Beautiful Lives

Chapter 17

Hi everyone! Just a quick announcement for you all: the playlist for this story is going to undergo some serious changes, due to the fact that I've listened to all of these songs a million times and have gotten a bit tired of some of them, so I'm hoping to re-work it, and I'll keep you all updated!

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy!

Kate xoxo

Chapter 17 - Little Lion Man (Mumford and Sons)

I have to say I wasn't expecting it.

When my dad had left years earlier, we'd all been prepared to never see him again. Even though I missed him every day, and often wished that he'd come back to see us, I never anticipated waking up to see him standing beside my bed.

"What are you doing here?" I croaked, my heart rate rising rapidly. He cleared his throat, shifting his weight back and forth from foot to foot.

"I came to see you," he said. I was glad he was holding off on the pet names – if he'd had the nerve to call me something like 'sweetheart', I would have melted into a puddle of tears, and never been able to stop.

"Ry," I said, looking down at my hands as I spoke. "Can you come here?"

"I'll give you two a minute," my dad said, sensing the tension in the room. Once the door clicked shut, I looked up at my brother, tears already forming in my eyes.

"What's going on?" I asked. "How did he know I was here?"

"Lexi," Ryder perched on the edge of my bed, and took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for the conversation. "I called him. Please don't be mad,"

"No, I'm not mad," I said, still too confused to have any idea what I was feeling. "I just... why did you call him?"

"Because he's our dad, and if I were in his place, I'd want to know if you were sick,"

"But he left," I blurted. "He made it clear that he didn't want to be a part of our lives anymore,"

"Well, he obviously regrets it because when I called him, he didn't waste any time,"

"How did you even find him?" I asked, wiping my cheeks with the palms of my hands. "I don't even have his number anymore,"

"I never deleted it," Ryder shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to be safe in case we needed him someday,"

"Oh god Ry," I said, shaking my head. "What about mom? Does she know he's here?"

Ryder lowered his head, going from confident to ashamed in a heartbeat.

"Ryder!" I cried. "You made him come back and you didn't even tell mom?"

"No!" he snapped. "No, I didn't tell mom because she would have been upset, and I hate to do that to her, but it's not just about her anymore! You're his daughter, you're sick, and he deserves to see you,"

"I don't even know if I want to see him," I admitted.

"Look Lex, if you want me to tell him to leave, I will. But I really think you should give him a chance. You need him too, you know,"

"No, don't tell him to leave," I said, finally. "I'll talk to him. But you can't tell mom that he's here, at least not until I've talked to him. If it doesn't go well and he wants to leave, there's no point in upsetting her by telling her that he was here,"

"Got it," Ryder said. "Do you want to talk to him now?"

"Yeah, might as well," I pushed myself up on the pillows, and knotted my hands together to stop them from shaking. Ryder leaned forward and kissed the top of my head – something he only did in times of extreme distress. I shut my eyes while he left the room, imagining the conversation that was to come.