For the first time that night Aja felt proud of herself. “I think I cut his penis off,” she said.
Her parent’s mouths dropped open.
Her mother recovered first. “What do you mean you think? Did you or not?”
“Well, it was hard to tell. There was an awful lot of blood. I seriously damaged him, though, that’s for sure. It was my sharpest knife.”
Aja’s father started laughing. “That’s my girl.” He patted her head like she was an obedient puppy. “You weren’t charged, though, I made sure of that.”
“You talked to the police?” Aja was surprised. She couldn’t imagine how he’d have had time to do that between her call and his arrival.
“When you called me, I immediately called the station and spoke to the officer in charge of the case. He assured me it was self-defense and that you wouldn’t be charged.”
Aja suppressed a laugh. Her father had a need to feel like he was in charge of every crisis, that everyone in the vicinity could rely on him. They had already decided she wouldn’t be charged, but if it made her father feel better, she wasn’t going to say anything.
“Thanks, Daddy,” Aja said, holding her arms up for a hug. “I love you both so much.” She reached out her hand and squeezed her mother’s arm. “I’m so glad I have you guys to help me right now. I’ll tell you the whole story tomorrow, okay? I’m really tired right now.”
“Of course, dear,” her mother said. “Come, Aidan, it’s late. Aja needs to rest.”
He kissed her on the forehead and her mother turned out the light.
Aja’s last thought before sleep claimed her was,
What is Stephen going to do to me?
Chapter 3
“Aja.”
She shot up in bed, bewildered by the bright colors and by the canopy overhead. The night before came back to her and she groaned. Her throat felt swollen and she could barely swallow.
“Aja.”
She looked at her mother and tried to smile. Her mother stood over her, holding a tray, which she then placed on the table beside the bed.
“Your father is dealing with the media for now, so you should stay away from the windows, okay? He’ll probably want you to make a statement, though.”
“The media?” Aja became aware of the strange sounds that had hovered on the edges of her dreams. “There are reporters outside?” she asked.
“They heard what you did to Stephen and they want the whole story.” Her mother couldn’t conceal a small smile.
“What’s Daddy going to tell them? What am
I
going to tell them?” Aja asked.
“The truth. Don’t worry about it. Your father knows how to handle himself in front of the media. He’ll help you with what to say.”
“But why do they care? We’re nobody important.”
“Oh, come on Aja. It’s a sensational story. I think there’s even a representative from the Canadian Feminist Alliance.” Pride was evident in her mother’s voice.
“The what?”
“The Canadian Feminist group.”
“What would they want with me?”
“Well, considering you’ve struck a blow for women’s rights…” She trailed off and started laughing.
“Mother. This isn’t funny.”
“Well, I’ve always hated Stephen and I’m glad that it’s over with him and that he got his just deserts. I can’t understand why you stayed with him as long as you did.”
Aja sighed and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “I stayed with him because - if I’d left - he would’ve come after me like he did last night. Then Daddy and The Brothers would end up defending me and probably get charged with assault and go to jail.” Aja hung her head, feeling shame and defeat wash over her. Now that she thought about it, it really was a stupid reason for staying with an abusive man. The fact is, Stephen had damaged her self-esteem without her even realizing it. He’d berated her and demeaned her so much that she’d actually started to believe him, even though she’d been raised to believe in herself.
“You really should stop taking responsibility for protecting your father and brothers, Aja,” her mother said, cutting to the heart of the matter. “They will do whatever they like no matter how much either one of us try to protect them.”
“Yes, I know you’re right, Mother.”
“And why do you still persist in calling your brothers by that silly name?”
“I don’t know, that’s how I think of them in my head. They’ve always been The Brothers to me.”
Her mother gestured at the tray. “Go ahead, have some coffee and get cleaned up. I think your father’s right about you making a statement. They should see the damage Stephen inflicted on you. If he decides to bring a civil suit against you, he won’t have a leg to stand on. Or a cock.” She left the room laughing to herself.
“Ha, ha, ha.” Aja called out to her mother’s back.
Why is everyone so amused? It’s humiliating.
Aja came down the stairs after cleaning up. She didn’t want to speak to the media, but her mother’s thoughts about the civil suit made sense, so Aja didn’t attempt to cover up the bruises. She could hardly stand to look at herself in the mirror. You could clearly see two handprints around her neck. Her arms had circular bruises on them and her cheek had a red welt with crusted blood in the middle where Stephen had punched her with his class ring. For once, Aja was glad she had a tendency to bruise easily.
“Come, Aja, let me see you.” Her father stepped through the alcove from the living room. He took her hands and scrutinized her face. “Did the police take photographs of your injuries?”
“Yes, but they didn’t look as bad as they do this morning.”
Aja could see the fury in her father’s eyes. He was trying to keep calm - for her sake, she knew. Ever since she was a little girl, she had felt that her father was indestructible. Now, as she watched him struggle with his anger and shame over not being able to protect his daughter, she was afraid of losing him. He had been such a pillar in her life that Aja couldn’t imagine how she would live without him.
“I love you, Daddy,” she said and threw her arms around him.
“I love you, too, pumpkin.” He brushed her hair back and asked, “Do you think you can make a statement to the media?”
“I think so, if you come with me. Mother explained the importance of showing what Stephen did in case he wants to bring a suit against me.”
“That’s right. We need to cut him off at the knees.” He smirked.
“Don’t say any more,” she warned him and rolled her eyes.
Everyone is a comedian this morning.
Father and daughter walked outside and took up a position on the front porch. Aja stared at the multitude of jostling reporters, all of them there for a piece of her story. Her stomach rolled and she was afraid she would humiliate herself more by being sick in front of them. She clutched her father’s arm tightly and tried to steady her nerves.
Her father told the reporters that she would make a statement, but that she wouldn’t answer any questions as she was still very shaken up. He turned and pulled Aja in front of him, but kept his hands on her shoulders. He was a tall man, towering over her five feet, two inches. He made her feel protected and safe despite the horde of people in front of them.
She swallowed and started to speak. The first thing out of her mouth was a croaking sound. She stopped and cleared her throat, then tried again.
“Mr. Aldridge and I were living together. He was a very abusive man.”
A reporter called out, interrupting her. “He’s done this to you before?”
Her father stepped forward. “I told you that she would make a statement and will answer no questions. Please respect our wishes.”
There were no further comments.
Aja continued. “Yes, he has been abusive in the past, but never to this degree. He came home drunk last night and became abusive.” Aja felt her face turn red with embarrassment, but pushed on. “I fought with him, got away and ran to the kitchen where I grabbed a knife to defend myself. He followed me and tried to grab the knife. We fought over it and he accidentally got cut.”
They couldn’t restrain themselves. “Is it true you cut off his penis?” one reporter shouted.
Aja felt her father bristling behind her, but she patted his hand where it gripped her shoulder. “It’s okay, Daddy.”
She turned back to the crowd. “It’s true that I cut him there, but I have no way of knowing how bad the damage is. You’ll have to speak to Mr. Aldridge’s family about that. You can see from the bruises that I was defending myself against him. I’m much smaller and the knife was the only way I could stop him from strangling me.” Aja lifted her long hair and showed the extent of the bruising, blinking as the cameras began flashing from all sides.
“He tried to kill me. I defended myself the best I could. I didn’t mean to hurt him, but I think maybe he deserved it, don’t you?”
With that, Aja and her father turned and walked back inside the house. He hugged her and twirled her around. “You did a wonderful job, baby! That was a great way to end it. Just wait, that’s going to be the thing they quote over and over.” He grinned at her. Aja thought that maybe she would be able to get through this ordeal with her dignity intact after all.
The doorbell rang and her father pushed her toward the stairs. “You don’t need any more of this circus. Go upstairs and hide out for a bit. I’ll get Betty to bring you some lunch in a while. You need rest.”
Aja would be glad to see Betty, her parents’ housekeeper. She had been with the family since Aja was a baby.
Aja smiled at her father and headed back to her bedroom. She decided to call Mia, her best friend. Aja couldn’t leave the house, but Mia would be more than happy to come over. She’d probably heard the news, but - since Aja’s family wasn’t answering either the house phone or their mobiles - Mia wouldn’t have been able to get through.
Aja walked up the stairs, her muscles beginning to protest. It was going to be a while before she felt herself again. When she got to her room, she picked up the fuzzy pink phone her father had bought her for her tenth birthday.
It didn’t take long for Mia to get to the house. They ushered her in, past the reporters who were swarming the house. Apparently Aja had only whetted their appetite with her statement and they were frothing for more.
Aja took Mia to the library. They sat in the big comfy leather chairs. Aja waited while Mia examined her, struggling to overcome her anger.
“Oh, Ajakins. I can’t believe he did this to you. I can see where his hands were on your neck. It looks like he tried to strangle you.”
“He did.”
Mia got up and paced around the room, muttering curses. She whirled around. “This isn’t the first time, is it?”
“No.”
Mia dropped to her knees in front of Aja’s chair and grabbed her hands. “Why didn’t you tell anyone? Why didn’t you tell me? I’m your best friend!”
“Honestly, Mia? I really don’t know why. I told myself it was because I didn’t want my Dad and The Brothers to go to jail for killing Stephen, but I think I was lying to myself.”
“Do you love him?”
“That’s the thing, I’m not even sure I ever did. Somehow he had a hold on me that I don’t understand. It was like he had me chained up in his basement and I didn’t know it.”
Mia got tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Aja. I should have seen something was wrong. You were with him for a year.”
“It wasn’t always like that, though. Sometimes he treated me really well. You know Stephen, he can be a real charmer. He didn’t hit me often - only when he came home drunk. He forced himself on me more than once, though.”
“That bastard!” Mia shouted.
At that moment a curly dark head popped in the door and asked, “Who me?”
“Olly!” Aja shouted and jumped from her chair to throw herself into her big brother’s arms. It was what she’d called him since she was a little girl. The whole family had adopted the nickname.
“Hi Orlando,” Mia said. She’d had a crush on him since she was a little girl. She always got nervous around him.
Orlando swung his sister around and then put her down and stepped back to study her condition. “He’s dead,” he said in a perfectly calm voice that sent shivers down her spine.
Aja’s mother was 100% Italian. Her three sons had inherited every drop of her blood. They had vendetta on the brain, Aja liked to say, despite the fact that they’d never set foot in Italy.
“Please, Olly, don’t do anything rash.”
“Rash? Who said anything about rash? It will be carefully thought out and executed.”
Aja shivered again at the way he said executed. “But, I hurt him bad. He won’t be out of the hospital for a long time.”
“So I heard. I also heard you didn’t finish the job.” Orlando narrowed his eyes. “I mean to finish where you left off.”
Aja realized talking to her stubborn brother would do no good so she changed the subject. “When did you get in?”