Page 10 of Raise 'Em Up

She gives me a confused look, her lips parting like she’s going to speak before she closes them.

“Never mind, I’ll just have some fried eggs, bacon, and some toast.”

“Yes, of course. Any coffee?”

I think for a moment. “Yeah, coffee would be great. Why don’t you just make a pot and leave it at my table. I feel like I’m going to need more than a cup or two to make it through this day.”

“Sure…” she says slowly.

It doesn’t take long before my food is out and I inhale it like a starving woman. When I’m done, I notice that the place is starting to get a little more crowded. Not wanting to be the freak show of the hour, I decide I better head up and change into something more fitting.

Or maybe I should just go back to bed and sleep the day away. If I’m sleeping, I don’t have to think about just how much my life fucking sucks.

As I’m stepping out of the restaurant area and into the main lobby, I bump into the man I guess is my father.

“Rylee.” His smile is genuine and a little nervous. “I’ve been thinking about you.”

“Well, don’t,” I mutter, crossing my arms with a scoff.

He huffs out a little laugh. “Kind of hard when I just found out I have a daughter.”

“And I’m sure you can imagine how I feel. I knew I had to have a dad, since it takes two to make a baby. But never in a million years did I think he would be some heir to a million dollar hotel chain. Or is it billions?” He gives me a bit of a guilty look. “Thought so.” I nod.

“This is a lot for both of us. Why don’t we sit down and have some breakfast, talk a little?” he asks with so much hope, it kind of hurts to say what I’m about to say.

“Look, you seem like a nice enough guy. But the thing is, my life is in shambles right now, and I have no damn clue how to fix it. So I'm sure you can understand that doing some father-daughter bonding isn’t something I’d be up for right now.”

“Is everything okay? Maybe I can help,” he says with a hint of concern.

Ugh. Now is not the time for this. But he doesn’t seem like he’s one to back down easily.

A familiar voice has my eyes snapping over to the reception desk. No. No fucking way.

My heart starts to pound in my chest, my lips parting in surprise. They’re here. All of them.

Tears prick my eyes. They came for me. I should have trusted they would. Thank God they saw through that note. I hoped that if they truly knew me, they would know I’d never just leave like that.

“Rylee? Are you okay?” James asks, looking from me, then over to the desk.

“No.” I laugh, wiping at my eyes. “Nothing in my life is ever okay.”

“You know them?”

“Yup.” I turn to face him. “Want to know something about your daughter? Here’s one that’s gonna really take a few years off your life. I’ve got five boyfriends. Yup. Five.” I grin and his eyes widen. “So, maybe if you can accept that, with time, we can talk. But right now… it’s not that time.”

He blinks at me, his mouth opening and closing a few times. He lets out a heavy sigh. “I understand. Just know, I won’t stop trying.”

Not knowing what to say to that, I nod and leave. I don’t have time to think about him at the moment. I’ll deal with all that later. Right now, I need my guys. God, I need them like I need air.

As I rush over, Donny’s head turns and his eyes widen. “Rylee,” he whispers, just in time for me to launch myself into his arms. I cling to him, like if I let go, I’ll lose him forever.

“You came,” I murmur into his neck, inhaling his scent. It’s only been a day, but it feels like a lifetime. A part of me thought that maybe I was too much trouble, that they would be better off without me.

“Of course we came, Cherry. Nothing could keep me from my girl,” he says, hugging me so tight I lose my breath. I don’t even care. I love this man so damn much. All of them.

“Want to tell us why the fuck you took off and left nothing but a bullshit note?” Mateo growls from behind Donny.

Moving my head, I look over at a very pissed off Mateo. “You look like shit.”

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