Chapter Fourteen
Daniel
Amelia was out not long after he started reading. Daniel could tell she was tired, and he could only imagine what had been going through her head when she ran off. He could see her getting more and more tense as the day went on, but there had been nothing he could do about it.
He was relieved that she’d opened up at all. There had been so many nights when Lucinda was upset but shut him out, and they never talked about it. Eventually, he began doing the same, and she’d found someone else.
At least Amelia hadn’t done that.
Thinking of his ex made him put down the book and rub his eyes. He never did any of this for Lucinda because he quickly learned that she would take advantage of it. But Amelia had fought to even accept help, despite the fact that she so obviously needed it. She had spent the trip making him comfortable, making sure he was having a good time. Of course, she would be exhausted.
He’d realized she was like him. She was willing to do things for others until she literally broke down. And he wasn’t used to being around people who put others first.
He looked over at her calm form. Seeing her run off tonight was the moment he realized she’d taken a piece of him with her. He had to know she was okay. That was all that mattered.
As he gazed at her, he noticed the smooth curve of her cheek and full lips. He looked at her hair, wondering what it felt like.
Amelia adjusted herself and moved to lie on her other side, facing away from him. Focus broken, he realized that maybe he’d been looking at her for too long. He went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, his throat sore from reading out loud.
“You’re up late,” Randy said. Daniel jumped. He didn’t know anyone else was awake. Randy held up his hands. “Sorry, kid. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine,” he replied. “I’m just lost in my own thoughts.”
“Is Amelia okay?”
“I think so. She fell asleep as I was reading to her.” His eyes fell to the floor. Maybe that was too much information.
But Randy smiled. “That’s a good way to calm her down. Thank you for doing it.”
Daniel blinked. “What? I thought you’d be . . .”
“Did you think I was going to get jealous or something that she has someone else treating her right? Nah, kid. The more the merrier. There’s always room for love.”
“Some dads are weird about it.”
“Not me. If my daughter is opening up to someone, then that means she trusts them. And I trust her. After the last guy she dated . . . I know it doesn’t come easy.”
Daniel let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he had been holding the whole trip. Randy patted his shoulder and settled onto the couch. He reached for the remote and turned on the TV. The silence was more comfortable, and it was nice to spend time with someone. It reminded Daniel of what he could have had with his own father, if only things could have been different.
“I don’t blame her. For not trusting people, I mean.”
Randy turned to him and smiled. “You’re doing a good job of getting her to trust you. Mandy told me this was new, and even I could see that, but we’re only a few days in. I wonder what’ll happen by the end of the trip.”
It was a terrifying idea, but it was also one he couldn’t turn away from.
“I just didn’t want her to be alone,” Daniel said. “That’s all it was.”
“That’s a good way to look at it.” Randy nodded.
“Is that how you look at it?” Daniel asked, curious. Obviously, he and Mandy were doing something right if they’d been together this long.
“That’s a part of it. Sometimes, everyone needs to be alone now and then, but I think Amelia has had enough of that.”
“Me too.”
“Sounds like you’re two peas in a pod.”
Daniel nodded but felt a lump in his throat. This was only temporary, he knew that. But hearing that Randy approved made him want to forget this was fake.
“Are you a fan of sports?” Randy asked, pointing to the TV. “We could probably catch a recording of a recent game.”
Daniel panicked for a moment. Was this an invitation? Was Randy just being polite? Lucinda’s dad had never done this before.
“Not really,” Daniel replied. “But I can manage.”
“Then what do you like?”
He considered it. “I don’t have time to watch a lot of TV, but maybe . . . comedy? Something light?”
“I can work with that.” Randy changed the channel to an old sitcom. “You can sit with me if you like,” he offered. “It’d be nice to have some company since everyone else is asleep.”
“Sure.” Daniel sat next to him awkwardly.
They watched in silence, but Daniel found a sense of peace that he hadn’t felt around his girlfriend’s dad in . . . well, ever.
Fake girlfriend’s dad, that is.
They caught the last few minutes of an episode, and it ended with the family all hugging each other after some major fight.
It must have inspired Randy to ask, “Tell me about your family, Daniel. Hopefully, they’re like this.”
He bristled. “Uh . . . My mom is great. She lives an hour and a half away from Atlanta. My sister is in Nashville.”
“And your dad?”
Daniel only looked away.
“Sorry, kid,” Randy said. “I don’t wanna bring up bad memories. I’m just curious.”
“It’s fine. We’re just . . . not close.”
That was an understatement.
“Not everyone is,” Randy said, sighing. “Actually, Amelia and John have never known Mandy’s parents. They weren’t what you would call supportive. So, it’s okay not to be okay with who you came from.”
“My dad recently did something pretty awful, and I don’t think I want to forgive him for it,” he admitted. He didn’t know why he trusted Randy, but he desperately needed parental advice, and he sure as hell wasn’t bringing his mom into this.
Randy hummed. “That’s hard. Is anyone hurt?”
“Me,” he replied.
“Then it’s on you to forgive him, or not to.”
“Not according to him.” He muttered the words, mostly meaning them for himself, but Randy heard it. He raised an eyebrow, and Daniel sighed. “My dad thinks he can atone with God for anything he does, but not me.”
“Well, that’s a shame because we live on Earth with each other, not God,” Randy said. “And if he’s not apologized . . . hell, even if he did, you don’t have to forgive everything to move on. It might help, but if you’re not ready, it isn’t gonna do anything.”
“All my life, he’s told me that because we’re related, I should forgive him. This time included. He was the reason I got divorced and he’s never apologized about it. He’s never even shown any remorse. How can I look at him when I know he cares more about himself than me?”
“You can’t, son. Some things are just unforgivable. You can try and let it go, but only for yourself. I know I don’t have a right to say any of this, but from what I’m hearing, he’s a shit father that got lucky with a good son, and you’ve outgrown him emotionally. The same thing happened to Mandy. Ultimately, it’s easy to believe family always deserves forgiveness, but that’s not right. We all deserve to be held accountable, family or not.”
Daniel looked over at Randy and nodded. He had been working toward accepting that he wasn’t going to be able to forgive his father and hearing someone else confirm it helped. Especially someone older and someone who was also a dad.
“Thank you,” Daniel said. “I needed to hear that.”
“I can tell. Now, enough about bad people who don’t deserve our time. We’ve got another episode to watch.”