Daddy Dearest

Chapter Seventy Four

WAVERLY

I stand in the doorway of Nancy's sterile hospital room, my heart heavy with both relief and guilt. The fluorescent lights cast a harsh glow on her pale, bruised face - a constant reminder of how close she came to dying at Ken Harris' hands. I watch as her chest rises and falls in a slow, steady rhythm, the quiet beeping of the heart monitor punctuating the silence.

"Hey, Waverly," Nancy murmurs, her voice weak and strained from the ordeal. "Didn't expect you to visit."

"Of course I'd come," I reply, trying and failing to sound casual. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a truck. But hey, I'm alive, so there's that." She gives me a wry smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"Thanks to Melody," I say, feeling a pang of guilt for not being there when she needed me most. "I'm sorry, Nancy. I should've been there for her, but I was...lost myself."

Nancy's kind blue eyes soften. "It's okay, Waverly. You had your own problems to take care of."

I reach for her hand across the crisp white sheets, the warmth of her skin grounding me in the present moment. "But that's no excuse. I promise I'll be a better friend to both of you from now on."

She squeezes my hand gently, her grip surprisingly strong given her fragile appearance. "I know you will."

"Speaking of which," I say, glancing towards the door as if expecting Melody to appear any second, "She has moved back to your house."

"Yeah," Nancy confirms, her expression clouding over with concern. "That girl has always been independent, always trying to solve things on her own, hates to be a burden to anyone. I worry about her, though. She's been through so much."

"Hasn't she just?" I mutter, my Catholic guilt twisting and writhing within me like a nest of snakes. "I can't help but feel responsible for all this mess."

"Hey." Nancy's voice is firm, her gaze steady on mine. "Don't do that to yourself. You're not responsible for other people's actions or feelings. All you can do now is be there for Melody, and for your family."

"Family." The word feels foreign, heavy on my tongue as I think of Ben - cold, distant, struggling with his amnesia and the turmoil that comes with it.

"Go talk to Ben," Nancy urges, as if reading my mind. "It might not fix everything, but it's a start."

"Thank you, Nancy," I say, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes. "For everything."

"Anytime," she replies, her smile genuine this time.

As I leave the hospital room, I clutch onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, we can find our way back to each other.

***

The Plum house stands before me, a haunting reminder of my former lover Harry and the tangled mess we created. The sun casts its soft, golden rays on the weathered wooden exterior, making it appear both warm and inviting, yet somehow also cold and distant - much like Ben these days.

"Hey," Melody's voice breaks through my thoughts, startling me from my reverie. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Hi," I say, feeling a knot tighten in my chest as I look at her. She has Meredith's eyes, a deep, soulful brown that seems to hold centuries' worth of secrets. I swallow hard, pushing past the guilt that threatens to consume me.

"Melody, I wanted to talk to you about..." My voice trails off, the words catching in my throat. How can I possibly explain that Ben, the man who was supposed to be a father figure to her, harbored feelings for her? And worse still, that I had known all along but had chosen to ignore it?