Page 90 of What's the time, Mr. Wolfe
Chapter Fifteen
Izoned out so much, I hadn’t even realised we’d arrived home. It had been a huge shock to see my father standing on the doorstep. I’d gone to sleep one night; we had hidden in a woods and it was cold. When I woke, he was gone. I was alone in the dark, in the cold. That was ten years ago.
I’d cried fucking tears for him.
I’d called out his name, wanting him to come get me.
I’d walked for hours until I came to some services and called Grandma. She’d come for me when he didn’t. She smuggled me home on a fake passport, so I didn’t get caught.
I’d sobbed at night into my pillow with my grandma comforting me.
I’d begged him to come home, knowing he couldn’t hear me.
And then, I’d struggled. Financially, emotionally, physically.
I detested him. I hated the thought he’d been close and ignored us. I loathed that he knew Grandma had died.
If he thought he was attending the funeral, he had another think coming, for sure.
“Come on, baby,” I heard.
I turned in my seat to see Sebastian crouching down beside me. He reached in to take my hand. “Let’s get you inside.”
I took a deep breath in and then smiled softly at him. I slid my legs out, and then held out both hands. He took them and gently helped me up. When he let go of my hands, he cupped my cheeks.
“You okay? Can you walk in?” he asked.
I nodded. “Thank you for coming to get me,” I said.
He kissed my lips. “I was local,” he said. “But I would have travelled from anywhere to get to you.”
He led me into the house, and I turned when I heard another car draw up. Tony pulled the Bentley beside the Ferrari. When he jogged to the front door, there was just a nod between the two men. I followed Sebastian through to the kitchen and pulled out a stool. I sat while he made coffee for us all.
“So, what happened?” he asked.
I sighed. “I was cleaning, or whatever I was doing. There was a knock at the door. I thought it was the people coming to take Grandma’s disability things, so I opened it and he was standing there. I think I went into shock. I told him she was dead, and he said he knew. He said he’d visited, looked through the window.”
“That’s fucking creepy,” Tony said.
“Do we know where he is now?” Sebastian asked, and Tony nodded.
“I don’t want to see him, and he isn’t coming to the funeral,” I said, panic lacing my voice.
I wasn’t sure what I was so panicked about. I hadn’t seen him in ten years. Sure, he hadn’t shown me any real love, and he’d beaten me when my mother died, but I wasn’t frightened of him.
“He isn’t coming anywhere near you,” Sebastian said.
I sipped on my coffee, using the warmth of the mug to heat up my hands.
“What do you think he wanted?” I asked.
“No idea, but I’ll find out.”
Sebastian looked again at Tony.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked, looking between them both.
“Nothing I want to divulge just yet,” Sebastian said, then glared at Tony.
