Second to Cry by Carys Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

her, exasperated.
    ‘You take them in; I’ve been with them all day!’ Deena was getting angry but there was something more in her voice, something hurt.
    Aiden imaged that it had not always been so strained between them. The framed picture of her centrefold said as much. She was probably used to men doting on her, and Sam Fern had once done just that. But it was evident that things had changed, that the love within the home had cooled and it made Aiden sad to see two little boys, with innocence and purity in their eyes, get caught up in it all.
    Jude and Davis had watched the interaction between their parents intently, their little heads moving back and forth as though they were spectators at a tennis match. They seemed uneasy to witness the dispute; it was not something they were apparently accustomed to seeing.
    Usually in these sort of situations, the children would just carry on playing, as it was usual in their world to hear raised voices. But Jude and Davis looked fearful and alarmed by Sam and Deena’s dispute.
    ‘Take them inside,’ Sam Fern ordered his wife once more, his voice low and level.
    ‘You don’t spend enough time with them,’ Deena moaned, not caring about Aiden hearing this discussion. If anything, she seemed to enjoy having an audience as it was someone she could play up for.
    ‘Not now,’ Sam shook his head wearily. ‘Just take them in.’
    ‘Sam!’ Deena pouted angrily, her eyes narrowed as she pondered on how to further the argument.
    ‘Who is this guy anyway?’ she decided to turn her attention to Aiden but he shrank in to himself as he was pulled in to theconversation.
    She regarded him with suspicious, hostile eyes. Scrutinizing him like he were an unwanted bug in her home and she was just deciding how best to get rid ofhim.
    ‘This is Aiden Connelly,’ Sam explained, his voice still low.
    ‘And who is he?’ Deena demanded.
    ‘My lawyer.’
    Deena’s entire demeanour suddenly changed. Despite the warmth of the sun, she paled and almost shook within her bronzed skin, as though something had spooked her. She looked over to Aiden and he noticed the moisture which now misted her eyes.
    She coughed awkwardly, trying to find her voice.
    ‘Jude, Davis,’ she managed to call her sons but she sounded strained, as though she was struggling to speak.
    ‘Let’s go inside while Daddy has his meeting.’
    ‘Pool!’ Davis whined, glancing longingly at the shimmering blue lagoon which he desperately wanted to play in.
    ‘You can go in the pool tomorrow,’ Deena told him.
    ‘Pool!’ the toddler pleaded again.
    ‘Davis Jeremiah Fern, get in the house this instance!’ Deena managed to raise her voice enough to be taken seriously and both her sons obediently left the terrace and entered the house through the kitchen.
    Deena followed them, but before she went inside she paused and glanced over at Aiden. It was hard to read her face as she’d lowered her sunglasses to cover her eyes. It was as if she was going to say something but then decided against it.
    She went inside and closed the patio door behind her, leaving Aiden and Samuel alone once more.
    ‘I apologize for that…display,’ Sam said before taking a long sip of his drink.
    ‘It’s quite all right,’ Aiden lied. It was the most uncomfortable he’d been in a long time. He just felt like he didn’t belong, that even sat in his own skin he didn’t seem to quite fit. There was nothing he disliked more than being present when couples fought. There was something so private about a disagreement between lovers and to bear witness to it felt like you were gaining access to the intimacies of their relationship.
    ‘Deena forgets her place sometimes,’ Sam continued, making excuses for what had just transpired.
    ‘If you give a woman everything she wants, you reach a point where she just thinks she is entitled to everything.’
    Aiden wasn’t sure how to respond, it was hardly an issue he could relate to.
    ‘So as you can