Broken Souls (Souls #1)

Chapter 30 - Matthews

My eyes fly open and I turn my head to the side. Destiny is wrapped in my arms with my blanket over her as she sleeps peacefully. Her legs are entwined with mine and her hair is splayed across my pillow. I smile down at her and kiss the top of her head lightly, careful not to wake her up.

She never went home and I was okay with her staying over for the night. After a while Destiny got over the shock of seeing her mother after all these years, then she got over her anger towards her which followed the shock. In the end she just felt sorry for her. And, I felt sorry for her too. I was sorry that her mother didn't get to see this amazing girl - her daughter - turn into a lovely young woman. It's too bad.

I rub the sleepiness out of my eyes and look over at my alarm clock on my bedside table. It's early. Six o'clock am. I am not supposed to wake for another hour to get ready for school. I hear something slam downstairs and sit upright in my bed. Slowly I pull away from the warm bed and Destiny and cover her up again. I need to find out what made that noise. If it is my father I will need to calm him down or may need to get him out of the house. I don't want him making a bunch of racket to wake up Destiny. She needs her rest. I make my way down the stairs, carefully avoiding all of the steps that will squeak, and when I reach the bottom step I see my father sitting at the kitchen table with a beer bottle in his hand.

"I know that you're peeking around the corner, Madison."

I take a deep breath and walk into the kitchen. Beer is spilled onto the wooden table and I assume that the slamming sound must have been my Father slamming his bottle on the table.

"Now, don't just stand there awkwardly. Take a seat or go back upstairs with your girl," my father says. He sounds a bit different though. His voice isn't as harsh as it usually is. Instead he sounds exhausted. I take a seat across from him. No one says anything for a few minutes. We just stare at one another. I glance at the bottle in his hand for a second and then bring my gaze back up to his face. Finally, I decide to break the silence. After taking a deep breath I say, "Where's Lizzie?"

My Father scoffs and then takes a long pull of beer. After he puts the bottle back down on the table he sneers, "That lying, minx?" He reaches into his pocket and fishes something out of it. He tosses it onto the table and the object slides its way over to me. It stops at the edge of my side of the table and I pick it up curiously. It's a ring. But, not just any ring. It's Lizzie's ring. I hold it up to the light and watch the diamond on it glisten.

"What are doing with this in your pocket? Shouldn't she have it? Shouldn't it be on her finger?" I question puzzled.

My Father snorts. "I rather shove it up her ass - actually no, she doesn't even deserve it there."

"What?  What are you saying?" I ask. Inside I'm buzzing with joy since I believe I know what he's talking about, but I decide to ask him for confirmation. I don't want to be jumping to any incorrect conclusions.

"I broke off the engagement. I called it off," my Father saying tiredly. "I can't believe that I almost married that woman." He rubs a hand down his face and sighs out loud.

I stay silent and listen to him talk.

"Since your Mother died...I haven't been there for you - and I see that now. I'm sorry. I was too caught up in trying to make myself feel better and forget about her, that in trying to do that I neglected you. I abandoned you. You and your brother both."

"Father, it's okay-"

"No," he says. A bit of the harshness in his voice that I am used to leaks out. "It's not okay." His voice softens a little and he continues. "What I did was awful. But, I promise that I won't ever do that again. From now on it's just us. Us, and no other woman to come in and replace your Mother - because no one can fill her shoes no matter how long or hard I search." I watch as he get up from his seat with his beer in hand and walks over to the sink. "From now on," he says as he tips the beer, "I am going to be the father that I should have been all those years ago." I watch the amber liquid as it swirls down the drain. "I'm going to be there for you when you need me." The beer is almost all gone now. "I am not going to abandon you like I did before." The glass bottle is empty and I watch as he tosses it in the trash. "Never, ever again."

I smile at the disposed bottle and look into his eyes. I see truth in there. I see the man he used to be before - the one who he was with Mother. I don't doubt him. I trust that he will stick to his promise so I tell him so. "I believe you."

My Father smiles at me. I twirl the ring between my two fingers subconsciously. My Father looks at the ring between my two fingers and I stop twirling it. I walk towards him holding out the diamond ring for him to take. "You should take this. It's yours," I say.

He shakes his head. "I don't need that. I have no need for it. You might as well keep it."

"And do what with it?" I ask, still holding it out. "I can't wear the damn thing. It's for a woman."

My father smiles. "When the time comes you'll know what to do with it."