𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟

Chapter 10 : Tristan

Unlike the first day I met her, Ivy doesn’t even acknowledge Michael’s hand. Instead, she glares at him, so he clears his throat before shoving his fingers into his pockets.

Nobody says anything for a few minutes—minutes that feel like years—until Tyler suggests they move to the living room while I lock the door.

Tyler has a tight grip on Ivy’s arm—probably for balance as much as for comfort—and leads his sister to the larger couch facing the TV, leaving Michael to sit on their left, by the window.

I’m still standing by the door, unsure of what I’m supposed to do. I contemplate going to my room, but it doesn’t feel right. Somehow, being away from Ivy when she’s going through this feels like a betrayal.

She makes the decision for me when she sends me a pleading look.

I cautiously walk to the couch on their right, near the dining room, and once I settle, I catch Ivy staring at me. I notice her hands shaking, so I nod once, encouragingly.

Ivy gulps and turns to Michael.

“Why are you here?” she asks, her expression blank.

“I got out of rehab, and I was hoping we could get to know each other, be a part of each other’s lives,” Michael says with a grin.

Ivy stays impassive.

“I was fifteen when you got out. Why now?”

Michael sighs and hangs his head low.

“I’m running on seven years of sobriety post-rehab. I promised myself I wouldn’t try to find you until I knew for sure I could stay sober and settle into my new life.”

Ivy’s expression hardens, but she shuts her eyes briefly, and I know this is her way of holding herself back from being rude.

“How did you find me?”

“I asked around at the hospital where you were born, and they put me in contact with Rosa. She agreed it would be good for us to meet, but she had me bring in documents and made me go through a series of interviews before she let me see you. I was considered trustworthy, so after I got my shit together, I came here…”

Michael searches Ivy’s face for any indication of how she feels about all this. I feel for the man because I know he won’t find anything there—she’s too good at hiding.

“And now you can go,” Ivy states.

Tyler rubs his face and groans as Ivy gets up.

“V, come back, please. The session isn’t over.”

“Yes. It is,” Ivy growls. “I was asked to find closure, and these were my only questions.”

Ivy then turns to her father. “Let me make myself clear. You are not welcome here. I do not want to see you, I do not want to get to know you, and I sure as hell do not need you in my life. Rosa may think I do, but she seems to forget that you’re the reason she and I met in the first place. This is my house, and I want you out of it. Now.”

Ivy is standing with her arms crossed, looking bored.

Michael clasps his hands together in a pleading gesture, and he looks like he’s on the verge of tears.

“Ivy, I ask of you one thing: give me the sessions. Then make a decision based on them. I’ll accept it if you decide to never see me again, but you have to understand that Katie and I were too young when we had you. I had nothing to give her other than sleeping in tents and food from a dumpster. Our only way of survival, or so we thought, was to forget how bad our reality was. I’m not saying we made the right choices, but we were desperate. I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am that we weren’t strong enough to stop when we found out about you. I wish we had, I wish you had been the miracle that knocked some sense into our messed-up heads, but you weren’t. And I will forever try to make it up to you.”