Page 18 of Kitten Kisses

“You had me worried, sweetheart,” she said with a note of concern in her voice. “I tried calling you several times last night. You never ignore my calls. Are you okay?”

“I just forgot my phone at work.” A small lie. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s about your father.”

Alex’s jaw clenched tightly at the mention of William Preston. His father was the only topic that could make his blood boil. “What about him?”

“He’s insisting on seeing you, Alex,” she said tensely.

“He can insist all he wants, but that’s not happening.” He was on cloud nine after the breathtaking kiss in Slater’s kitchen and what they’d done the night before. Alex thought nothing could ruin his day. Not when he would be spending it with someone who constantly made his heart stall.

He’d been wrong.

“We’ve actually been talking on the phone, and from our conversations, it seems like he has.” Her voice was hesitant, as if she was afraid of upsetting him.

“He’s a narcissist.” Alex wanted to yell those words at his mother, but he’d never disrespected her before, and he wasn't going to start now.

But he was so angry that he felt like punching something.

“Was,” she said, but without conviction.

“People like that don’t change, no matter how much they try to convince you otherwise. He’s still a narcissist. Everything always had to be done his way without any room for compromise.”

Alex touched the small scar under his right eye, a reminder of the one and only time William had lashed out physically at him. But once was too many.

“He keeps asking me to convince you to have a mature relationship with him.”

“Oh my god!” Alex laughed bitterly in disbelief. “If he’s truly changed, why do I have to try to have a relationship with him instead of the other way around? If he’s truly changed, he shouldn’t be badgering you about anything.”

“Alex,” she said softly.

“Why can’t you see it?” He pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead as he closed his eyes. “Please, Mom. Stop talking to him. He hasn’t changed. He’s just manipulating you to get back into our lives.” His throat tightened as he spoke. “He’ll only make you miserable again. You’ve been so happy since you divorced him.”

William may not have laid a hand on her, but he had been an expert at emotional manipulation. Even after Alex became an adult and moved out, his father still tried to control him and force him to abide by “his rules.” It wasn’t until William threatened to beat Alex into submission that his mother finally divorced him.

It had been five years since Alex had seen his father, and he hoped to never see him again. Just the mention of William made all of Alex’s old anxieties resurface.

But what bothered him the most, fueling his anger toward William, was that he couldn’t seem to fully erase the small part of him that still loved his father.

“It’s just that…” She broke off with a sharp intake of breath. “He’s been coming around.”

Alex’s heart raced as his eyes snapped open. “You said you were only talking to him on the phone.” He paced in front of his dresser, biting his thumbnail as he tried to make sense of the situation.

He came to a sudden halt. “He’s forcing you to do this, isn’t he?”

“Yes.” Her voice shook. “Now I’ve done what he wanted, so hopefully he’ll leave me alone. Please, son, don’t let him back into your life.”

He sank down onto his bed, finally connecting all the pieces. At first, he’d been so angry during the call that he thought her hesitation was simply because she didn’t want to upset him. But now, it was clear that she was only saying what William wanted her to say.

“He’s been harassing you,” Alex said softly. “Please, Mom. Tell me the truth.”

“Yes,” she responded with the sound of relief in her voice, as if she were glad she no longer had to lie to her son or be William’s puppet. “Mainly through phone calls. I’ve only seen him in person twice. The last time was a week ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Mom?” He wanted to hold her in his arms, feeling an overwhelming urge to protect her.

She spoke with a tightness in her throat, as if she were struggling to hold back tears. “Because in the past five years you’ve been so happy. You’re finally living your life on your own terms and becoming the incredible man I always believed you could be without William controlling you. I didn’t want to take that away from you.”

She was the complete opposite of his father—selfless and caring. It touched Alex deeply that she felt that way, but that wasn’t a reason for her to suffer in silence.

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