Page 112 of Terms + Conditions
“I think you did okay for yourself.” He motioned down the hall where Elizabeth and Brie walked toward us. “Brie loves her. It’s been Elizabeth this…Elizabeth that…I’m like ‘Hey, nice to see you too.’”
I couldn’t hold back my smile, watching my wife and daughter laugh together. A strong bond had already formed between them, one that ran deeper than a simple parent-child relationship. They both understood the pain of such a devasting loss that the rest of us couldn’t.
“I’m sorry for how I acted the other day.” Justin sighed. “And I’m sorry for calling Elizabeth a ‘rich bitch.’ That was uncalled for.”
“Thank you, but I think that apology belongs to someone else.”
We sat there silently until we both attempted to start the conversation again. There was still one more thing I needed to say, to come clean about…Part of the reason I had kept in touch with him all of these years. We both waited for the other to continue, until finally I conceded. Taking a deep breath, I said, “There’s something else that I feel I need to apologize for.”
“What’s that?”
“Chadwick.”
Justin sat up a little straighter in his seat.
“I know you don’t remember much from that night, but...I’m the one who took you to the hospital.”
Justin looked at me like I had two heads. “But you weren’t there.”
“That’s the story.” I nodded. “I wasn’t there for what happened to you, but I was there afterward. And while the rest of those idiots stood around freaking out, I loaded you up and drove you down to Mercy Hospital.”
Before anything more could be said, a nurse stepped out of the door leading to the back. “Davis and Sinclaire.”
“Moment of truth,” I whispered, standing from my chair. Wiping the sweat on my hands on my jeans, I followed Brie through the door to the point of no return.
A week later, we had a result confirming what, I think, we all already knew…Brie was my daughter.
But since then, we’ve had to jump through hoops to get custody transferred to me and Elizabeth. You’d think it was easy to get custody of your own child, especially when you have a test and documents to prove it, but it’s not. It wasn’t until we proved that we were fit parents to the court that they granted us custody—that was last Friday. Brie will be moving from Justin’s house in Mount Pleasant to Jupiter with us at the end of this week. Justin didn’t say much following my admission; truthfully he hasn’t said much to me ever since. Whenever we’re in the same room, he keeps things cordial and respectful, but still far from the way we used to be. I can only hope that with time we’ll be able to get back there…for Brie’s sake.
“She was just there two weeks ago.” Elizabeth laughs, taping up the box at her feet.
“That was for paint. Now she wants to get the dimensions so she can make sure the new bedroom set will fit.”
“I thought you said you measured it out already.”
“I thought she did.”
Elizabeth leans her head against the back of my desk chair with a groan. “You two would give Nina a coronary.”
“Guess it’s a good thing Brina arranged a marriage to you, then.” I lean over the back of the chair to kiss her. “Want some help with this? Might go faster with two people.”
“You do the shelves, I’ll do the desk?”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” I salute her, earning an eye roll before she rips open the top desk drawer, and the first thing she notices is the manilla envelope stuffed on top.
“What’s this?” Elizabeth pulls it out, turning it over to see the name of my attorney stamped on the front. “Is this…You never opened this?”
“Didn’t see the need to. I knew what it was.”
“Josh,” she sighs, slipping her finger underneath the seal to free the flap.
“What? It’s not like anything is surprising about a divorce petition. Why would I want to—” My words falter when she pulls out a white envelope stuck inside of the manilla one. “What isthat?”
Elizabeth stares down at the envelope in her hands, running her fingers over it before looking up at me. Her eyes are wet with unshed tears, and I drop the book in my hands, crossing the room to her. “I wrote this for you and asked my attorney to give it to you…Actually, I asked him to give it to youbeforeanything was filed, but I guess he missed that part. When I thought you didn’t respond, I told him to go ahead and file.”
“What’s it say?”
“Read it.” She shoves the envelope into my hands with a small smile.
