The Two Of Us

Attie (Chapter 9)

I handed Griffin a black coffee. It was 9 AM on Saturday.

I buckled myself in, "Can we listen to music."

Griffin turned up his car radio, taking sips of his coffee as he drove.

"Listen, Attie, I know you are still upset with me, but I have a proposition for you."

"And what is that?"

"I want to give you money for your college tuition."

"What?"

I turned to look at him, his eyes never left the road, but his jaw was clenched.

"I like you, Attie; I like you a lot. I know you don't see anything in me anymore, but I want to give you money if you continue to be Dakota."

"You want to pay me to be Dakota?"

Griffin nodded, "Yes."

Griffin wanted me to be his fake girlfriend, and I had difficulty saying no.

"How much will you give me?"

Griffin smiled, "Don't worry about it. I'll transfer the money after it is done; I'll need you to be my fake girlfriend until I graduate high school."

"Seven months?" I asked.

"I'll give you two grand each month; that will be around $14,000 by the end of it."

"Wow," I whispered.

"Is that a deal?"

"Yes."

Griffin took my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine.

I turned to look out the window, and I wasn't sure why I said yes. It seemed like it would bring me more struggle than happiness, but $14,000 is a lot to pretend to be someone's girlfriend. I could defiantly use that money for college.

"So, why are we going to Salem," Griffin asked.

"My dad lives there."

"Do you mind me asking why he lives there?"

"I would answer that question if I knew the answer."

Griffin didn't carry the conversation any further. There wasn't anything left to say; I don't even have the answer to why my father decided to move. One day, my parents woke up and chose not to be parents anymore. But, of course, there is a lot more to it than that.

The drive was peaceful; we had small talk. Mostly us comparing our high schools and how different they are.

"Okay, we are coming up to Salem. Do you have the exact location of where we need to go?" Griffin asked.

"Yeah, just continue to follow my directions."

Griffin pulled into the parking lot of the building.

"Can you wait in the car?" I asked.

He was still staring straight ahead with a shocked expression on his face.

"Okay, thanks," I said, patting him on the shoulder.

I took a deep breath and tried to gather my thoughts. I never thought I'd be here, and I never thought I'd have to do this.

I smiled at the lady behind the counter. The room smelled stale, enough to make my eyes water.

"I'd like to see David Wild, please," I said.

The lady looked up at me sympathetically.

"Are you one of his daughters?" She asked.

I nodded but didn't say anything in response.

She spent a few minutes on her computer before she stood up to escort me to his room.

She disappeared inside his room before coming back out in the hallway.

"You can go in now," she said.

I clutched my purse to my side and took a deep breath.

I regretted coming as soon as I saw him in his hospital bed.

I didn't think I'd have any sympathy for this man but seeing a shell of the man I once knew made me want to cry.

He smiled weakly, "Attie, my sweet girl."

I sauntered over to his bedside, fighting back my tears. His hair was gone, and his eyes were sinking into his head. He looked on the verge of death; well, that's what hospice is for.

"Dad."

He raised his arm out, and I knelt over to hug him.

"I didn't think you'd come when I sent you the letter. I knew Allie and Holden wouldn't have responded, but I knew you'd have a little empathy for me."

"How long do you have?" I asked.

He smiled, "The doctors tell me I could go any day now. I wake up each day surprised that I've made it through the night."

"You've ignored their advice for the past two years; they could have gotten you more time."

"Oh honey, you knew it was terminal. I had no chance; what was the point in fighting it."

I brushed the tears off my cheek, hating that I was weak enough to cry.

"They could have given you more time with us, but you chose to leave. You chose to run away as soon as you were diagnosed instead of fighting to stay with your family longer."

"Cancer is not always worth the fight, Attie."

I shook my head, "We should have been worth the fight. I don't know why I came today; it's stupid."

I walked over to the window; his view was of the dumpster.

"Attie, please look at me, honey. You have to listen to me."

I turned back to look at him, "Mom is gone; I'm pretty sure you already knew that, didn't you? It shows how good you pick people like you; she flaked on us. What did you see in her? Holden has been acting like our dad for the past two years; I'm pretty sure he's getting gray hairs, and he's only twenty-one. I think Tate is mentally traumatized. He barely speaks, only to Holden."

"Don't talk about your mother like that, Attie. She doesn't deserve that."

"Dad? That bitch deserves everything wrong in her life. When you left to go travel, she left too. She was perfectly fine, too, yet she decided she didn't want to be a mother anymore. She even gave up custody of Tate and gave it to Holden. That's pathetic if you ask me, absolutely pathetic."

I was practically yelling when the nurse came back into the room to drag me out.

"I'm not done," I said.

"Yes, you are," the nurse said.

I couldn't even look in the direction of Griffin's car. I sat on the bench outside the hospice building and let it all out.

I couldn't even see ahead of me; it was all blurry from my tears. But then, I felt arms wrap around me in a tight embrace.

"Attie, it's okay. Shh, it's okay," Griffin said.

Hearing him made me cry harder, and I hugged him tighter.

He held me tightly, stroking my hair. He smelled nice, like pine trees.

"It's okay, Attie. Shh, it's okay. You'll be okay, shh,"

He held me for ten minutes, whispering reassuring words into my ear.

"I've never felt so alone," I whispered.

He pulled back, cupping my face with his hands. His eyes were searching mine. His eyes were a stormy green; I wished I could escape inside of them.

"Attie, you are not alone. Never think that; I will always be here for you. You matter to me, Attie; I promise you will never be alone as long as I'm by your side."

He tucked my stray hair behind my ear and pulled me back into a hug.

"Come on, let's go. We shouldn't be here anymore," he said.

He helped me into the car and drove us away from the place I chose to go to.