“What was the check for?”
“The check? How do you—”
“Cut the shit, Mother. Tell me the fucking truth.” I keep my tone low. My hand grips the phone so tight, I feel as though I may break it.
“Everett, please. Don’t be dramatic. Okay, yes, I went to speak with Leora that day. If you were going to be with her, I needed to make sure she would be loyal to you. I offered her money to leave. With how highly you spoke of her, I wasn’t expecting her to actually take it. She took the money and ran. She didn’t love you. She just wanted our money.”
“That’s fucking bullshit!” She is lying. Leo never took the check. Ski had it, said she left it on the table.
She is silent again. I know she is trying to come up with a story, a lie. She is probably gripping her pearls like she always used to when putting on her mask.
“She was pregnant, Everett. She didn’t tell you. She just wanted money. I couldn’t see you give up everything you worked for…for her. I wrote her a check so she could set herself up somewhere nice, somewhere far from here. Last I heard, she lost the baby, so there is no point in looking for her, sweetie.”
But she didn’t lose the baby. More lies.
“Goodbye, Mother.”
“Ev—”
I hang up. Slam my hand on the steering wheel.
“Fuck!”
Seven days. It’s been one week since Rune gave me Everett’s note, and I was half expecting him to be banging on my door the minute I finished reading it. But he didn’t.
The whirlwind of emotions spinning through my mind the last seven days has left me numb.He’s not your secret anymore.His words repeat in my head. He was never my secret.
Okay. Lie.
He was my secret for one month when I didn’t tell Everett I was pregnant. Could that be what he is referring to? That I didn’t tell him first? That he had to find out about Rune from his mom?
Either way, if we are comparing who screwed who over worst, it was definitely him. I may have been scared to tell him about the pregnancy, but I was obviously scared for good reason, because as soon as he found out, he left me. I raised Rune on my own, without him. I fucking almost died, along with Rune, bringing him into this world, and I did it without him.
I don’t understand what he wants. Does he want to take Rune from me? I’ll be fucking damned if after all this time, he suddenly decides he wants to be a father.
No.
Fucking.
Way.
Over my dead body will that happen. I will fight him tooth and nail. I continue to turn the hand grinder, over and over and over. Letting it pull the anger from my body. I feel like I’m going to throw up because this is the first time I can remember ever being truly, truly angry at Everett.
Don’t get me wrong. I was devastated when I read that note. Heartbroken—fuck, just plain broken, honestly. I was scared. I was excruciatingly dejected, but angry? No.
A small part of me understood where he was coming from because deep down, I knew he was right.
A baby would have derailed everything he ever wanted in life. College, a career. He would have resented me for making him turn down all of what he wanted from life at that time in his life. But now, now that he has the career and the life, he wants to try to come back into our life? I don’t think so. Everett James Rowan can go fuck himself. Rune is mine.
“LJ, honey, your beans are practically inhale-able coffee at this point. Why don’t you put the grinder down?”
I come back to reality and put the grinder down. Shit. “I’m sorry. Ijust… I’m off today.”
I haven’t told Cole about the note. About Dr. Giraffe being Everett. Rune’s father.
“It’s okay. You wanna talk about it?”
“Not really.” I wipe my hands on my apron. “I’m just going to go out front. I think I need to make some coffee. That will make me feel better.”
