Page 98 of Never Gonna Lie
Putting my key in the lock, I twist the doorknob and walk in. The cleaners have clearly been, the place looks spotless, unlike the last time I was here. Everything looks untouched as if no one’s been living here. I make my way through the eerily quiet house until I come to Drew’s office.
Pausing, I take a deep breath and knock before pushing the door open.
He looks up from behind his computer, a look of confusion on his face before it’s replaced with anger. “Get the fuck out,” he roars, standing up and walking around his desk. “I don’t want you anywhere near me.”
I put my hands up in a friendly gesture. “I’m not here to fight, Drew. I’m here to ask you to take your head out of your ass and fix things with your daughter.”
He stops. “I have nothing to say to her.” By the way his voice catches, I don’t believe him.
“You can be as mad as you want at me; hell, you don’t ever have to speak to me again, but don’t do this to Raven, Drew. She deserves better than that.” I run a hand down my face, exhaustion at the situation hitting me. “She needs you.”
The man I’ve called my friend for the last eighteen years looks at me, tears lining his eyes. He looks awful, sallow skin, bags under his eyes, and I know this has hit him harder than any of us thought it would.
“She doesn’t need me,” he says as he huffs out a derisive laugh. “She has you.”
“She’ll always have me, Drew, but you’re her dad. Please,” I implore as I take a step forward. “For her, for you,fix this.”
He sighs. “Why? Why mydaughter? Of all the people in the world, James. Why her?”
I don’t have a good enough answer, so I go with the truth. “I don’t know, all I know is that I love her, Drew. I want to spend my life with her if she’ll have me.”
“She’s twenty years old, she has her whole life ahead of her,” he points out.
I bristle at his words. “I’m well aware,” I drawl, rolling my eyes. “I’ll be here as long as she wants me. She’s it for me.” I shrug.
Drew assesses me. His eyes narrow and his head tilts to the side, but he won’t find a lie. I meant what I said. I just need to tellherthat.
“You mean that, don’t you?”
I nod my head slowly. “Yup. I tried to stay away from her but…” I smile. “She has a way of burrowing under your skin.”
He goes silent for a while, and I can feel the bead of sweat working its way down my spine.
He has to be okay with this. Ineedhim to be okay with this.
He exhales heavily, running a hand down his face before he finally says, “I don’t agree with this, and it’s going to take me a long time to be okay with you and my daughter, but… I’ve already lost so much, I can’t lose her as well.”
“That’s all I’m asking for, man.” I nod my head. Taking a seat opposite him, I ask, “How are you doing?”
Drew sighs, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning back on his desk. “Honestly? Not great. I loved Emma, I did. I guess I just loved the company more.”
“You need some time away, Drew,” I suggest. “You working constantly like this, it’s not healthy.”
“It's all I’ve ever known,” he states with a shrug, his eyes glossy with emotion.
“Maybe it's time to find something else worth living for?” I raise an eyebrow at him. “Go on vacation, go skydiving, hell, go on a road trip across the country, just… take a breather. You’re forty-one years old, live a little, hmm?”
Drew looks like he’s contemplating my idea. “Maybe.”
With a curt nod of my head, I push myself up from the chair and leave. I just hope that in time, what’s been broken can be fixed, and those wounds can start to heal.
Chapter Sixty-Five
RAVEN
Ihave a rare day off today, so I chose to spend it catching up on some reading. James is working, so it’s nice to have the quiet time. My dad still won’t speak to me, it’s the longest we’ve gone in… ever. Whenever we had a falling out as I was growing up, it was only ever for a couple of hours at most. One or the other would make the effort to say sorry, usually with some form of sweet treat, but somehow, I don’t think that’s going to cut it this time. I don’t know if the whole kidnapping thing made me slam my walls up against Emma and not care so much about her and her actions, butmy dad? I don’t think I’ll ever get over that.
My phone rings, pushing those thoughts aside. I don’t immediately jump for it, I like keeping James on his toes with the ‘will she, won’t she answer’ it makes for the best kind of punishments when he gets home. The call stops and starts again. I finally glance down and realize it’s my dad. I fumble a few times before I can swipe the screen to accept the call. “Dad?”
