Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A TUESDAY IN AUGUST
Blue’s Clues
Can I expect company at the game tonight?
Me
Do you really think I wouldn’t be at my own daughter’s game?
Blue’s Clues
I meant your man, Mar.
Me
Oh, obviously.
He’ll be there. He hasn’t missed a game yet.
Blue’s Clues
He’s almost too good to be true.
“I’m happy to hear that things are going so well,” Kirstin says as she leans on my desk. She reaches out a hand and grabs a piece of my hair between her fingers. “Although this paint in your hair makes me want to dig a little deeper.”
I blush profusely as I swat her hand away, the night a few days back rushing to the forefront. “Claire made a bit of a mess with some paints that Levi got her, that’s all.”
“Hmm,” Kirstin hums as she eyes me suspiciously. “Okay, Mar, keep your secrets.”
She pushes away from my desk and saunters back to her office, her heels clicking the only sound in the otherwise quiet office. I turn my attention back to my computer, noting the overwhelming number of unread emails.
Before I can begin tackling the mess, my work phone starts to ring. I stare at it for a moment, not used to anyone calling this line, before I answer it.
“This is Marlowe Reyes of Kirstin Davis Matchmaking Services. How may I help you?”
“Marlowe, it’s Russell,” my favorite front desk attendant informs me.
Normally, hearing from him would bring a smile to my face, but it’s the tone in his voice that halts it. “Oh, hey, Russ. What’s going on?”
“Travis is here.”
My stomach flips and a knot instantly forms. I haven’t heard from him in months, and instead of calling, he shows up at my work? He’s never once visited me here.
“I’ll be right down.”
I hang up the phone and stand, brushing my hands down my black pencil skirt. I glance back at Kirstin to see her with her brows furrowed as she stares at her computer, and I decide not to bother her. As I exit the office and stand in front of the elevators, I hesitate.
Do I go up and ask Levi to come with me? Or would that only cause more issues? I know the answer. Hitting the down arrow, I climb on and click the button for the lobby.
I watch the elevator’s descent on the panel, the numbers diminishing as I approach the main floor. Once it stops, I take a deep breath, trying to center myself as the doors open.
The first thing I notice is a group of businessmen and women off to the side in a cluster, whispering. I then notice Russell on the phone behind the front desk, his back turned to the lobby as he glances at a man pacing the marble floor. And then my eyes fall on Travis.
He’s paler than he was the last time I saw him, his hair disheveled and his clothes wrinkly. He’s fidgeting with his hands, and I don’t miss the slight shake he’s trying to hide. Travis is mumbling to himself as he paces, his eyes downcast as he shakes his head.
I take one more deep breath to center myself, brush down my skirt one last time, and walk over to him. Ignoring Russell’s inquisitive glance and the judgmental ones from the others in the lobby, I come to a stop in front of him.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, not bothering with any pleasantries. “You can’t just show up at my work.”
Travis stops and looks up at me, and my heart constricts as I see the all too familiar redness in his eyes. “I needed to talk to you.”
“Then you pick up the phone,” I seethe. Glancing back over my shoulder, I notice Russell gesture to the room off to the right. I nod, turning my attention back to Travis. “Come with me.”
I spin on my heel and make my way to one of the small meeting rooms off the lobby, not bothering to check and see if he’s following me or not. That knot in my stomach is tightening, the unknown of his reappearance and my fear of what could happen alone in a room with him consuming me.
Pushing open the door to the glass encased room, I walk to the far side and fold my arms over my chest as I hear him enter behind me. I tilt my head back to look up at the ceiling, giving myself one last moment of peace before whatever this was got started.
“How have you been?” He asks, breaking the silence.
I turn around and face him fully, my face contorting slightly. “Haven’t seen or heard from you in four months and that’s the first thing you’re going to say to me?”
“What am I supposed to say?”
“Are you serious?” I scoff loudly in disbelief. “How about an apology for what you did to me that night? Or an apology for the last decade? Or better yet, why don’t you ask about the daughter you’ve been neglecting?”
Travis looks at the table with a deep furrow between his brows. “What night are you talking about?”
“The night you forced your way into the apartment and tried to force yourself on me.” I study his face closely and see the confusion clear in his expression. “You don’t remember.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, so low I almost don’t hear it. “I was a mess back then; I had just relapsed. I don’t remember much of anything from those couple of months.”
I study his face closely, and the more he seems to disappear into himself, the more I see that man I met all those years ago. “You need to go back. You need to go back and stay this time, Travis.”
His head shoots up, pinning me with a new fire behind his eyes. I take a small step back, surprised by the sudden change in his demeanor.
“I want to see Claire.”
I shake my head. “No, no way. You are not seeing her when you’re like this.”
“She’s my daughter,” he spits, the anger radiating off him causing me to grind my teeth together.
“And your daughter doesn’t deserve the pain and confusion that she will feel seeing you like this.”
Travis approaches me, and I move away, circling the table to keep some distance between us. “You don’t get to tell me when I can and cannot see her. She’s mine as much as she is yours.”
“Actually, I beg to differ,” I fire back immediately, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.
“I’m the one who has been there for her.
I’m the one who has fed her every day. I’m the one taking care of her when she’s sick.
I bring her to school every day and buy her all the things she needs.
It’s me who bends over backwards to make sure she’s happy and healthy, and I’m the one who, even though I do all those things for her, still wonders if I’m being a good enough mother.
She may be yours by blood, but she is not yours by parenthood. ”
Travis advances on me so quickly that I trip over my own feet, trying to scramble away. I reach blindly for one of the chairs to steady myself, and he’s grabbing my arm before I get myself upright.
“You can’t keep her from me,” he says, his nose almost brushing mine as he speaks through clenched teeth. “If I want to see her, I’m going to see her.”
I stay perfectly still as his grip tightens on my forearm, never taking my eyes away from his. “Let go of me.”
“I will see Claire.”
“Why are you really here?” I ask instead, knowing that continuing to have this argument would get us nowhere. “I know it’s not because of your sudden interest in seeing your child.”
His expression softens slightly, a look of shame passing so quickly in his eyes that I almost miss it. Travis eases his grip slightly, but he doesn’t let me go. “I’m in trouble, Mar.”
“And that concerns me why?”
“I need money,” he whispers, and I can’t stop the surprised laugh that escapes my lips.
That only causes his grip to tighten once more.
“Mar, I owe some very dangerous people money, and if I don’t give it to them—” He pauses, his head hanging for a moment before meeting my eyes again. “I don’t know what they’ll do.”
Before I have the chance to reply, the door to the room flies open, causing both of our eyes to turn towards it. My eyes widen as Levi stands in the entryway, his eyes narrowed on the hand wrapped around my arm.
“Let her go,” he states with a lethal calm that has me swallowing. Travis’s eyes flare at the unspoken threat as he looks back at me before letting go of my forearm.
“This doesn’t concern you,” Travis tells Levi, his eyes never leaving mine. “This is between me and my fiancé.”
My face falls, my mouth hanging open slightly in surprise before the anger sets back in. “I’m not your anything.”
Travis reaches out and grabs my biceps, his nails digging in tightly. Before I can utter a word, Levi is at my side, pushing Travis away from me and putting himself between us.
“I’ll be in touch,” Travis says simply, not sparing either of us a glance as he turns and leaves the room. I watch through the glass and don’t release the breath I’m holding until he disappears into the street.
Wordlessly, I beeline toward the door, heading straight to the elevators to go back to my office and try to calm down my beating heart.
“Hey,” Levi calls, running up behind me. “Are you okay, Lowe?”
I close my eyes tightly before I turn around to face him. “I’m fine. I need to get back to work.”
“Lowe, if he’s harassing you—” I hold a hand up to stop him.
“I really don’t have the energy for this right now,” I tell him bluntly, turning my back on him as the elevator doors open. “I need to go.”
I don’t remember the elevator ride up, nor do I recall walking back into the office and sitting at my desk. I’m unsure when I grabbed my phone and typed out a text to Blue informing her of what just happened, and I don’t remember my phone ringing as she called to press for more information.
“Marlowe,” Kirstin says from behind me, pulling me out of the weird vacuum I had found myself sucked into. “What happened?”
She grabs the chair sitting opposite my desk and pulls it around to sit beside me, her hand dropping atop the one I have resting on a pile of papers. “Travis.”
“What did that fucker do now?” Kirstin’s outburst seems to snap me completely back into my body.
“He came around asking for money,” I inform her, my throat growing tight. “And he wants to see Claire.”
Kirstin’s eyes widen before a frustrated expression replaces it.
“He came here, to your place of work with zero prior communication, and asked about his daughter and for money.” She shakes her head, as if repeating what I said helps her fully grasp the extent of my words. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“What do I do?” The question comes out as a whisper, and the crack in my voice gives away the turmoil swarming through me.
Kirstin leans forward and throws her arms tightly around my shoulders. The first tears spill from my eyes as I bury my head into her neck, wrapping my arms around her waist. She smooths her hand down my hair, trying to calm me down when I feel her turn slightly.
“Was Levi there? Did he see?” I nod into her shoulder, not lifting my head. “And do you want to see him?” To that, I shake my head.
I feel Kirstin’s head shake slightly as her hand slips from my hair to my back, rubbing soothing patterns up and down my spine. She sighs softly before grabbing my shoulders and pushing me back so she can look me in the eye.
“At the risk of overstepping, I think you need to seriously consider filing for sole custody,” she tells me, and I squeeze my eyes shut. “And for your own safety, and the safety of your daughter, I think you need to look into a restraining order.”
Staying silent, I let her words sink in, and as they do, I’m aware that I don’t feel dread or fear at the idea of taking that step, of taking a stand against Travis in that way. Rather, I feel an odd sense of peace and resolution.
“You’re right.” I take a deep breath and open my eyes to look at my boss and good friend. “Can you come with me?”
She nods, sliding her hands down to grip my own that rest in my lap. “Of course, Mar. Can I say one more thing?”
“Of course,” I respond, my brows furrowing slightly.
“Don’t let this get in the way of you and Levi,” she states, and my shoulders sag briefly.
“That man won’t walk away from you because of your ex, and I can guarantee he won’t think you’re too much.
After what he’s told me, from our discussions and his answers to our questionnaires, he’s not that kind of guy. ”
“I know.” Saying those words, I’ve never felt surer of anything. “And I won’t. I just need to do this on my own and wrap my head around it and talk to Claire first. Then I can talk to him.” At the look on her face, I say, “Claire comes first, Kirstin. Always.”
Kirstin pulls me in for another hug. “I know, Marlowe. That’s what makes you such a good mom.”