changed to anger.

"My father was a good for nothing piece of shit,who didn't deserve to be a father" Alex said, his fist clenching by his side.

"He hit you and Katherine?" I asked hoping I was wrong, but judging from his expression my assumption might be spot on.

"Yes and No, he never touched Katherine or my mother, but i on the other hand was his personal punching bag and if his Friends come around they get to hit me too, it was like a game to see who will deal more damage" Alex said rage dripping from every word that came out of his mouth then he lifted his shirt surprising me but when I looked at his back they were faded scars and burns scattered all over his back, shoulder and upper arm. He only hurt him where people wouldn't notice, I didn't know or meet him but one thing was sure I hoped he was dead or locked up.

"Oh my God Alex, this looks really bad, why didn't Lillian stop him, she must have know that he was hitting you" I questioned, then his angry gaze fell on me

"My mother is one of those women who shouldn't have had kids, she didn't care so far he was funding her rich lifestyle and no one asked questions" Alex said with disgust in his tone but I could tell he was hurting.

I didn't know what to say or do to what he just told me, was this why Delia said we were more alike than I thought?.

"How long did it last, how long did he keep hitting you"

"Until I turned fourteen he stopped because he developed liver cancer and died a year after, we eventually found out why the chemotherapy wasn’t effective, it was because the cancer was at stage four, he kept that from us"

"He deserved a more painful death after what you went through in his care"

"I was so glad he died, I was ecstatic, over the moon but my happiness was short-lived because Thomas,  your father came into our lives and the cycle started again"

"Thomas hit you too" I asked shocked once more because I had never seen him lay a hand on the two of them.

"He always took me into his study that's why you didn't know, whenever I did something wrong he would punish me. Sometimes I thought I deserved it for being a mistake, like my mother as always said, do you know she tried to kill me when I was five? But I didn't realise it until I got older" Alex saud letting out a humourless laugh.

"What!, she tried to kill you, Lillian your mother" 

"Yeah after my dear father would go to work,  she would starve me till he came back and do it again the next day, she would always tell me I destroyed her life and never should have been born"

"My God!, that's child abuse Alex, why didn't you report all this, she could have seriously hurt you or even actually succeeded in killing you"

"My reason is the same as yours, in some sick twisted way I think it was her way of showing me she cared"

I was crying already as Alex gave me a sad smile, "don't cry for me little butterfly, I don't deserve your tears, I behaved exactly like my father and that makes me sick to my stomach. Alex said his gaze avoiding mine, "I thought that if I was a jerk and ignore your abuse it would go away but it never did and I couldn't stop acting so I went with it until now" Alex sighed his gaze finally fell to the ground 

"Don't you ever say that Alex, you're nothing like your father, he was a coward and an abuser"

"That's a way to put it" Alex smiled but it wasn’t genuine, the light he had always help I his eyes was gone, he just looked broken.

"Did Katherine go through all this too,"

"Katherine was treated like a princess by my father and Thomas, my mother adore her and she lacked nothing"

"Did she ever say why she treated you both differently"

"No, I just think she hated my father and took out that hate on me"

"You were a jerk to me because you didn't want Thomas to turn on you again, when did he stop hitting you?"

"About the time your mother died, but he never stopped telling me how inadequate and useless I am, that was why I was angry and surprised he hit me today after so many years"

"I see"

"I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but do you think you will ever be able to forgive me Tamara"

"After hearing your story, I understand but it's hard to forget everything but I will try to forgive you Alex and give you a second chance because you actually what to change for the better, you could have continued treating me like shit but you don't, so I will try"

"You don't know how happy that makes me Tamara, Thank you"

"No Thank you for telling me your story"

"It was harder than I thought, apart from my friends, you're the only one that knows what I went through"

"What about Delia, does she know because when you helped her and took her back to her room, she told me we were more alike than I thought and I should talk to you"

"No but she saw the scars when she walked in on me when I was changing, I was seventeen at that time so I think she put two and two together, she was nice to me even if I was a jerk to her sometimes, I would also need to apologise to her" Alex said running his hands through his hair.

"How do you feel now that you told me everything"

"Funny thing is that I don't feel that hurt in my heart again, I feel relieved now that I can be an actual big brother to you and make up for all the nasty things I've done"

"I'm happy you feel that way, Alex you deserve to be happy" I saud then he grabbed my hands pulling them close before he looked up at me with a smile.

"Tamara, I promise you, they will never lay a finger on you and if you get married to that asshole and he tries to hurt you call me and I will be there to get you out, forget the company, forget the contract, forget your father, we will run far away from here where none of them would be able to find us"

"Thank you Alex, I prefer this side of you better, he is a perfect gentleman" I said, smiling softly at him.

"I like this side of me too, the other me was kind of a jerk" Alex said causing us to laugh.

"Can I ask you something"

"Yeah"

"Anytime I was punished and they would deny me food, I used to find bags of food at my door by exactly midnight, I thought it was Delia but I never got around to ask her" I asked and his face turned a darker shade of pink, was he blushing?.

"Hm, yes, I thought it was another way to make up for me being a jerk, but I had to stop since my mother started to get suspicious"

"I don't know what to say" I stared shocked at this revelation, he was protecting me on the sidelines.

"You don't have to thank me or anything, it was the right thing to do and it gave me some peace, that you didn't have to starve, when I had to stop, I was afraid of what would happen to you but when I found out Delia was also sneaking you food, I was happy"

"What other time have you helped me when I was In trouble? Alex"

Alex smiled rubbing the back of his head a smile on his face, "Hmm, I helped anytime I could, like when Katherine and her friends stole your clothes after gym class, or when she locked you in the janitor closet and when her boyfriend tried to blame you for cheating on Katherine, I can't really remember everything but I did my best to help" Alex shrugged looking at everything but at me

Once again tears filled my eyes, he had always been there even if he acted like an asshole, all those times he mentioned, I always wondered who had helped me and now I find out he was the one all along.

I didn't even know when I moved, I wrapped my hands around him engulfing him in a big hug, "Thank you for being my hero on the sidelines Alex, I don't need time, I've already forgiven you"

"What, seriously Tamara, don't joke with me" Alex asked not pulling away 

"I'm not joking Alex, I forgive you" I said and I felt him smile on my neck, his hands wrapping around me to return my hug. For the first time in a long time I felt safe In his arms even after everything he had done.