41. She Came To Him
41
SHE CAME TO HIM
“ T he fact you are coming right here tells me that things went well or bad,” Hyde said on Sunday. It wasn’t even noon.
Tori had texted him on Friday night and said that she had a lot to process and didn’t want to talk. And that she was feeling very emotional but loved him.
If she hadn’t ended with the fact she loved him, he might have jumped in the car and gone to see her.
She returned to her father’s on Saturday for the day and he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad and didn’t let on last night either.
“It started bad,” she said. “I mean honest and raw but not good either. But we said a lot of things and then Saturday it was easier to go back and just talk.”
“Which means it was good,” he said. “I’m glad to hear that.”
Maybe. He would reserve judgment on what the guy’s explanation was.
“I need to go to the bathroom and I’m starving.”
“I’ve got lunch ordered and it will be here soon. I waited until you were close to home. I got a bunch of Chinese food. I figured we could sit and pick and talk at the same time.”
She’d told him before Chinese food was warm and comforting to her. He wanted her to have it all considering she was coming right to him before she even went home.
“That’s perfect,” she shouted as she ran to his bathroom.
When she was in there, the buzzer went off and he opened the door to get their food and set it up.
“Let’s eat,” he said. “Talk.”
“I’m sure it won’t surprise you to hear this. But it all goes back to my mother.”
“I’m not shocked at all,” he said. “Tell me what happened.”
He had to stop chewing a few times.
That Emily lied about so many things regarding Tori was horrible.
But Kevin believing them because it was easier to walk away might have been worse.
“Yeah,” she said. “Shelly was nice. I think I would have liked having her as a stepmother. She gave my father shit and it was funny. I don’t remember him smiling much when I was a kid.”
“Maybe because he felt like he didn’t have much to smile about with your mother?”
“That is my guess. I told him he just messed me up with what he did.”
“You’re not messed up,” he said.
“Yes,” she said. “I am. I’ve used this crutch to not let anyone into my life and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry for doing that to you.”
“Don’t apologize,” he said. “I’m kind of glad you did it to guys before me. Otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten to this place.”
She smiled and wiped a tear that had crept down her cheek out of nowhere.
He didn’t want to panic with her crying but understood that maybe she couldn’t control it all.
The fact she was letting her guard down with him was more than he could have asked for.
He told her he’d be here for her, and she came to him.
Nothing more he could have asked for than that.
“Sorry about that,” she said.
“Don’t worry,” he said.
“Back to everything that happened. He just let me talk. He apologized more than I can count and I even yelled at him to stop it.”
“You mean you yelled at someone else other than me?” he asked, joking.
“I felt bad, but I just couldn’t keep it in. When it was all done I was crying. He shed a few tears. I think we were all drained. But on Saturday I had to go back. We never talked about what was going on with him and I needed to know.”
“You look lighter to me,” he said. “I know it was a heavy weekend for you. I wish I could have been there.”
“I know,” she said. “But if you went, none of this would have come out. After we talked about his health, we caught up. I told him all about you. He said he’d like to meet you if he can, but right now, there is a lot up in the air.” More tears rolled down her cheeks.
“We’ll make it work, Tori. You say the time and we’ll go. I mean it.”
“I know you do,” she said. “I appreciate it. He is starting treatment on Monday. It’s going to be grueling. Shelly is going to keep in touch with me. I’m not saying everything is resolved and we are going to be this loving family.”
“But it’s something,” he said. “And if anyone knows how important is it to be given a chance, it’s me.”
She smiled and stuffed her face. “I’m glad you came to me to ask for it.”
“Me too,” he said. He ate some more food and then said, “Did you talk to your mother?”
“Well, now,” she said. “That is a whole different thing.”
“Tell me,” he said. “You’re laughing.”
“It’s an ‘oh shit, what did I do’ laugh?”
His eyes got wide. “That bad?”
“You won’t think so. But I called her. I lit right into her and she tried to deny it all, but I know when my mother is lying. She’s done it enough in my life. She finally admitted that she told my father I wasn’t his child. That she was mad and didn’t think he’d believe it.”
“And she never once thought to tell him the truth?” he asked.
“She wouldn’t,” she said. “It’s not her way.”
“How did it end?” he asked.
“Not well,” she said. “I told her I’m not sure I can forgive her. After everything I’ve done for her in life and this is how she repays me. I get it—my father didn’t want to be a dad. He wasn’t the best father, but he was in my life. He did the right things whether or not he wanted to. My mother took that all away from us both. My father isn’t blameless, and if he tried to play that card, I’d be thinking differently. But he never once tried it.”
“Which is important,” he said.
“It is. He didn’t even want to tell me what my mother did. I guessed it. It showed me that though he was selfish at one point, he’s not now. He did this for me. What the future holds, I don’t know, but I know it will be short and that is sad.”
“It is,” he said. “But you have this and you need to make the best of it.”
“I plan on it,” she said. “And I learned from it and got a resolution which I didn’t expect. But I’m realistic and know the next several months are going to be hard.”
“You haven’t shied away from anything hard in your life before,” he said. “Don’t stop now.”
“I need you, Hyde. I know I don’t always convey that, but I thought it to myself driving to my father’s when I got that text from you. It was what I needed without even knowing. You promised you’d be here for me and I didn’t doubt it once. I don’t either. I need you to know that. That we are going to have our differences, but I think we can work it out.”
“I know we can,” he said. “One hundred percent.”