Page 24 of His Reward
I’ll get you out of here.
“Dad would’ve known if he’d been there.”I fail to mask the bitterness in my voice.“He was supposed to be there for me, but he left.Good thing you showed up or I would’ve been ashes.”
“Thanks to your mom.”Malcolm’s expression turns pensive.“If she hadn’t called me—”
“She called you because she couldn’t get a hold of Dad when she tried to check up on me.”I scowl.“You want to know why she couldn’t reach him?”
I open my mouth to say the rest, then snap it shut.Malcolm stares at me.
“I know why.”
My eyes widen.“You do?How did you find out?”
“He told me.”He sips his coffee and sets down his cup.“He said he suspected you knew too.”
Before Dad left me alone that evening, he was on the phone with a woman who didn’t sound like Mom.
I can come over, but it’ll have to be quick.My daughter’s sick.
I didn’t know what it meant at the time, but I had a feeling I shouldn’t tell Mom because it would make her angry at Dad.As I got older, I figured out what that call meant, and I’m still not over his betrayal.
My father left me home alone while I was sick, sneaking off to cheat on my mother.In his absence, I almost died.
I sip my coffee, then stare into the brown liquid.
“I never told Mom.I didn’t want to cause more trouble after burning down the house.I’ve always felt like I betrayed her too by keeping Dad’s secret all these years.”
“You don’t have to feel that way,” he says, his tone consoling.“Your mom knows what Paul did.Just before I enlisted, your parents went to marriage counselling.Nicole was going to leave your Dad but he begged her for another chance.”
“I never knew that.They must have done it in secret.”I bite my lips together.“It was pointless because Dad has had other affairs.Mom stays with him for some reason.”
Malcolm taps his finger on the table in thought before he speaks.
“Your grandma used to call Paul greedy when we were kids.The nights I stayed over, I remember he used to look at what’s on my plate at dinner time and complain I got more food or something better than he did, even though it was the same damn thing.”He lets out an amused huff, then shakes his head.“It’s unfortunate he still has that mindset, never satisfied with the good thing he has right in front of him.”He fixes his gaze on me.“I’m not like that.I never take my eyes off the prize.And when I win it, I’m not letting go, no matter what.”
My stomach flips and my heart beats a little faster.His words and meaningful stare are putting wrong ideas in my head.
His eyes are on me.
AmIthe prize?
No.That’s impossible.I’m his best friend’s daughter.Eyes on the prizeis just a figure-of-speech too.Once again, I leapt to wild and totally incorrect conclusions.
Malcolm stands and gathers up our empty plates and cups.He takes them to the sink and washes them.I watch him for a moment, liking how he looks at home.
My gaze drifts to the clock on the wall and I stiffen.I’m going to be late for work if I don’t leave in the next twenty minutes.
I hurry to the bathroom for a quick shower.There’s a pinkish purple blemish on the inside of my right thigh, but I’m too rushed to give it much thought.
When I’m dressed and ready to go, I find Malcolm sitting in the loveseat.He stands and hands me a clear plastic baggie with a sandwich inside.
“Put it in the fridge so it keeps until your lunch break.”
He drove two hours to take me home, spent the night to keep me safe and ease my fear, made me breakfast in the morning, and made me lunch too.
No-one has went through so much effort for me ever since I left my parents’ house.He wasn’t lying when he said he likes taking care of me.
I resist the urge to hug him.It’s hard because I really want to.The last time I did that, I made things weird.I thank him and take the sandwich, slotting it carefully inside the side-pocket in my handbag.
