Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
My hands shook as I walked up to Mr. Buford’s door. It took convincing to get Levi to go to work considering this conversation, but he had an important meeting on his calendar that he couldn’t move. I told him I’d have him on speed dial if something went wrong.
And as much as I enjoyed his support, Mr. Buford was my friend. I wanted to face this myself, even if I delayed doing so all morning while I tried to go over just what to say in my head. I’d never questioned him before, and I wasn’t sure how to.
He opened the door seconds after I knocked.
“H-hey,” I said.
He looked at me with those same kind, brown eyes.
“Here to garden? It’s warm today. Are you sure you should be out in this?”
“It’s only in the high seventies,” I said. “And I’m actually here to talk to you. I need to ask you something.”
“Yes?”
“Last night, you had someone over ...”
“Oh yes, a niece of mine. She made me air out my place since it was such a nice night. I feel better.”
“Right. You don’t usually open your windows, but I happened to see that they were open and ... Well, I saw a picture of Gram. My gram. In your house.”
“Oh.”
“She was on your wall. Like a family member.”
Mr. Buford looked like a deer caught in headlights, but eventually, his shoulders slumped. “You should come inside. We have a lot to talk about.”
The inside of his house was similar to mine, but pictures were everywhere. My eyes found the one of Gram immediately.
“Can I get you coffee?” he asked.
“I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? I’m sure it’ll be the last time you let me.”
“Maybe not. Unless you tell me you’re an axe murderer. In which case, I’ve probably gotten myself killed.”
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
I frowned as I turned to the photo again. It was older, back when she was young.
“I love that photo of her,” Mr. Buford said. “I took it myself.”
“You did?”
“She’d just bought the house. I asked her if I could take her picture. That was how I met her.”
“So you were friends.”
He smiled. “She was more than that. So much more. I loved her.”
I whirled to face him. “Are you my grandfather?”
There was no way he could be. That man had left , and with it, hardened Gram’s heart. She’d already hated men before, but it made it worse.
If he’d been there the whole time, right under our noses, why didn’t she say anything?
He shook his head. “Oh no. We were never married. I knew her long before that.”
“And you loved her?”
“She was my first love. And I was hers.”
My eyes widened. “Her first ... You’re the one she would never talk about.”
“I’m not surprised she didn’t talk about me. She grew more and more distrusting over the years, and I’m the reason why.”
I stared at him, trying to remember anything Gram could have said about him. All I could remember was her rants about how she’d been let down, how no one stood by her side when she needed them.
And how she sometimes looked out the window when she said that.
“Wh-what happened?”
“I was stupid. So, so stupid. Her mama didn’t like me very much. She said I was too rough for her girl. And I knew I was. So I sabotaged things. Like I always do. She asked me to marry her anyway, to defy her mama. But I knew she would be disowned if I did. I was told so.”
“But she loved you.”
“She did. But I couldn’t be the reason she lost her family. Not without guilt.”
“Guilt doesn’t mean you’re wrong.”
He smiled sadly. “I wish I’d known that then. But I thought I had her best interests in mind. So, I did the one thing that would push her away. I found someone else.”
Cold horror washed over me. “You cheated on her. That’s terrible .”
“It is. I regretted it the second I did it. And even more as her mama set her up with someone else. She invited me to the wedding to make me watch. I didn’t go, but it was in the backyard. I saw it anyway. I deserved it.”
“But Gram didn’t stay with him,” I said. “They were divorced before my mom was born.”
“Yes. When I found out, I tried to make amends, but she told me the pain of losing me was worse than losing him. And to her, I was the worst husband of them all. Even if we were never married.”
“So ... what happened? You guys lived next to each other all of this time?”
He leaned on his cane. “Time softened some of it. We could talk without ripping each other’s heads off near the end. I’d go so far as to say we were friends, at least, I considered her a friend. In the rare times we spoke, she told me about you a lot.”
“What kinds of things did she say?”
“She was so scared when her daughter was choosing favorites. She said you were so happy and bright. And I told her never to let that light go out.”
“You said that? About a kid you’d never met?”
“You were hers. That’s all I needed to know. And once I met you, I saw it even more.”
I bit my lip. I didn’t know anyone else had been on my side. “I wish she’d told me.”
“You would have never talked to me if you knew. And besides, you got one more thing from her. She loved to hide her mistakes. I was her biggest one.”
I remembered the nights when Gram would tell me about her past and all the times her eyes slipped to the window. I assumed she was talking about my grandfather, the man she’d married. The pain in her eyes still shone brightly even all those years later and it had to be the one she seemed to hate the most.
Instead, it was Mr. Buford.
“You really fucked things up with her.”
“I did. And sometimes I wonder if I ever really learned. I probably should have told you who I was, but I wanted some chance to get to know you without my past mistakes weighing me down. I knew it would happen eventually.”
“You definitely should have,” I said. “But ... whether you were a mistake or not, you were hers too. It’s nice to talk to someone who knows her.”
He blinked. “What?”
“When she died, my family cared more about her house than they did her. And over time, I realized that my little sister only had a few memories of her. I had more, but no one to share them with.”
“But I hurt your gram.”
“Yes. But you’ve been here for me. If I give too much power to the past, then I miss out on good things in the present. I might not like what you did, but we can still be friends.”
He stared at me, eyes shining. “You’re something else, Amy. Now I see why she cared about you so much.”
“Until the end, I guess.” The words were muttered, and I regretted it as soon as I said it. Mr. Buford frowned.
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s just that ...” I took a stabilizing breath. “Something happened in her will. Something changed that I didn’t expect. You said she cared for me, but the house wasn’t left to me. She chose my brother for that. Even when she said she would do otherwise.”
I expected his eyes to widen, as everyone but Calvin’s did when the will was announced. Instead, he gripped his cane tighter.
“She didn’t choose him,” he said firmly. “She wasn’t your parents.”
“Wait a second, you know what my parents did? You know what happened with the will?”
“Of course I do. I might have messed things up once, but I would never let anything happen to her. Even when each day felt like I was dying, my purpose was her . I saw her getting sick and I called her daughter.”
“You what ?”
“Your gram warned me about her. She said she didn’t know why she was playing favorites and why she was drifting away over time, but I thought that she was the best option. And I was wrong. I kept tabs on everything, and I quickly saw how you and your little sister were never mentioned, yet your gram could only say good things about you both.”
“That’s because my brother was the favorite.”
“ Of your parents. Not your gram. And soon I understood why. When she got her diagnosis, I saw that brother of yours coming here. I had an odd feeling.”
“I remember that. I thought he was making amends. I thought he was helping.”
“He said he was. And I tried to get more information, but there was something about the way he talked about the house like it was a reparation that told me something was wrong. And it got worse when she went to the care facility that he paid for.”
I remembered that. In light of Gram’s sickness, I thought that we were all a family.
And then the will was read.
“I posed as her ex-husband to get in. She was so in and out of it that she let me. I always visited and only caught it when she mumbled about it. She wanted you to have the house, but he convinced her he could cover it financially and let you live there.”
“I . . . He tricked her?”
“Yes.”
“And said he would let me live here? He was lying. After she died, he wanted to sell the house for the money to build a pool .”
“I had a feeling. And with how quickly she took a turn for the worse, she didn’t pick up on his little scheme.”
“He’s such an ass,” I said. “Why couldn’t he let me have this one thing? Why did I have to steal the damn house just to get what Gram wanted for me?”
“Your brother is threatened by you.”
“What? By me?”
“There’re always those stories about little boys who push down the girls they’re jealous of. I don’t think he ever grew out of it. Your gram never liked him. He took that personally.”
“I forged a version of the will, you know. Now I feel less bad for it.”
“I know.”
“H-how?”
“The probate court Calvin took you to, I watched it closely. I was going to testify. Until your brother threatened me and smashed my window.”
“ What? ”
“He’s not a kind man, Amy. He never was. I was awarded a restraining order against him, but they knew you forged the will and were going to give it to him unless someone knew her real wishes. I did, so I testified anyway, privately.”
“You’re the reason I got the house,” I said, my voice faint as it all hit me.
“I am.”
“You kept track of everything . Why?”
“That’s the thing about love. It never leaves, even when you try to force it away. I lost the woman I loved, but I was able to help someone. You. I hoped that, even though she was slipping away, I could do one thing that would make her proud.”
Overwhelming emotion hit me. “You didn’t have to do any of that.”
“But I did. And I was happy to.”
“Thank you,” I said against the cotton in my throat. Tears gathered in my eyes and I wiped them. “You literally saved me. I would have been homeless.”
“It was the easiest thing to ever do, Amy. Helping you was one of the few things I don’t regret.”
“She would have been proud,” I said. “I know she would have.”
Mr. Buford gave me a sad smile. “I don’t think she could have felt anything for me but hatred. And that’s okay. I didn’t do what I did for a reward. I did it because I wanted to.”
“Still, you did it. God, I ... I hate that she’s gone. I wish you got your happy ending.”
“Oh, Amy. I did. She’s in everything. Those tulips that are blooming right now? She planted them all those years ago. I see her in those. I see her in bright days and in the stars at night. I see her in the places I can. And then I got the greatest gift of all.”
“What was that?”
“I got to see her in you . Your smile pulled me through my grief. Your laugh made me laugh. And sometimes I wonder if she sent you as one last thing I didn’t deserve. A second chance, if you will.”
“But if she were here, maybe I could have given you that second chance.”
He shook his head. “I don’t need that. Just this is enough. I got to see you fall in love, Amy. With a man who deserves you. For me to see you be happy, to end up with someone you love, it’s like I’m giving it to her too. She would want this for you. She would rest easy knowing you have what she wanted for you. Your light .”
I wiped at my eyes again, which now steadily streamed tears. “You’ve done more for me than my own family, Mr. Buford. Do you know that?”
“I’m happy to do it. I never had grandkids of my own. I’m sure she’d have something smart to say about me stealing hers, but?—”
“I think she’d thank you for being here when she couldn’t.”
“I’d like to believe that too.”
“Thank you for testifying,” I said. “You have no idea how much I owe you.”
“The only thing I want for you is to live the way I didn’t. Be happy, Amy. Find what you deserve. Don’t linger in the pain of your past. It doesn’t get you anywhere.”
“I won’t. I’m gonna be free of them. I’m done.”
“Good. It’s what you deserve. You have so much life, Amy. Spend every second of it with the people who see you .”
“I will,” I promised before pulling him into a tight hug, mind swirling with all of the things I’d just learned.
Mr. Buford knew Gram. He hurt Gram.
And he lost her.
I was still wiping at my eyes. I could see why Gram hated him. I would hate anyone who cheated on me too.
But he also stuck around and watched her to be sure she was okay. And then when she was gone, he did it for me.
If that wasn’t love, then I wasn’t sure what was.
“I hope you aren’t too mad,” he said when I pulled away.
“I’m not,” I said. “You may have been wrong, but you’ve also been right too. Especially when it mattered.”
“I tried. And I got the best neighbor out of it.”
“And I’ll continue to be. Gram may have planted tulips, but I’m adding lilies. You’ll never forget me now.”
“Oh, I won’t. Now, get back home and enjoy the rest of your day. Don’t think too hard about this.”
“You know I will.”
“Live in the moment. Be happy. And bring Levi over again. I enjoyed watching that boy get smashed.”
“I think he enjoyed it too. He wasn’t even hungover either.”
“He stayed hydrated. He’s a smart guy.”
I smiled before telling him we’d be back soon, and then left to go home. When I shut the door, all of what I learned hit me again, as well as a renewed anger with Calvin for being such a piece of shit and manipulating Gram while she was sick.
I was shaken from mulling over my thoughts by a car pulling into the driveway. It wasn’t Levi, but it was someone I knew.
“S-Sally?” I asked as she climbed out. “Is that you?”
“Amy? Thank God I have the right address. I need to speak with you.”
“Why?”
“Because I think your husband is about to cheat on you.”
My jaw dropped. “What? No way.”
“I wouldn’t think he was the type but a woman came in today. A very beautiful woman. Nothing like you, of course, but she said she had to talk to him.”
“Did she say who she was?”
“It started with an A. Arie . . . Alex . . .”
“Ava?” I asked slowly.
“That’s it.”
“What did she look like?”
Sally described a woman who could be none other than my former friend. And it hit me that this was Calvin’s move after that party. This was how he wanted to hurt me.
He wanted to send someone to try and take my husband from me.
“She said she needed to talk with Levi about something. He let her in his office when she mentioned your brother, but she came out and told me to leave because they would be busy . All I could do was think of you. I had to warn you, so I found Levi’s address. Well, his new one that he just changed everything to.”
“That’s ... Levi wouldn’t cheat on me.”
“She seemed determined.”
A text came to my phone and I pulled it out.
Calvin
Party right now at my place to celebrate a very good Friday. I have a feeling your husband will be staying at work later than usual, Amy, so you don’t have plans.
“Fucker,” I muttered.
“He might still be there. You could find out for sure.”
I gritted my teeth, going over every option in my mind. It would be easy to run to Levi and let all of my insecurities fly. It would be easy to be angry at him for my brother’s manipulation, even though I didn’t know what he’d done.
But this was Levi , the man who carried me to the car when I was sick, the man who’d grown so much even when we were only virtual friends.
“No, I know exactly where I need to be. This was planned, Sally. This is a power play.”
“It is?”
“Let’s just say my brother is very unhappy with my marriage. And he’s making it known by sending his girlfriend to try and seduce Levi.”
“He would do that? What kind of brother is he?”
“A terrible one. He loves to remind me of my place. So I think it’s time to remind him of his .”
Sally didn’t understand, and I’d explain it to her later when I thanked her for her warning.
But for now, it was time to turn this scenario on its head.
Calvin should have let me have my peace. He went too far this time, and now, I was coming for his power.
I was done waiting to see when he would break. It was time to make it happen myself.
As I parked in the grass next to way too many cars, I realized that this was the biggest party I’d seen in a while.
Perfect .
Mom was by the door, greeting each and every one of the guests. Her eyes widened when she saw me.
“Amy?” she asked. “I wasn’t aware you were invited.”
“Calvin reached out to me personally.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I hope you’re here to apologize.”
“I’m here for something, that’s for sure. Where’s Calvin?”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “I don’t like your tone. I suggest you change your attitude before apologizing.”
I clenched my jaw. “It’ll be hard to when Calvin’s girlfriend is currently trying to seduce my husband.”
“She’s what? But why?”
“Oh, I don’t know, to come between my marriage? To try and ruin my life? You seem to forget that Calvin has a track record of that.”
“He would never ?—”
Huffing out a humorless laugh, I shook my head. “You willfully turn a blind eye to him, don’t you? You think the sun shines out of his ass no matter what he does. God, there’s no getting through to you.”
Her jaw dropped. “Amy, pull it together. This is your brother’s day and he deserves to be in the spotlight.”
“He tricked your mother into giving him that house. You know that, right? He told her he would take care of me, and he didn’t .”
She crossed her arms. “It’s probably because you were never worth being taken care of.”
“I’m worth a lot more than that,” I said. “And it’s sad that you don’t see it.”
“So, are you just here to start a fight?”
“I’m not starting anything. I’m ending it.”
I turned away and went to the living room where everyone gathered around Calvin. He was laughing, enjoying every second of being the center of attention.
I grabbed a champagne glass and climbed onto the table.
“Can I have your attention, please?”
Everyone turned to find the source of the voice, including Calvin, whose expression morphed from his usual devil-may-care attitude to alarm.
I saw the fear on his face, and I knew it all too well.
I’d felt it my whole life.
“A lot of you don’t know me, but I’m Amy, Calvin’s twin. And I just want to say a big congratulations to my brother.”
A few claps rang out in the crowd.
“He needs this,” I said. “You know, when we were kids, he always used to push me down whenever I was getting the attention.”
“Amy, get down.” Calvin’s voice was hard as he tried to make his way to me.
“Yes,” Mom added. “Enough of this.”
“No, no. Let me finish. It’s about time that you got the attention you deserved .” I raised a glass, and the crowd did the same, unaware of what I’d say next. “Anyway, when we were kids, I would be so jealous when people would flock to him. I just wanted a friend for myself. But you know what? I realized that he needs this. He can’t function without it. When things don’t go his way, Calvin struggles. He might do things like smash windows or manipulate someone who’s dying. He also fires his sister and leaves her without health insurance when she has a chronic condition. You know, things like that.”
The crowd was silent. I was sure I could have heard a pin drop from a mile away.
“So, please, for me, continue stroking his ego. You don’t wanna see what he does when you stop.”
Whispers broke out as I jumped down and headed for the door.
“Amy!” Dad yelled. “What the hell was that?”
“That was me finally saying what I should have for all of these years. You’re welcome.”
“I am not thanking you.”
“Good. Neither am I. You and Mom have consistently chosen Calvin over me, and I’m tired of it. I have no interest in celebrating a spoiled man-child who can’t handle the word no.”
Dad went red in the face. “You’re the only one causing a scene.”
“Good. I deserve at least one. At least I won’t be following up a funeral with a fucking court case.”
“Y-your gram was wrong!” Dad snapped. “She never loved him like he deserved.”
“Not loving people like they deserve runs in the family.”
Calvin was making his way to me and I knew he wanted to get me alone. Pure rage was on his face, and he wouldn’t let me get away with this.
And he wouldn’t want an audience.
I darted out the door and into the side yard.
He caught up quickly.
“Amy! You don’t get to run from me after doing what you just did.”
I turned to him and flipped him off. “You deserved it!”
“And you deserved to get fired.”
“Yeah, you know what? I did. And it led me to my husband, so thanks for that.”
“Your husband who’s spending his night with another woman.”
“He’s not gonna touch Ava.”
“Really? He wouldn’t be the first person to leave you when something better came along.”
I laughed. “Like Gram did with you?”
Calvin’s jaw dropped for a fraction of a second before his entire body hardened with anger. “How fucking dare you.”
“Yeah, she hated you because you suck . She’s the one person you couldn’t make like you. You’re fake, Calvin. You’re fake and you’re sad. People are gonna leave you because you’re a shallow, self-absorbed asshole who only lives for revenge! And I bet you’re terrified of the people who see you for what you are. Just like Gram did. And just like I do.”
“I’m not scared of you.”
“And I’m not scared of you either.” That was a lie. I was terrified, but I could be that and annoy the hell out of him.
“You should be,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Oh, what are you gonna do? Try and take my job again? Try and take my husband or my house? You can’t .”
I turned away with one last smirk, but his hand clasped my arm, pulling me back to him. His hand raised when I faced him again, and I saw it coming for me. I closed my eyes, knowing this was going to hurt.
And it fucking did. My ears rang. My vision went dark. And I was pretty sure I heard a chorus of gasps.
When I opened my eyes, I expected to see Calvin about to deliver another blow, but instead, he was pinned on the ground by the last person I expected.
“What did I fucking say about not touching my wife?”
Levi was pissed . More so than I’d ever seen him, and I knew he was about to undo my plan.
“Levi!” I said.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Calvin ground out. “I had you busy.”
“Because you sent a woman to try and seduce me?” he yelled. “Your little manipulation tactic was never gonna work. At first, I was mad, but now I think I’m gonna actually kill you.”
Calvin struggled. It did nothing.
“Levi,” I said as I tried to stand, but I was unsteady on my feet.
“Shit, darling.” He was off of my brother and by my side in half a heartbeat. “Are you okay? I should have gotten here sooner, I?—”
“It’s fine.”
Calvin laughed and got to his knees. “Is it? I finally got to land that hit on you that I’ve wanted to this whole time. You deserved that, Amy.”
Levi growled and was about to go back to Calvin, but my grip on him tightened. “Stop,” I said. “He wants you to fight him.”
“But he?—”
“He hit me.” I leaned closer. “In front of everyone.”
Levi finally turned to see a crowd had gathered in the yard. A few people were recording. Many had their jaws on the ground.
“Come on!” Calvin said as he got onto his feet. “I hit your wife! Aren’t you gonna retaliate?”
“So you can spin yourself as a victim?” I asked. “I don’t think so. For the first time, I defended myself and you showed your true colors. You don’t get to tell a different story. All my life, you’ve threatened me, and now that I don’t give a shit, you hit me for it.” I wiped my nose and saw it was bleeding. “Fuck. You.”
“You’re never coming near her again,” Levi said. “The next time I’ll see you will be in court when I get a restraining order.”
“It won’t be your first,” I added.
“Fuck you!” Calvin yelled. “I wish those stupid headaches you got killed you so I didn’t have to deal with you anymore!”
The words were brutal. But so were the reactions around him.
“Oh my God!” a woman yelled. “That’s your sister .”
“He hit her too. I saw it!”
“Is this the man we want running a mental health clinic?”
I laughed. “Now everyone sees who you are. You can hate me all you want. But you deserved this.” I grabbed Levi’s hand and pulled him away. “Let’s go.”
“Are you okay to drive?” he asked.
“Good enough,” I said. “The dizziness is better. Just let me get the car out of here before Calvin finds a bat.”
“I hate every part of this,” he said. “But that was very smart.”
“Well, I needed one more stupid thing to add to my list. And it should be enough to get him out of our lives forever.”
We got into our respective cars and I ignored all the shouts from Mom and Dad as they chased me down before driving away. The pain dulled into a throb, one that was nothing compared to the other pain I’d experienced all my life.
I’d finally seen the worst he could do.
And I handled it.
I was able to drive the entire way home. Mom and Dad’s calls moved to my phone, but I didn’t care to answer. Instead, I blocked both of their numbers.
They would tell me I deserved what happened to me. And I was done hearing it.
My car door opened and Levi leaned down. “Are you okay?”
“I’d take getting punched in the face over a migraine, honestly.”
“Jesus,” he said. “I’m cleaning you up. And then we’re never doing anything like that again.”
“Agreed. That was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
“We’re pressing charges, just so you know. He’s not getting away with this.”
“Of course we are. Why do you think I let him catch up to me in the yard?”
He huffed. “A genius idea. Still an idea I fucking hate.”
I followed him inside where he got a wet rag to gently wipe at my face.
“So, how did being seduced go?”
He looked up. “You tell me. You’re the only one who’ll manage to do it.”
“Fine. Then the attempted seduction.”
“She tried to say she wanted to vent about Calvin. Then she took her jacket off to the ugliest and most revealing top I’d seen, and I kicked her out. And you need to know that I would never ?—”
“I know,” I said. “But Sally didn’t. She came to warn me.”
“She did the right thing.”
“Even though she works for you?”
“She had my wife’s best interest in mind.” He gently wiped again. “Even though you never seem to.”
“Hey, short-term danger for long-term benefit. It’s an investment.”
“I never want to see that again, though. Do you understand me?”
“You won’t. Hopefully, we can press for prison time, especially since it’s not his first offense.”
“I was gonna ask about that. What was the first restraining order he got?”
“Oh, I have a long story for you. One involving what I learned from Mr. Buford.”
“I completely forgot you confronted him.”
“And I learned a lot. Ready to hate Calvin more?”
“Who the fuck cares about him? I’m ready to hear about what you learned.”
I laughed. It would take time to fully get used to the attention being on me.
But I would get used to it.
“I’ll tell you everything, but first things first, I’m gonna go take my medicine. I feel a headache coming on.”
“Then the conversation can wait. We have all the time in the world.”
I pulled him into a tight, crushing hug. “And we won’t waste it. We’re getting our happy ending.”
“Darling”—I could hear the smile in his voice— “I think we already have.”