“Tell me,” he said simply.
“I’m pretty messed up,” Roni said, pulling her hair back nervously and pulling it back into a bun. She looked so vulnerable, it broke his heart.
“Tell me,” he said again.
“I told you that I was married, and that my divorce just came through, but… there’s more to it than that.”
Rich didn’t say anything. He gave her a moment to gather her thoughts. It was obvious that what she had to say was tough on her, so he put his hand on her leg and squeezed it, offering encouragement.
“The first time Hank hit me was the day after we got married,” Roni began. As her words registered, Rich’s body tightened in response. He’d never imagined she’d been abused. He guessed he should’ve, after her reaction the other night, but he’d never been impacted by that type of behavior, so it never even occurred to him. He tried to calm himself down so he could hear her words clearly.
“I’d been putting my things away and he’d said something about making sure I put everything away neatly. I made some smart ass comment, just like I always do, without even realizing it. Hank came up behind me and pulled my hair, then smashed my face against the dresser, causing a cut right above my eye. I’d been so shocked I didn’t know what to do. He’d apologized profusely and said he’d never damage my face again. It didn’t register at the time, he didn’t want to hurt my face, but he didn’t say he’d never hurt me again.”
Roni turned to him and took the hand he offered in hers, bringing it briefly to her cheek before letting it go.
“I guess I should tell you first about my parents, so you understand where I come from. I doubt Kent ever has,” Roni looked off, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. “Our dad is an alcoholic, who routinely abuses out mother. I say abuses, because she refuses to leave him and he refuses to change. When I was little, Kent sheltered me from them as much as he could. I didn’t really even realize what was going on until I was much older. I knew we struggled, and that my mom cried a lot, but I thought it was normal.”
Roni paused to take a deep breath and Rich thought about how different her childhood had been from his. His parents had always been amazing. His mother was the heart of their house and his father the rock. He’d never realized how lucky he’d been.
“I found out later that Kent was taking beatings for both of us, and that when he was old enough to stand up for himself, all of Dad’s anger was focused on our mom,” Roni turned to look him in the eyes. “We tried to get her to leave him, but she won’t. I think she was happy when Hank started hitting me, because it meant that I was no better than she was.”
Rich couldn’t even comprehend parents like the ones she was describing.
“Anyway, Kent went off to school and I couldn’t go with him. My plans were to go to New York and dance professionally, but when I fell in love with Hank, I thought I could have both. It didn’t take long for him to take dancing away, along with anything I tried to do outside of our home that didn’t include him. Anytime I hung out with my friends, or spent a day at the studio, I ended up getting punished that night. I stopped doing anything, hoping I could make him happy and he would stop hitting me.”
Roni looked at him, his hands were clenched and he felt like his blood as boiling.
“Don’t feel sorry for me,” she said sadly.
“Okay,” he replied, exhaling a long breath and relaxing his hands. He wanted to hear what she had to say, even though it felt like his heart was ripping with each word she spoke.
“Hank cheated whenever he could, but by the end, I was happy when he did. It meant that he was leaving me alone. He’d go on these benders where he stayed gone for days at a time,” Roni smiled sadly as she spoke. “Those were the best days of my marriage. I would read and escape into a book, pretending I was someone else, until he returned and brought me back to reality. It was after one of his benders that he beat me with a baseball bat.”
Rich sprung from the bed at that, pacing as he tried to hold on to his anger. What kind of a coward used a bat against a woman, he wondered as he paced, and how was such a man allowed to live?
Roni watched him pace as the tears were finally freed and ran down her cheeks.
“I ended up in the hospital and the doctors told me that I may never be able to have children,” Roni explained as she cried softly. “My mom came to see me, but she didn’t try to help me, she just smiled. I never spoke to her again.”
Rich stopped in front of her, his anger spilling over and asked incredulously, “She smiled? What the fuck kind of parent does that? Why didn’t she get you away from that bastard?”
Roni just shrugged helplessly. She’d asked herself the same question a million times.
“When I was released from the hospital and we went home, Hank swore he would never touch me again. He was sorry that it had gone so far and I’d been hospitalized. I didn’t really believe him, but at that point I felt numb. I didn’t see a way out; I thought my life was doomed to be like that forever.”
Rich crouched in front of her and took her hands in his, “What about Kent? I know he would’ve killed the bastard if he’d known. Did you ever reach out to him for help?”
Roni held his hands tightly as she spoke, “I hadn’t at that point. I’d been too ashamed. I thought I was marrying a man as good as my brother, and I was embarrassed at how very wrong I’d been. The final straw came a couple weeks later. Hank had held true to his word and hadn’t touched me since I’d been in the hospital. We went out to the bar to have a couple drinks, and I ended up dancing. I was in a good mood, feeling the effects of the liquor and the music spoke to me. I should have known better.”
Rich’s whole body twitched at that. He hated to hear her talk like anything she’d said or done warranted anything that animal had done.
“It was bad that night, and I told him I was going to leave him. I called Kent and asked him to come get me; he hopped on the next plane and flew out. Unfortunately, Hank didn’t want me to leave, and he beat me again before Kent got there. Kent arrived while he was kicking me in the kitchen, and he pulled Hank off me. He nearly beat Hank to death.”
“Good,” Rich spat viciously. He only wished he’d been there to help his friend.
Roni smiled at him through her tears. She was amazing. He couldn’t believe she had it in her to smile as she told him of the horror she’d had to endure at the hand of the man who was supposed to love and honor her.
Her earlier words forgotten, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Her tears salty on his lips.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Rich said softly against her lips. “You’re an amazing woman, and I’d kill that asshole if I could.”
Roni pulled away and nodded, “Kent brought me here and I’ve slowly been building myself back into the woman I should have been all along. I’m grateful to be dancing again, and I can’t thank you enough for your part in making that a reality for me.”
Rich let his hands dropped and stood, before taking his seat back next to her on the bed again.
“But…” he prompted.
“But, I never meant for us to get serious,” she began. “I was using you to help me gain my confidence back, and lord knows I’ve always found you attractive, even if I tried to pretend otherwise.”
Rich nodded slowly, the empty feeling entering his stomach again.
“You’re amazing,” she said. “More so than I ever imagined. You’re strong, sexy, and smart. You’ve started this amazing business, and your family is phenomenal.”
She looked down at her hands as she picked at her cuticle.
“You know, I got so mad at Kent when he thought Nicole was too good for him, but I can see now where he was coming from.” She put her finger to his lips before he could protest. “You deserve someone who isn’t broken. A girl who won’t fall to the ground if you raise your voice. Someone who can give you babies…”
Her voice broke at that statement, causing his heart to bleed for her,
but he let her continue. To get out everything that she needed to say.
“I need this job. I need to be able to rent the studio from you and dance,” Roni said. “I can’t take the chance that something will go wrong, or that some other hot girl will come along, and that dance studio will be in jeopardy.”
That pissed him off. He was with her until that point, ready to be understanding and supportive, but he took offense to her final statement.
“Don’t do that,” Rich said dangerously. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m not some man-whore who would cheat on you at the first opportunity. I’ve already explained that to you, and I thought you understood. I’d also never do anything to jeopardize your place here at the center. I’m enough of a man to separate business from my personal life. I think you’re just looking for a reason to end this, and you’re grasping at straws.”
Roni nodded and rose from the bed.
“Maybe you’re right, but that doesn’t change the fact that I think we need to stop seeing each other. You deserve better.”
Rich stood abruptly, grabbing her arms and pulling her to him. He kissed her swiftly and desperately, putting his heart into the kiss. He knew she wouldn’t be swayed in this moment, but he wanted to give her something to think about.
“Don’t tell me what I deserve,” he said against her lips, before going in for another kiss. “Maybe you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Roni looked up into his eyes, hers flashing with confusion. “I’ve got to go.”
“Okay,” Rich said, dropping his hands and letting her go. “But know this before you do, I’m falling in love with you, and I’m not giving up that easily.”
Rich went into his bathroom and shut the door, leaving Roni in the middle of the room with her jaw dropped.
Fuck, he thought, he hoped he could get her to see that they were perfect for each other.
Chapter Twenty
“I don’t know what I should do,” Roni cried to her brother and Nicole. They were sitting in Kent’s living room. Roni was still laying down on the couch with a cover over her and a nights worth of used tissues lying next to her on the floor. She’d come there after leaving her dance studio yesterday.
She hadn’t wanted to go back to her apartment alone. Not with Rich’s words replaying in her mind.
Roni had told them everything last night. Nicole was shocked, she hadn’t been aware of the details of Roni’s marriage or how horrible it had been. Some of the stories Roni retold, Kent had never heard before.
It had been a rough night, hence the tissues.
Roni had hoped a good night’s sleep would bring clarity, but she felt just as confused as she had when she’d finally fallen asleep.
“What do you want to do?” Kent asked.
“I thought that the right thing was to end it now, before it got more complicated,” Roni explained. “I’m renting the space from him, so we’ll see each other every day. I don’t want to mess up our working relationship, or our friendship.”
“Why do you think you will mess it up?” Nicole prompted.
“Because he deserves better than me,” Roni said throwing her hands up. “I’m a freakin’ mess. Look at the way I freaked out the other day. His mom mentioned that Rich was “marriage material” and I wigged out. That information, coupled with the storm had me totally on edge. When Rich got that phone call about the pipes and raised his voice, I lost it. I was pulled back to all of those times when Hank got angry, and what the result was. Even though I knew that Rich is not Hank, I couldn’t control my reaction.”
“Honey, that just means you need help, not that you aren’t good enough to handle a relationship with Rich,” Nicole said. “He’s a good man. I don’t think he’s afraid of a little work.”
“Roni,” Kent said, taking her hand in his. “Rich is the exact opposite of Hank. He’s a man who believes in family, hard work, and loyalty. He’s the kind of guy I have always hoped you’d end up with some day.”
Roni looked at her brother with tears in her eyes. “What if I can’t get over it? And what if I can’t ever have children?”
“You will get over it, it just takes time,” Kent responded. “And the doctor told you that you might not be able to have children, not that you can’t. As long as you’re honest with Rich, you guys can handle anything that comes your way… If that’s what you want.”
Roni nodded and took a deep breath.
“I’m going to go grab a shower and get ready for work,” Kent said, kissing his sister on the forehead, before turning to Nicole and kissing her lips.
Nicole got up and motioned for Roni to scoot over and give her room next to her on the couch. Nicole put her arm around Roni and looked her friend in the eye.
“Do you want to have a relationship with Rich? One that’s not just based on sex? Do you like him?”
Roni was silent for a few seconds as she processed Nicole’s questions.
“I do like him.”
“Well… What do you like about him?” Nicole prodded.
“He’s sweeter than I thought he’d be,” she began. “He’s got a good heart and he’s smart. He obviously loves his family and his friends, and would do anything for him. He’s just a really good person, ya know?”
Nicole nodded as she smiled, her eyes misting over.
“He’s one of the good ones,” she agreed.
“And, of course, he’s pretty easy on the eyes,” Roni said with a laugh. “My goodness, that body.”
Nicole laughed along with her, the tension receding a bit, until Roni stopped laughing and looked at her friend seriously.
“He said that he’s falling in love with me and that he’s not going to give up on me… I don’t want to hurt him.”
Nicole gave her a hug and pulled back to look at Roni’s tear stained face.
“You aren’t responsible for his feelings; you’re only responsible for how you handle them. All you can do is be honest and try to take his feelings into consideration, not matter what you decide to do.”
“Can you do me a favor, Nicole?” Roni asked as she chewed on her bottom lip.
“Anything.”
“Would you tell Rich that I need a little time?” She asked. “I know I’ll see him at work, but I need some time to think about what I want, and I don’t want to have a serious conversation with him until I do.”
“Sure, sweetie, I can do that.” Nicole replied.
“Thanks.” She smiled at her friend as Nicole got up and went back into her bedroom to get ready for the day.
Roni had gotten enough kids signed up to begin her first class, but she had a few days to prepare before they would begin training. She needed to take the next two days to think about what she wanted and how she was going to get it.
She got up and went to Kent’s computer, logging on under her name. She searched for therapists in the local area. She figured that was the first place she needed to start.
Epilogue
The first few weeks after the Grand Opening were better than Rich could ever had imagined or hoped for. He wasn’t in the black yet, but with the way things were going, he was confident that he would be within a year.
He was getting more and more local business owners, like Colin’s dad, contact him about investing.
He’d been floored when he’d walked into his parents that day and Mr. Grayson had laid a check on the table and said he’d love to be a part of the center.
Rich didn’t need to accept the money, but he loved that everyone seemed to want to be involved. It made the Rec Center more than just his dream, but something that really belonged to the whole town.
He’d been very busy, which was good since Nicole had stopped by to talk to him about Roni.
“She needs some time to figure out what she wants,” Nicole has explained to him. “She’s got a lot to work out, and just asks for some space while she does.”
Of course, he’d agreed. He wanted to be with Roni, but he needed her to want to be
with him too. He’d already been in a one sided relationship, and was in no hurry to go through that again.
So, he’d focused solely on his new business, and had been enjoying every minute of it. He and Jason trained in the mornings, then he showered and sat down at his desk for a few hours. Planning event, getting clients signed up for classes, and working on marketing.
Jason had really become his right-hand man, and was putting a lot of time and effort into managing the gym. He already had fifty gym memberships and was running a couple different weight classes already.
Rich was teaching the youngest class of kids. It was only once a week, so he had plenty of time to work on the business, but this was really why he’d had the idea of the Rec Center in the first place. He loved teaching the kids and seeing the love of the sport begin to show on their faces.
He was just finishing up his first class when Alex stopped by to speak with him after her last class of the evening.
“Hey, Rich,” Alex said as she approached, still in her karategi. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“No, we just finished class,” Rich responded. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to ask if you have time to meet tomorrow. I have some ideas that I wanted to run by you, and I have time in between my day job and tomorrows class,” she said.
“Yeah, that sounds good. So, around five?” He asked, pausing to wave and say goodbye to a couple kids that were being picked up by their parents.
“Perfect,” she said, turning to leave.
“Hey, Jason,” Rich yelled, calling his friend over.
He saw Alex pause as the other man approached.
“What’s up, Rich,” Jason asked as he neared. “Hey, Alex,” he said with a shy smile.
“Hi,” she responded, smiling back prettily.
Hey, man,” Rich started with a twinkle in his eye. “I know we were supposed to go out for a drink, but I’m not going to be able to make it. I’ve got some paperwork that can’t wait.”
“Okay,” Jason said, a little puzzled by the statement. “No big deal, we’ll catch up later.”