AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They stood there for a moment, stewing in anger.
“Get out!”
Slowly, they walked toward the door. Sheila stopped in front of me. Her evil eyes trailed me from head to toe.
“Your mother always thought she was better than the rest of us. I never liked her. It’s too bad you weren’t on the damn boat.”
That stung. It didn’t have to come to that.
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” I said, not showing any emotion.
“Stay away from my children.”
“Well, you made sure they stayed away this long so... I have no problem with that.”
When they were good and gone, I sat on my couch and had a long cry about that shit. It was the moment I knew I could never have a relationship with my family again. I accepted it. It is what it is at this point.
I arrived at Pasha’s around seven to pick her up for game night.
After that visit from William, I just wanted to see her face. I’d already called and spoken to Bella about it, but somehow, seeing Pasha always put me in a good headspace. I lightly tapped on her front door. A few seconds passed before she opened it with a smile.
“Hey, you.”
“Hey, baby.”
I stepped in and pecked her lips before I pulled her into my arms for a hug. When she tried to pull away, I held her tighter.
“Not yet,” I said softly.
She didn’t question me. She simply wrapped her arms tighter around my frame and stroked my back. She didn’t know how much I needed this hug.
“I got you,” she whispered, kissing my cheek.
For a while, she held me while I worked through the flight of emotions surging through me. When my nerves finally calmed, I pulled back and looked down at her. She cupped my face, gently stroking my cheeks.
“Better?” she asked.
“Much better.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I nodded. She led me over to her new couch, and we sat down. After a heavy sigh, I gave her the rundown of everything that had transpired after the funeral. She listened attentively as she held my hand.
“I’m so sorry they treated you like that, Callum. You didn’t deserve that at all.”
“It’s fine. It hurts, but I’ll be okay. I created a family with people who show me nothing but love and no expectations in return.”
“You’re blessed to have them.”
“I’m blessed to have you as a part of that.” I leaned in and softly kissed her lips. “You make me happy, Pasha.”
She smiled softly. “You make me happy too... very happy. You know, this whole thing makes me want to reach back out to some of my family. When my depression settled in after my parents died, I withdrew from so much of the world. They understood, and for a long time, they continued to reach out to me. But over time, it stopped. I’ve always felt bad about that. I didn’t want to project the way I was feeling onto anybody. I just wonder if they’d be open to a relationship now that I’m getting it together.”
“If you want to try, I will support you. Don’t let my situation deter that.”
“I know there’s a family reunion coming up. They host one at the same time every year. Maybe I’ll go.”
“Maybe you should. If it’s on your heart to restore your relationships, I say it’s worth a try. You never know until you put yourself back out there.”
