Page 72 of Losing a Piece of Me

“I’ll be right there.” He hangs up the phone and I’m ushered back to my cell, next to Striker’s.

“He’s on his way,” I tell him.

“I doubt he’s going to bail me out.”

“If he doesn’t, I will. You and me, remember?”

He gives me a kiss through the bars.

* * *

Dad shows up soon after and bails us both out. As he’s leading the way toward the doors, he makes sure to tell us both that we’re coming back to the house.

I see Striker’s shoulders tense up again. He knows he’s going to give him his mother’s whereabouts and he doesn’t know if he wants to see her or not.

The drive doesn’t take long. Before any of us are ready, we’re pulling up the long, brick driveway.

We all step out of the car and follow my dad up the front steps. He opens the front door and allows us to walk in ahead of him.

“Striker, please follow me to my office. Alexis, would you mind giving us a minute?”

I nod them on before watching them walk down the long hallway. When they walk through the door, I head up the stairs to pack my things.

I will need to be heading home soon since the wedding is over.

I have about half my stuff thrown in my bag when someone knocks on my door.

“Come in,” I call out.

I’m surprised when my mother walks through and sits on the bed. She’s in her nightgown and looks like she’s been waiting up for me since I called. She pats the bed beside her and I take a seat.

“Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine, dear. I just want to clear the air.” She takes a long breath and pushes her golden hair away from her face.

“I’m so sorry for the way I’ve been treating you. I had no idea about all that.”

“About all what? Dad helping Striker’s mom?”

Her eyebrows raise. “No, about it all. About your father and Striker’s parents, you, the whole situation.”

“It’s okay, Mom. I know we’ve never really been close, but I only left to keep that secret. I didn’t want it coming out and ruining everything.”

She nods her head while looking at her hands. “I believe I have treated you unfairly. You and Striker both. I didn’t like him because I thought the same thing that Ken did. I thought your father was having an affair with her. I knew they saw each other a lot, but he would deny it. I never thought it was because he was her lawyer.”

“If you thought that Dad was cheating on you, why didn’t you ask him? Why did you stay?”

She brushes a tear from her eye. “I couldn’t. I wanted to, and I almost left once, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want our family torn apart and I knew that if I asked him, and he confirmed it, I would have no choice but to leave. So, I chose to ignore it and treat you and Striker unfairly because of it. For that, I am so sorry, Alexis.”

I sit and think over what she’s just told me. She hated me being with Striker because she thought her husband was sleeping with his mom. Our problem started way before Striker, but things became even worse after him.

I nod my head. “It’s okay, Mom. I understand.”

She nods and pats my hands on my lap before she stands.

“As long as you know that Striker and I, we’re together. You can’t stop me from seeing him, and even if we’re never invited here again, he’s what I want. I choose him.”

With her hand on the doorknob, she turns toward me. “I wouldn’t dream of stopping you. I know now that I never should have tried to control you the way I did. I’m sorry. You and Striker are welcome here any time.” With that, she closes the door.

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