Love Heals

Chapter 6

It's been a few weeks since Thea and Caden filed the music video. Their lives have changed so much in that time, and I feel like I made the wrong choice for my daughter, yet she loves what she does. She's been struggling at school and keeps asking if she can be homeschooled like the other kids at the dance studio. She's been asked if Ben is her father.

"MOM!" Thea yells from the front door. She's just getting out of school. Cora said she'd pick them up today so I could handle calls from other agencies wanting to sign the kids up for more videos, but we keep saying no. That school has to be their primary focus, and we don't even tell them they are getting offers. I just can't deal with that on top of everything else.

"I'm in the kitchen," I reply as I hang up the phone for the tenth time in two hours. "How was school?"

"It sucks; Caden and I both want to be pulled!" She says, and I smile.

"Thea, you aren't getting pulled," I told her, wrapping her in a hug.

"When's Daddy going to be home?" I smiled hearing her say that she called him Ben two weeks ago and asked if he was really her father.

"I don't know; you can call him," I said as I looked at my caller ID again. LDOC, Danny is calling, and I just sent it to voicemail. I don't have the energy to deal with him today or have Thea hear him asking to see her. Those are just not questions that I can deal with.

"Who was that?" She asked, and I pray she didn't see the Caller ID.

"No one," I try to smile, but she shakes her head.

"You always send those calls to voicemail. Who is it?" She asks, getting louder now.

"Okay, my daughter, it's no one you need to worry about, and you have two hours until dance class. Let's get moving on some homework."

"It's music tonight, not dance!" She says as she storms out of the room.

"Thank you!" I yell in return.

I look at the calendar on the wall and see, yes, in fact, it was music tonight. I sigh and wonder when this craziness will settle down. Everything I am doing is to help her. I wonder if she'll ever want to give any of this up. I'm done doing all of this and decide she just wants one thing to focus on.

I sighed as I looked at my phone, seeing a voicemail he had left me. I open my app for voicemail and take a deep breath. There is only so much drama I can take from him, and I'm wearing thin on what I can and just pray Ben handles him, or the contract gets changed, and we do a no-contact order against him.

Slowly, the message loads, and I hold my breath, hoping what he has to say is at least pleasant for once. His voice is oddly soft and relaxed, and I drink my coffee. "Peyton, I'm sorry. I just want my daughter to know me. I know I signed over my rights, but I'm trying hard to prove to everyone that I'm different. I was stupid and a child. I've lost my sister and my parents; I have no one but my little girl that you get to hold every day. Please, Peyton, allow me to prove that I've changed. They are talking about me possibly getting out sooner rather than later. I've served ten years already, and they don't know if they'll have me serve the full term or allow me out sooner." The message ends there, and I wonder if they ended his call or if he ended it, changing his mind on telling me more. I have fought every few years to keep him in there. Eva and I both have fought to keep him behind bars.

"Mommy, you okay?" Thea asks softly as she walks over to me.

"Yeah," I smile and lock my phone after closing out of the app.

"I've been trying to talk to you for five minutes." I take a deep breath and wonder how long it's been since I listened to Danny's voicemail.

"I'm sorry, Thea, what's going on?" I ask softly, looking at her. Her green eyes seem sad today, and I wonder what's weighing on her now.