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Maybe he’s on the plane, I thought to myself.
I left a message.
“Hey, Alex. It’s Grace. Please call me when you land. I’m sorry if I said or did anything to upset you, but I’d really like to talk about last night. Have a good flight.”
I held the phone against my chest and pleaded with it to ring. I wanted to hear Alex’s voice, to hear him say it was all okay and that last night wasn’t a mistake.
Chapter 1
Alex
Four Years Later
“Mr. Denning, your mother is on the line.”
“Rachel, please tell her to call my cell—”
“She said she’s been trying all morning and left several messages, but you’re not answering.”
“I’ve been in meetings all day, and heading to another—”
“She said it’s important, Mr. Denning. I know your schedule and tried to explain it to her, but she insists it’s an emergency.”
I sighed and checked the time. I had an important Zoom meeting with doctors in the United Kingdom. I couldn’t keep them waiting, but my mother rarely ever called me, so it likely was important.
I answered the call.
“Hi Mom,” I said, trying not to sound bothered. Had my parents actually acted like they gave a damn about me, perhaps I would return the favor… but the phone went both ways.
Right away, I felt like an asshole when my mom sobbed into the phone. “Alex, it’s your dad. He died last night.”
I swiveled in my seat and sat upright, tensing up at the mention of my dad. I closed my eyes tight then instantly opened them again as flashbacks of the abuse flooded back to me.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” I said dryly.
I might have some goodwill toward my mother, but my father? I had none. I had burnt bridges with him years ago, and as soon as I was old enough to leave, I did. With good reason, too. He was an abusive drunk who took out all his anger on me. My mom had left us when I was ten, protecting herself, but leaving me there, not really thinking about what would happen to me in his care. I forgave her, mostly, but I would never forgive him.
“Is that all you can say?”
“Well, Mom, I can’t pretend to be heartbroken when I’m not. As far as I know, he was still as mean as ever, up until the day he died.”
“But he was your father.”
My jaw clenched at those words. I despised those words. The thought that I had to forgive a man just because he was my blood didn’t sit right with me.
“Mom, I’ve forgiven you because I see that you’re at least trying to be clean and do the right thing, but he never even tried with me. I’m sorry you’re sad, I’m sorry that he never could admit that he needed help, that’s about all I can say.”
“You’re so cold, Alex. What happened to you?”
“Nothing happened to me, I’ve just finally realized that what he did to me wasn’t my fault and I’ve moved on.” My shoulders were tight, and I had to lean back and remind myself to relax. “I can help pay for the funeral—”
“I need you here.”
“No, absolutely not,” I said. “I can’t—”
“You can, you just don’t want to.”
I checked the time. Five minutes until the Zoom call. My head was throbbing all of a sudden, the stress of the situation taking its toll on me. “I’ll see what I can do.”
