“It was pretty awesome for the most part. It was me, my mom and dad. My mom calls me her miracle baby because she had such a hard time staying pregnant. She had four miscarriages before me so they were really happy when I arrived. She wasn’t able to have any more kids so it was just us.”
“Elena, you said it was awesome for the most part, what did you mean by that?”
I felt comfortable telling him about Brian because I trusted him.
“Well, I am not proud of this, but when I was a senior in high school I was dating a boy named Brian and it got serious really fast. I’m sure you know what teenage love is like, they become your whole world. Brian became really possessive soon after we started dating and I just thought that he liked me so much that he didn’t want anyone to have me. He knew how to make me feel really special. Anyway, he hit me the first time after about three months.”
Sebastian interrupted me and fire flew across his eyes as his voice bellowed throughout the room. “He did what?!”
I was shocked by his reaction but I repeated what I said. “He hit me. I was completely shocked and distraught because I thought he loved me, so when he started crying and apologizing and telling me that it would never happen again, I believed him. But a couple of weeks later it happened again and he cried and told me how much he loved me and said it would never happen again so, like an idiot, I believed him. He sent me flowers every day and everything was fine for a couple of months. But one day he saw me talking to a guy by my locker and he went ballistic once we were alone in his car. When he hit me the third time, I snapped and told him it was over.”
Sebastian’s eyes were brimming with rage. “How did he take it?”
“Well, he’s in prison right now for ten more years, because he climbed into my bedroom window one night and attacked me. I was I the hospital for a couple of days.”
“Oh, Elena, I am so sorry that happened to you. Has he contacted you at all?”
“Unfortunately yes, he somehow finds me wherever I move and sends a letter every six months.”
Sebastian set his jaw and I could see that he was clenching his teeth. “Have you received a letter recently?”
“Yes, I just got a letter from him right before I came here. I was in therapy for a while after the incident and it really helped me to not fear him, now I just get angry when I get a letter.”
Sebastian’s face was super serious. “Elena, I want you to promise me something and this is very important.”
My eyes searched his and I could see the concern there.
“Okay.”
“I want you to tell me when he contacts you again.”
“I really don’t want to get anyone else involved, Sebastian. This is my problem that I have been dealing with for years and I don’t want to burden anyone else.”
He reached over and grabbed my hand in his, gently rubbing the back of my hand, his eyes gentle and kind. “I want you to be safe so please just let me know when he contacts you again.”
“Okay.”
There was a knock on the door and our food finally arrived and it was a welcome distraction from talking about Brian. I didn’t want to talk about him anymore so I changed the subject. We talked more about our day in São Paulo while we ate dinner and we relaxed on the couch with a glass of wine when we were done eating.
“I’ve been talking about me too much, tell me something about you. I already know about your family’s business background, so tell me personal stuff. Where do you live?”
He smiled at me. “Okay, I live on Star Island in a home that is way too big but I like it. Let’s see, you already know I am the oldest of three brothers, Spencer is two years younger than me and Shane is five years younger than me.”
“What about your mom? Do you see her often?”
His face totally lit up when I asked him that.
“My mother is a jewel and I see mom almost every week. She lives in the house next to mine, even though saying ‘next to’ is kind of funny because you have to drive to get there. After my parents got divorced my mother nearly fell apart because she was so devastated. I’m sure you’ve read about my dad’s cheating which led to the divorce.”
I looked at him, my eyes sympathetic.
“Yes.”
“Well, like I said she was devastated and it took a bit of time for her to be okay, but she stayed strong for us. I have so much more respect for my mom with the way she handled the publicity of the divorce. She showed so much grace and dignity through it all. My father was a complete jerk and the way he disrespected my mother made me so angry. My father and I have what I would call a strained relationship, we speak about business but I tend to cut him off when he tries to get personal. With the way he humiliated my mother, I don’t know that our relationship will ever be repaired.”
“I’m sorry, Sebastian. That must be difficult for you to have to work with your father when you have such a strained relationship. Have you thought about going to counseling with him?”
“It’s funny you ask that because he has been trying to get me to go for years but with the way he treated his second wife, by doing the same thing he did to my mom, and the way he jets all around looking like a man desperate to recapture his youth, I just don’t believe him that wants to make things better. He is a very selfish man who only thinks about himself.”
I could see that his relationship with his dad really bothered him and I wished there was something that I could say to make him feel better.
“I’m sorry Elena, I never should have mentioned him. Let’s change the subject, what else can I tell you?”
“Tell me about Sophia. I can’t really figure her out. When we are working everything is in perfect harmony, but the second the work day ends she becomes an ice queen.”
His mouth turned up in a half smile. “That’s a pretty good description for her. Sophia is having a difficult time accepting that there will never be anything between us again romantically and I think she suspects that I have feelings for you so there is probably a bit of jealousy there.”
“She doesn’t seem like a very nice person in general Sebastian, how did you guys even start dating?”
“There’s a good heart in there, she’s had a difficult life so what may come off as nasty is usually just a scared little girl trying to protect herself. Her father was abusive to her mother and she witnessed things that a child should never see in their lifetime on almost a daily basis, so she has deep trust issues.”