Left Together (28 page)

“Are
you forgetting how obnoxious I can be when people don’t give me what I want?”
He’s smiling. I remember the night I wouldn’t answer him as to whether or not I
was going to Meg’s party. That was the first time he stayed overnight. He
hasn’t left since. After closing my door, he jogs around to the other side. He
adjusts the seat and mirrors quickly before taking off down the driveway. By
the time he gets to the freeway outside of our neighborhood, he looks over at
me, laughing. “Damn. Now I understand why you love this car so much.”

I sit
back and try to enjoy the wind tangling my hair. Man, I really hope this goes
well.

Kacie

The
moment Evan steers into the hospital parking lot, everyone’s mood shifts from
relaxed and carefree to businesslike and unsettled. I’ve tried to tell both my
boyfriend and my best friend that they don’t need to come all the way into my
dad’s office with me, nor do they need to be so stressed out. The only reason
I’m feeling anxious is quite simple. I hate my father, along with everything
he’s done to me and the people I care about. It’s comforting knowing both of
them love me enough to be so worried, but it really is unnecessary. I’ve had a
lifetime of dealing with this shit. One more time won’t hurt me. And I truly
mean just one more time. The moment I walk out of his office today, I’m
finished with him and his wife.

We don’t
get out of the car until the top completely closes. Evan waits for me to meet
him by the front bumper. “It’s not too late to send Mary in. You don’t have to
be there for him to sign a piece of paper,” he whispers, putting his lips to my
forehead.

“Yes,
I do. I need to see his face when he finds out I know the truth.”

“She’s
a bit demented that way,” Jade teases, grinning.

“All
right. Let’s get this the fuck over with,” he says, leading the way. His
shoulders have tensed. There’s something off, but I can’t figure out what it
is.

“Hey.”
I stop walking, forcing him to turn around. “This is no big deal. Five minutes,
tops.”

“I
don’t think it’s about your dad, Kacie,” Jade informs me. The two of them look
at each other. How does she know what’s going on and I don’t?

He
sighs as if it’s not something he wants to discuss. “It’s this place. You were
a patient here only a week ago. You have no idea how hard that shit was for us.
I know you’ve been frustrated and in pain every day since, but those twelve
hours we waited for you to wake up were a bitch.”

My
heart aches. He’s right. I was asleep for the worst part of it while everyone
else watched, unable to do anything to help. “I shouldn’t have let you come. I
didn’t even consider…”

“Sweetheart,
you couldn’t have kept me away if you tried. Wherever you go, I go. End of
story.” Once again, he extends his arm toward me, wanting my hand. I comply and
we continue through the lot toward the main entrance.

Noah
and Mary are already inside when we enter the hospital. Greetings are exchanged,
but the chatter is at a minimum. Is it because they’re nervous how my father
will react, or how I will? My brother leads the way to the elevator. When the
doors slide open on the fourth floor, Evan squeezes my hand tightly. He doesn’t
loosen his grip until the hallway designated for offices and conference rooms
is before us. Someone greets Noah by name and he responds politely as he passes
by. Noah walks straight into the doorway at the end of the hallway. The name
plaque on the wall to the right of the door displays my father’s name and title,
Chief of Surgery.

“Hello,
Dr. Foster,” the receptionist says with a smile.

“Hi,
Violet. Is my dad in?” he replies, gesturing to the closed door.

“Um…yes,
but…” I refuse to wait for a formal invitation. I want this shit over with, so
I step away from the group and make my way toward his private office. “You
can’t just go in there,” she calls out, making a shitload of noise getting up
from her chair. Does she really think she’s going to stop me?

The
knob turns easily and I push the door open. A look of shock flashes over my
father’s face when he sees me walk into his office, but it’s gone quickly. He’s
standing behind a desk with the phone to his ear. It’s not until the others
file in behind me that he ends his phone call. “I’ll call you back in a few
minutes,” he says, then drops the receiver down.

“I’m
sorry, Dr. Foster. I tried to stop them, but…”

“It’s
fine, Violet. My daughter is welcome anytime,” he says, dismissing her. Once
the door closes, he continues, “Kacie, I’ve been meaning to call. How are you
feeling?”

“Don’t
pretend to care on my account,” I snap.

“I’m
not pretending. As a matter of fact, I care so much that I’m very concerned as
to the reason Mr. Pierce is here with you when he was told to disappear.” Sam’s
attention has settled on Evan and I don’t like it one bit.

“Stay
the hell away from him, his family, and his club.” My patience is wearing
extremely thin. “Evan is none of your business!”

He
raises his voice, pushing his luck. “It
is
my damn business when my
daughter is running around with someone who was paid to do God knows what!”

“Says
the married man who knocked up an innocent nineteen-year-old girl, then stole
her baby!” I shout. Well, that wasn’t what I had planned, but it’ll work.
Faster than the words come out of my mouth, my dad’s face goes pale and he
steadies himself on the desk before lowering himself into the chair.

“Who
told you?” he whispers.

“Does
it matter?” I’ve never seen my dad look ashamed of anything he’s done until
now. Good. He should be. “How could you?” His eyes drop to the desk. “How.
Could. You?” I repeat. He still doesn’t answer. “You allowed that fucking bitch
to torture me daily and she had no right!” I know everyone probably wants me to
give him the stupid paper so we can get the hell out of here, but I can’t help
myself. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”

“I
didn’t have a choice.”

“I
find that hard to believe.”

“I
would’ve lost everything! The house. The money. Everything I ever worked for.
Sophia would’ve taken it all.”

A
laugh escapes me. “You traded a normal life for your daughter because of money?
Why the hell am I surprised?” I shake my head. “Let me guess. Sophia made sure
you never paid any attention to me. Was that part of the contract, too?”

“Kacie…”

“Don’t!”
I warn. “You’re nothing but a coward!” Mary steps forward with three copies of
the document for him to put his signature on. “Just sign the fucking papers!”

“What’s
this?” he asks, picking them up.

“To
release Kristen Nolan from your previous contract. And you aren’t getting a
dime back from her, either.”

“I
don’t think I should without my attorney…”

I pull
a pen out of the holder and throw it across the desk so it lands in front of
him. The bastard is lucky I didn’t throw it at his fucking head. “Don’t make me
tell you again!” Someone places a hand on my lower back, but I won’t turn my
gaze from Sam. I’m sick and tired of playing games but, more than anything, I’m
fed up with being someone’s fucking pawn. “You’ve screwed with my life long
enough. You owe me this.”

He
picks up the pen and sighs, his body slack with defeat. “You’re just like her,”
he whispers. “Everything you do…the way you speak, how you act. It’s why Sophia
is the way she is with you. You’re an exact replica of Kristen.” He twirls the
pen once, then puts the point to the spot Mary has marked for him. “I don’t
know what you are hoping to get out of this…”

I cut
him off again. “Freedom.” He looks up at me curiously. “Freedom from you and
Sophia. Keep her the hell away from me. Yes, you
can
take it as a threat.”
He nods, letting me know he understands I’m not messing around. He signs his
name across all three copies and holds them out to me. Mary is the one who
takes them from his hand. After checking over them, she declares everything is
in order, writes something on the one, and leaves it on his desk. For the first
time since walking in the room, I pull my eyes off of my father and move for
the door.

My
fingers wrap around the cold, metal doorknob. “Kacie?” I pause, but don’t turn
to him. “If Kristen is half as proud of you as I am, you two will be just
fine.”

My
head whips toward him so fast, I’m reminded my ribs haven’t healed yet. “Don’t
you think it’s a little too late for that shit?!” I don’t give him time to respond.
I rip open the door and storm out, my feet not stopping until I’m standing in
front of the elevator. I briefly consider taking the stairs, only I’d never make
it down four flights. The footsteps of everyone else echo behind me, but no one
says anything. I have nothing to say to any of them at the moment, so it’s
fine. The only thing I need is to get the hell out of this building. There are
two other people already in the elevator when we get in. Thankfully, they also
keep their thoughts to themselves as we listen to the music softly playing.

When
the door slides open, I dart outside and take in the deepest breath of fresh
air I can manage. A feeling falls over me that I can’t explain. My lungs move
easier than they ever have, almost as if I don’t have to force them to expand.
The beating in my chest slows to a nice, steady pace. Every muscle in my body
loosens, including the few in my neck where the stress normally settles. My jaw
is no longer tense from clenching it. The sky looks prettier than I’ve ever
seen it before. The warmth of the sun on my skin brings a smile to my lips.
This must be what it feels like to be released from the restraints that have
held me down since before I was born.

“Kacie?”
Noah says softly. I turn around to see four worried faces. “Are you okay?”

“Actually,
I am,” I reply, smiling. “I’ve been waiting for this for a really, really long
time and it feels so much better than I could’ve imagined.”

Noah
grins. “I’m happy for you, sis. You deserve this.” He looks down at the ground,
then back up. “Are you going to see Kristen?”

“I
don’t…,” I begin.

Evan stops
me from continuing, “She’s thinking about it.” He sees my expression. “You
promised,” he reminds me.

“This
isn’t something that needs to be decided right this minute,” Jade announces.

“No,
it’s not,” Noah agrees. “But Evan’s right. You should think about it. I can’t
imagine what’s going through your head, but Kristen isn’t a monster. If it
helps you any, I honestly feel she’s just as much a victim as you are in this whole
mess.”

“It’s
not that,” I say. “She doesn’t need me showing up out of the blue. She’s moved
on and is probably living a happy life without me.”

“Don’t
be so sure.” When I start to argue, he stops me, “My baby isn’t even born yet
and I already can’t imagine a life without him or her in it.”

“I can
send a copy of this paperwork to Ms. Nolan. If you want, I can include your
contact information and we can take it from there,” Mary suggests.

“Actually,
I’m going to hold onto her copy for now,” I say.

Mary
gives me a set of the papers. “If you change your mind, you know where to find
me.”

“I do.
Thank you for coming today. Let’s stop meeting like this, okay?”

“I
agree,” she says, smiling. “Take care of yourself.”

While
Jade walks Mary to her car, my brother turns to me. “If you want, I’ll go with
you, or I could go and talk to her to find out what she thinks of all this.”

“Noah…”

“I
feel so shitty, Kacie. I should’ve known. Please. Just let me help fix this for
you.”

“That’s
ridiculous! You were twelve-years-old. You have to stop blaming yourself for
everything they’ve done. They were the adults who should’ve been taking care of
us.”

He
sighs. “I try to tell myself that, but every time I start to feel better, more
shit happens.”

“Noah,
you have more important things to worry about than this crap. Go home and take
care of Addie.”

He
smiles. “She did say something about going to pick out furniture for the
nursery.”

“I’m
pretty sure if she mentioned it, you really don’t have a choice about going,”
Evan comments.

“You’re
probably right,” he laughs.

***

When
we get home, he can’t help himself. Evan pops the hood of the car to check out
what’s underneath. Jade and I start walking up to the house, but Jake comes
strolling over. I don’t feel comfortable leaving those two alone yet. Jake nods
to me and walks up beside his friend, patting his shoulder. The engine is still
running, so it prevents us from hearing what they’re saying. Whatever Jake says
to him causes Evan to look up and wink at me. That ridiculous fluttery feeling
runs through my chest again. How long until that shit stops? A few minutes pass
as the boys keep pointing and discussing the engine. Jade says she thinks the
boys will be fine and we should be good to go inside. I’m torn. Do I give them
the space they need, or do I stay to be the buffer between them?

Almost
as if he’s sensing me, Evan lifts his head. Our eyes lock and he visibly
relaxes. My mind is made up. I tell Jade she can head in, but I walk down the
steps toward the boys. Evan’s smile gets bigger the closer I get. When I reach
him, he gently places his lips to mine while trailing his fingertips along my
arm.

“You
better not be getting grease all over me,” I whisper.

“No,
but there
is
something I’d like to get all over you.”

“Stop
distracting him,” Jake interrupts. Oddly, he doesn’t appear to be uncomfortable.
“We’re trying to decide what we can put in here to make her run better.”