Page 74 of Alex

I see so much pain, hurt, and disappointment cross his face as he talks about how he felt when his mom left.

“Did she want to see you?”

My voice is so quiet I don’t think Alex heard me, but he answers my question.

“No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t know if she wanted to, but she never did. I invited her to my graduations and holidays, but she never showed up. Hell, I even tried to find out from my grandparents where she was living, but they told me she didn’t want to be in my life anymore.”

I gasp as I process what he just said. How could a mother leave her child like that? With no notice or no willingness to meet with him. How could she not want to be in Alex’s life anymore?

My heart shatters for the man sitting next to me.

He continues, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “Ihad to face rumors from friends and Dad’s business associates. They ranged from her having an affair and being pregnant to Dad not being able to satisfy her.”

I crinkle up my face in disgust as I picture Mr. Strickland in bed. That’s not an image I want in my head, so I shake those thoughts away violently.

“My personal favorite was that Dad and I shared his assistant before he fired her- which is entirely not true.”

He chuckles as he gauges my expression.

“Those were friends and business associates spreading those rumors?”

“Yeah, and Adam was one of them.”

“Now, why doesn’t that surprise me?” I place my hand on top of his. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“I just want you to know that I’m here for you and I’ll listen whenever and wherever you need to talk.”

I guess it’s my turn to share my past with him. Fair is fair, right?

“My story is a lot shorter than yours. Mom worked two jobs while I worked one just to make enough money to pay our bills. We had no money in savings. We never had a rainy day fund where we could go crazy and blow it on a fun adventure.”

I close my eyes as they begin to water at the mention of Mom. She might not have been perfect, but she tried her damndest to make sure we had food on the table.

“We lived paycheck to paycheck and worked to live. Hell, there were several times where we couldn’t pay our bills and went without power.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, knowing what happens next in my story.

“After high school, I took out student loans to help me get through college. I was going to get a good job and give Mom the life she deserved, but she got sick. I wanted to be able to pay for her to be seen by great doctors.”

Anger builds in my chest as I remember my last days of college and her last days of her life.

“I had to drop out of college so I could be with her during her final days. Luckily, I found a great job working for your dad because I’m drowning in debt between my student loans and Mom’s medical bills.”

I don’t want Alex getting the wrong idea of my pity party, so I quickly add, “Mom promised me her hospital bills wouldn’t be passed on to me, but they have been. I get letters and bills in the mail all the time, plus phone calls threatening to seize my assets.”

I laugh, but it’s not a joyous laugh. It’s dry and sarcastic. “Like I have any assets to be seized, especially now.”

Alex grabs my hand. “Elise, I’m going to say something, but please don’t take this the wrong way.”

He waits until I nod before continuing.

“You’re being screwed over. They can’t makeyou pay for your mom’s hospital bills unless you signed something stating you would pay them. Actually, you don’t have to pay any of her bills unless you were a co-signer on a loan or credit cards.”

I raise my eyebrow. “We never had credit cards. If we couldn’t afford something, then we didn’t get it. But if I’m not responsible for her medical bills, why are they sending them to me?”

Alex glances away for a moment. “I’m not sure, but with your permission, I’ll look into the matter and if all else fails, I’ll get Dad’s lawyer to fight on your behalf. He’ll get it taken care of and get all the money you paid back.”

“You don’t have to do all that.” I say awkwardly, not really wanting Alex to dive deep into my financial business, but it would be life changing.

---