Page 36 of Daddy Down Under

He played with the spoon he’d used to stir his coffee. “What do you remember of me as a kid?”

Whenever he reminded me of the age gap between us, I had to swallow a little unease. But I frowned as I tried to remember. “You were a gorgeous kid. Your eyes were different, not quite as blue as they are now, and you had these cute curls. Your mom loved showing you off, and at some point, she even mentioned signing you up as a model or kid actor for commercials and whatnot.”

“And Preston?”

My frown deepened. “I don’t… I can’t recall any interactions between him and you, not after the first few weeks.”

He slowly nodded. “There are no pictures of him and me together after I was three months old. None. We have some official family portraits, the kind you do for Christmas, and I have countless pictures of myself that my mom took, and some of her and me, but none with me and my father. It’s like he never spent time with me on his own, and from what I remember, he didn’t. I was in a private school, driven to and from school by a chauffeur, and I had every possible materialistic luxury I could possibly want. But the one thing I craved most, my father’s attention, I never got.”

My heart broke for him. “I didn’t see it. I knew Preston wasn’t happy with what he saw as Marcia tricking him into marriage, but I didn’t realize he treated you like that. She didn’t. She loved you with her whole heart.”

His eyes grew sad. “She had her first OD when I was nine. Our housekeeper found her and called 9-1-1. They administered Naloxone, the predecessor to Narcan, and managed to save her. The second time was seven months later, and that time, I found her.”

Nine? That must’ve been around the same time Preston and I had our falling out, for lack of a better word, because I’d had no idea. “Jesus, Ocean… I’m so sorry. No child should have to deal with that.”

“No, but I did. Before he and you parted ways, he wasn’t great, but he was at least home sometimes. After that, he all but vanished. He’d spent whole weeks being gone, and I had no idea where he was.”

Parted ways. That was one way to describe it. “I didn’t know it affected him that much.”

Ocean finished his coffee and leaned back. “He never expected you to walk away from him.”

“After what he did to me?” I practically spat out. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I’d stayed in that friendship… There was never a real friendship to begin with. Friends don’t treat each other the way he did.”

“He’s not a good man, and that’s the understatement of the year. But I think that somehow, he still expected you to stay, to forgive him.”

I shook my head firmly. “What he did was unforgivable. And honestly, I don’t even think he was sorry. Yeah, maybe sorry he got caught, but not sorry for the pain he caused me.”

Ocean briefly put his hand on top of mine. “I know, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”

“Thank you.” I took a steadying breath. “But this isn’t about me. We were talking about you.”

He shrugged. “There’s no reason we can’t do both. Our stories interconnect when it comes to Preston.”

He had a point, and how sad was that? “Did Marcia ever try to get off the drugs?”

“Oh, plenty of times. She was clean for a few months when I was twelve, after a three-month stay in a detox clinic in Utah somewhere. But then my father got one of his many girlfriends pregnant, and Mom lost it. She reached for the drugs again, and after that, she never was able to kick her habit again, though she tried.”

Holy shit. “Preston has more kids?”

Ocean nodded. “Three that I know of, with three different women. Makes me grateful I’m gay because I’m sure there are more, and at least I can’t accidentally knock up a half-sister, you know?”

It was a weak attempt at humor, but I acknowledged it with a chuckle anyway. He deserved that much. “What happened after your mom passed away?”

“I was shipped off to boarding school.”

“Boarding school? Jesus, your mom had died. You needed support. What the fuck was he thinking?”

“That he didn’t ever want to see me again? But seriously, it was actually amazing. I loved not being home after she was gone, and I made really close friends. It also allowed me to experiment with my sexuality to my heart’s desire, and those memories are even better.”

“I’m still sorry.”

“I’m not. Not anymore. My life is a thousand times better without Preston in it, and I can honestly say I don’t miss him at all. Not even a little bit. He’s a cold-hearted bastard, and I’m glad I never have to see him again.”

On that, we could agree. I’d initially pegged Ocean as a carefree surfer, but I’d been so wrong. He hid a lot of depth and layers behind that sunny exterior…and it only made me like him more.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

In which we explore more of Melbourne and end up with the most spectacular sunset I’ve ever seen in my life.

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