Everything Has Changed: Book Two

Chapter Twenty Four: Dinner and Shower

Chapter Twenty Four: Dinner and Shower

I sit at the restaurant sucking down my unsweet tea with lemon.

"So are you going to deep throat your straw or are you going to tell us what happened?" Abby asks.

I swallow my drink and sigh.

"I have a brother." I say. "His name is Micah."

"That's a cute name." Beatrice says thoughtfully.

"Yeah it is." I take another sip of my drink.

"What else?" Abby presses. "Aside from you running in front of a car to save your brother."

"Well he tried to get me to come inside and give me a bandaid but my Mom was asking who was at the door and he say nobody and came onto the porch." I clear my throat. "And then I confronted him on why he lied to her and he said she pretends like I don't exist apparently." Danny puts his hand on my thigh under the table, probably for support or something. "And I turned to leave and he asked me to wait. He apologized for what he said to me, said he missed me." I clear my throat again. "He apologized for being so controlling with Danny and I in Maryland. He said I was forced to grow up and he was sorry and then he told me he missed me again, and I forgave him because I'm not going to carry things around. Last time I carried things like that around, it just brought me down." He pause. "And then he asked me if I was married and I told him I was engaged. He said he was happy for me." I rub my eyebrow, thinking about what else he said. "Oh, and then he asked me to meet him somewhere and I told him no because having a secret relationship with my father is ridiculous." I hesitate. "I asked if she hurts Micah and he said no. I asked if she tries to hurt Micah and he didn't answer me but I could tell, so I asked him what he was doing and told him to leave her if he wasn't happy, but he said he can't because Micah is too young and she's likely to get custody because the court favors the mother at that age." I pause. "I asked him if he was going to do it my brother what he did to me and he said no, that back when everything went down with my Mom, he was heartbroken about her...then he called Mom a demon and told he he's not getting back with her. He said when he's done with her, she's going to jail."

"Are you serious?" Caleb asks. "He said that?"

"Yes." I nod. "And then he told me it would be a while and asked if he could find me when it's over." I take another sip of my drink. "I told him I didn't know."

I don't really want to go into detail about the intimate conversation with my Dad with anybody but Danny, but they all want to know and I trust them.

"He asked for one more chance to be the man that raised me...and I just told him to find me when it's over, that we could talk. I told him I wasn't promising anything." I clear my throat. "And then he told me he would make everything right and congratulated me on the engagement, said he was happy for me again." I hesitate. "And then I told him he's not invited to the wedding."

"You said that?" Abby asks, leaning forward slightly."But you guys are okay again!"

"We're not okay." I shake my head. "He apologized. He's still with my abusive Mother. She's still trying to hurt my baby brother. We're not okay, Abby, and he's hurt me way too much for me to just...let him back into my life. We didn't exchange numbers, he doesn't know where I live...he doesn't know anything, he just knows I'm engaged. I told him he can't come to the wedding with my Mom in the picture, and he wasn't surprised. He must've known he wasn't invited, and why would he think he would be? He's not stupid."

"If you want him to come baby, he can come." Danny says gently.

"He's not coming unless my Mom is in jail." I say. "He has to hide me from her. I don't want to deal with that shit. When he fixes the mess he made, we'll talk. I'm not talking to him until then."