AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We can start again.” My voice is no louder than a whisper.
Nate stares at me, and begins to shake his head. “No, Dad. We can’t.”
I’ve already been stabbed in the gut by his words. Now he’s twisted the knife. “Can’t we? Please?”
My son remains mute.
All of this is my fault. I pushed him so hard he ran across the country. Just because he’s back in town doesn’t mean I deserve a second chance. I don’t. I have no right to it.
What I’m offering is too little too late.
I stumble backward; my legs are weak.
“I understand.” I’m holding on to the last bit of composure I have. “I under…” Before I go, I swallow, take one last breath. One more word. Not that I deserve it. “My door is always open to you. Always. If you ever want to give me the chance I don’t deserve to…to get to know you again.”
Nate’s forehead wrinkles.
“Anyway…” My vision is hazy as I rush out of Seth’s apartment.
Seth and Mason call out after me, but I don’t bother to acknowledge them.
I can’t look them in the eye right now having been rejected by my own son. I’ll lose it.
Once I’m out on the city street, I walk for a while without knowing where I’m going, my heart pumping, muscles burning, feet aching.
By the time I come back to reality, it’s dark. And I’m alone, somewhere in the city I have never been.
Grown up here all my life and there are so many corners I’ve never explored. Even more so since I’ve been cordoned off by my wealth.
I need to get home.
But when I pull my phone out of my pocket, I don’t call my driver.
“Edwin?” Sonia’s voice is like coming home.
I don’t know where she is, how far she is from me, but that doesn’t matter. I have her on the phone. She answered.
“Sonia.”
“What’s wrong? You sound…”
“I need to see you.” Not the way I’ve needed her before. I hope that’s clear in the tenor of my voice. I need her in a new way. “Please, I need…”
“Where are you? Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m–”Pull it together, Edwin. “I’ll send a car to your residence. As soon as possible. Please.”
I’m afraid she’ll refuse me in the name of her brattish behavior. Or worse, refuse me because what right do I have to demand her time on a whim like this. That she’ll think I’m some sort of controlling asshole rather than a man desperate for the comfort of the woman he?—
“Of course. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
My heart swells. “You have no idea what that means, you have…” I inhale. Deep. “I’ll see you soon.”
Knowing that Sonia is on my horizon, I could run the length of Manhattan if I needed to and not care about my aching body or my sadness. I would run around the world if I had to.
20
SONIA
