Page 25 of Don't Regret Me
He waited a beat before sighing and getting to his feet. “Sure.”
The ride was silent, both of them lost in their own minds. When they pulled up outside her house, he cut the engine. Neither of them moved.
“Can I see you again?” he asked.
She wanted more than anything to say yes, but every moment she spent in his presence was another reminder that her heart would never be whole. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Tonight was a mistake, and I’m… sorry.” She scrambled from the car, not letting herself look back.
It wasn’t until she’d shut the door behind her that she let the gaping hole in her chest split wide open. Crumpling against the door, it was all she could do to stay upright. Tears blurred her vision, and she knocked her head back against the solid wood.
Footsteps came toward her, and she looked up to find her dad rubbing sleep from his eyes. “You’re back late.” He froze when he took in her state. “Lizzy.” Strong arms came around her, pulling her away from the door and replacing its stability with their own.
He led her into the living room and sat her on the couch. “I’ll make you some tea.” That had been his answer to tears since she was a teenager who suddenly found herself without a mother.
She hunched forward, head in her hands, letting every emotion she’d held back through the months wash over her, escaping in a torrent of tears and ragged breaths.
When her dad returned with a giant mug of green tea, he set it in front of her and took a seat on the couch at her side. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
“I was suspended from work tonight.” It was all she could think to say.
His shoulders dropped. “I figured that was coming. Jimmy showed me the video on social media.”
“I’m not sure what came over me, Dad.”
“That man was rude to you. If he ever comes to another poker night, we’ll all have to have a chat with him about how we treat women and waitstaff in general.”
“Sounds like a real threat, Dad.” A chat. Her dad and his old-man gang thought they were tough when, truly, they would just want to know why he was rude and figure out how to help him get to a kinder place. The thought forced a laugh through her tears.
“There’s something else going on.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I know I’m just an old man.”
“Oh, don’t play that card.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I saw Nick tonight.”
He suppressed a smile. “I may have seen him dropping you off.”
“Were you spying on me?”
“One does not spy on their adult daughter. A father must know who needs a good whooping and who gets a fruit basket.”
“A fruit basket, really? You’re such a nerd.”
“But it made you smile, didn’t it?” He squeezed her tighter, and she couldn’t deny his usual tactic worked. “I don’t need to know the specifics, only if you’re going to be okay.”
She nodded against him. “Eventually.”
“You’re strong, kid. After everything you’ve been through… have I ever told you how much I admire you?”
“Once or twice.” More like at least once a week. Her dad was never short on affection.
“Good, because it’s something you should always remember. Your heart will never truly break as long as the rest of us are here to keep loving you enough to hold it together.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
He stood, looking down at her. “I know you need your space, so I’m going to bed. But drink your tea before it goes cold. You’ll feel better after you do.”
He was right, as usual. The tea sank warmly into her stomach, calming the thrumming in her temples.
Tomorrow, she’d return to the life she’s started rebuilding before Nick came back to town. She’d march into work and demand her suspension go away, find out who this Franklin guy really was and what he might know about Nick’s accident, and get her kids back from their father, hugging them until they squealed.
Everything would be fine.
