Lead On (Complete)

~ Chapter 37 ~

Jeff stared at the front door, his hat in his hands. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say, but he sure knew what he was feeling. Betrayed, hurt, upset, and yet, understanding and forgiving. Lupita was a quiet woman, there were no two ways around that, and she hadn't been vocal about her past relationship. But she had expressed, one night that her ex walked out, leaving her pregnant and alone. Her own mom tossed her out and she raised the baby alone, working long hours and having help from dear friends and neighbors. And she told Jeff, as much as he didn't want to take her baby away from her, that she would never forgive that man and had issues with any man in general. So really, in her eyes, he was doomed from the start. Of course, that did not make this okay. Nor did it make her issues with him okay.

He wasn't a bad man, a bad husband, but he wasn't perfect either, and like everything else, there were highs and lows in relationships. He had always hoped she would see that, but now he was really questioning if she had. He finally sucked in a deep breath and raised his hand to knock but she beat him to it, appearing at the door and looking at him.

"Figured I'd be seeing you." With that, she pushed the screen door open for him. "Come in, Jeff." He followed the woman in, taking in her features, thinking she had aged in the last few weeks that he had seen her. Not that he was surprised by that. In fact, the words from the doctor the day before filtered through his mind, and he couldn't help but wonder if she was taking care of herself like she should be doing. Sure, he knew Rose took care of her, and kept an eye on her, but she wasn't around all the time and Lupita was a hard-headed woman.

"Why did you think I'd stop by?" Lupita sat down in her rocking chair and waved to the couch as she looked up at him.

"I talked to my daughter and she questioned me. I would have been more surprised if she didn't talk to you or if you didn't stop by." He sat down on the couch and rested his arms on his knees.

"Why?" Lupita raised an eyebrow at him causing him to clench his teeth. She knew what he was asking; he shouldn't have to demand more. "Why would you do something like that? You hurt her, you hurt me, and you had no remorse over it!"

"You left, you hurt her, not me."

"Lupita, I had a huge change in my life and I needed answers, answers I was not going to find in Skyville, no matter the love I had, have, for Rose or not. Rose understood that. My intention was never to leave her, never. She was, is, my lifeline. And yet every message, every contact was blocked, by you!"

"You hurt her, Jeff. You leaving, hurt her! You were trying to find answers and what other bull shit you want to spew, hurt her. You didn't take her with you, you left her here."

"Because she wouldn't go with me, even if I asked, Lupita! Why? Because her mother was here and she wouldn't dare leave her for more than a weekend!" Jeff took another deep breath and looked at her. "Do you think it didn't kill me not to have my wife at my side? Do you think I wanted to go down that road, not knowing what I would find without the one rock that's always been by my side? The problem wasn't me asking, it was in knowing her choice. Or even better yet, it was putting her in a position to make her choose. As a man who loved her, was in love with her, I would never do that to her. Like I would never do that to her now."

"I'm a grown woman, Rose doesn't need to look after me..."

"Stop, Lupita," he told her, interrupting her. "You are, yes, and you raised a wonderful and smart daughter. However, you did it alone, and that means, to Rose, that she needs to be there for you, regardless of what you said or how you feel. Now, what would you have hated more? A man that didn't make her choose, or a man that did?" He watched the play of emotions on her face and noticed the thoughts rolling through her mind. She didn't like what he had to say, that was obvious, but that wasn't the point. She didn't get a say in that, at all. No one could fix what happened ten years ago, but they could try to make things better now. And it wasn't like that didn't irk him, because he did, but really, what could he do now? Not a damn thing, sadly.

"I still don't think you're good for her and I still think you'll hurt her." Jeff shook his head as he sighed.

"Lupita, I don't think I will ever change that. But all I can ask is that you step aside and let Rose and I work through what we need to. Forgive me, but I feel like you interfered a lot more than you should have." Lupita glared at him.

"I wish you were able to have kids because I know you would have done the same thing if someone hurt your babies. You would do whatever you could have to make sure you never saw tears in their eyes again, to make sure you didn't have to hold them while they wailed about being hurt!"

"Yeah, you're right. But you never even gave me the chance to fix what mistake wasn't even there, did you? You judged me, condemned, and killed me before I got to say a piece. And you made sure Rose didn't have the means to find out the truth herself either. I'm not sure that's very motherly of you or not, to be honest." Lupita shot off the chair, her eyes flashing, and he was glad to see the spitfire back in her gaze, he was almost starting to miss it.

"Don't you dare talk about my parenting skills like that! You have no right, no leg to stand on, Jeff. I did what I thought was best, and to be honest, I would do it again." Jeff watched as Lupita took a couple of deep breaths before releasing a cough that sounded deeper in the lungs than he'd like. He stood up to help her but she waved him away. "I'm fine," she told him between coughs but he didn't buy that anymore.

"I don't think I believe you." Again, his thoughts triggered back to what Tyler said about the pills. He didn't think Lupita was getting better. He would say, from what he could hear, that she was getting worse, and that couldn't be good. "Lupita, you can hardly breathe." That was true enough too. Between the fits of coughing it seemed like she couldn't take a deep enough breath.

"I'm....fine," she wheezed out and he grew more concerned. He helped her sit back down and then handed her the bottle of water before he went to her room and went in search of the pills. And when he grabbed them from her bathroom counter, he saw how full it was, and shook his head. She hadn't touched but a handful of them, if even that.

"Lupita," he started as he walked back into the living room, shaking the bottle, "this is still almost full. You should have had a lot more gone." He took a pill out and gave it to her.

"I'm to take...them...as needed." She swallowed the pill and gave him a sour face in the process, one he didn't care about. He knew damn good and well that wasn't the case with these pills, that she should be taking them daily, and wasn't. And that did not bode well for the problems she was having.

"That's not what I was told." Lupita glared at him as she kept on coughing and his concern grew. "Lupita, I need to call 911, you can hardly breathe right now." But the moment he saw the blood appear on the tissue she had covering her mouth he knew he was past the point of fighting. He flipped his phone out and dialed the emergency line, explaining what was going on, and the operator said they would get an ambulance out as quickly as possible. He hung up and supported the woman, having her take some small sips, however it wasn't helping. She was struggling and he had no idea what to do. In fact, he couldn't even call Tyler to ask since he didn't have a number.

"You...don't....have...to...stay," she somehow got out and he shook his head. He might have issues with her actions, and she might hate him, but he cared for her and he wouldn't dare leave her alone.

"Don't be foolish," he told her as he held her, trying to keep her upright to try and ease the coughing, "I wouldn't dare be any place else." He heard the sirens and sent a silent prayer up. "You and Rose are all I have, Lupita, I wouldn't leave you alone like I wouldn't leave Rose alone." And no matter what she said or how she felt, that was the truth. And he only prayed that she saw it sooner than later.