Chapter 16 Amelia #2
“Can’t you just tell me, and I’ll pass it along?”
“Nope. And it’s time I meet him, he is the grandfather of my kid.”
Backtracking, I close the front door. This is going to be a long afternoon.
Catherine announces dinner will be ready in ten minutes and dad walks through the door in time to thank her. His smile disappears when he sees Darius at the kitchen table.
My nerves creep into my stomach and I wish I were anywhere but here.
“Amelia?”
Oh yeah.
“Dad, this is Darius Madden. Darius, this is my father, Richard Haynes.”
My anxiety dulls a fraction as Darius stands and comes over to shake my dad’s hand and my dad returns it.
“I wasn’t aware you were both in contact at the moment.”
I try to quickly think up a lie, rather than tell him Darius climbed through my bedroom window and then had me followed and stalked me to the baby store, but Darius speaks.
“We ran into each other this afternoon. I thought I should formally introduce myself given the circumstances we’re in.”
Clearing his throat, my dad says, “In that case, would you like to stay for dinner? We can talk over everything then.”
“Thank you.”
I take my seat where I always sit, and Darius sits opposite while dad takes his tie off and takes his place at the head of the table. The air is stifling.
“I won’t beat around the bush, I already know quite a bit about you, Darius. After Amelia gave me your name, I had my people look into you.”
Darius doesn’t look surprised.
“I’m sure you took one look and came to a low conclusion of me. Which in fairness, you’d be right to, especially where your daughter is concerned.”
“Yes, well, you’re not wrong. But… we can’t change the facts now. What’s done is done. Now you’re here, I may as well inform you that you’ll be receiving a visit from my lawyer in due course.”
Darius looks to me and then back to my father. “So I’ve heard and why I wanted to meet you so I could tell you myself that I won’t be accepting whatever bribe you’ve thought of. I will be a father and I will pull my weight. I won’t be paid off.”
Dad tilts his head, assessing.
“Would you like to hear what my offer is?”
“You can say but it won’t change my mind.”
“A million dollars.”
Cutting my eyes to my dad, I struggle to comprehend the number. I knew it would be a lot, but a million dollars?
Darius accepts the meal from Catherine, and I smile when she places mine in front of me.
“What price would you put on your daughter to walk away?”
“It’s different,” Dad argues.
“I fail to see how, sir. I won’t shirk my responsibilities.”
“Can you even support my daughter financially?”
“I have money, just not as much you,” he counters calmly.
“Your home? Is there enough room for another? You already have five family members under one roof.”
Darius answer is to glare but my father isn’t intimidated in the slightest.
“How do you see this playing out?”
“I understand this isn’t what you wanted for your daughter, that you think she could’ve done a hell of a lot better than meeting someone like me and I agree with you.
But like you said, what’s done is done, and I’m here to tell you that I will be a father to my child.
I will share all responsibilities. I will look out and after Amelia as the mother of my child. I will do my part.”
Dad has yet to touch his food, but I tuck into my lasagne and pretend this isn’t happening as best as I can.
“And what happens between you and Amelia?”
I pause chewing and freeze. Darius flicks his intense gaze to me before looking back at my father.
“Plenty of people co-parent, Mr. Haynes. Amelia doesn’t belong in my part of the world, and I don’t belong here. But we can raise this child.”
Clasping his hands together and resting his chin on them, my father stares intently at Darius.
“What if I make you another offer, one where you earn the money.”
Darius’s guard shoots up and we both wait to see what it is.
“I can appreciate a man’s pride. You say you don’t belong in Amelia’s world. What makes you say that?”
“Because it’s true.”
“What if you had a job with good pay, medical and dental benefits for you and your family. You’d have a steady income, you could move your family to a nicer part of the city, you could change not only your life but your family’s too.”
“Doing what? You say you saw my life on paper, you’ll know that I didn’t finish high-school, I have no qualifications.”
“Can you read?”
“Yes.”
“Can you write?”
“Yes.”
“Then I don’t see a problem.”
“The problem is, I don’t want it. I am who I am, and I won’t change for anyone.”
“You are aware I could throw money at this and go to court and have your rights taken from you. Your record would certainly go against you.”
“You could, yeah, but it wouldn’t stop me. I won’t threaten you, Mr. Haynes, but I’ll do what I must to see my kid.”
Dad sighs. “Yes, I’m starting to see that.”
The rest of dinner is fraught and when Darius pushes out of his chair once Catherine has taken our plates away, I see the light at the end of this disastrous dinner.
“It was nice to meet you, Mr. Haynes.” My dad nods and doesn’t return the sentiment. Darius looks to me, and says, “Will you walk me out, Amelia.”
I will if it means he leaves. I don’t look at my dad on our way out and I swing the front door open with too much gust. He must see I can’t wait for him to go.
“I meant everything I said to your dad, you can rely on me.”
“We’ll see.”
He moves closer and I take a step back.
“No we’ll see. I get you don’t like me much anymore, but we’re in this together, in each other’s lives for at least the next eighteen years. You need to get used to me being around.”
“It’s always on your terms, isn’t it,” I spit out, losing the last thread of patience I have.
“They’re the ones that count.”
“You know what, you should’ve just taken my father’s money. You have one chance. The second you don’t show, or you mess up, I’ll have my father’s lawyer’s take your rights and you’ll never see the baby again. I promise you that.”
His laughter carries through the foyer, leaving me unsettled.
“It isn’t funny.”
“Yeah.” He snorts. “It is.” Running the back of his knuckles down my cheek, he adds, “There isn’t anywhere you can go that I won’t find. There isn’t anyone who can tell me what to do. Face facts, we’re in this together and there’s not a fucking thing you can do about it.”
He leans in and takes me back by placing a kiss on my forehead.
“If we were still together, you wouldn’t be like this. Don’t act like it now just because I didn’t want you anymore.”
“Please leave.”
“I’m going. I’ll see you next week. Anything happens in the meantime, let me know. You don’t, and I won’t be happy.”
I slam the door harder than necessary the second he steps outside and turn to find my father stood in the hall.
“He’s delightful.”
“He’s…”
What is he? He had a point. I thought he was different when he was showing me attention. What do I possibly have to say to my dad to describe Darius Madden?
“Do you think he’ll keep his word?” he asks.
“I think he’ll show his true colors in time, once he does, I’ll act accordingly.”
“Say the word, Amelia, and I’ll take this to court and have him removed from your life permanently.”
Darius has already said nothing and no one will get in his way. I’m positive we’ll only make more trouble for ourselves if we fight this now.
“It’s okay, if he keeps true to his word, then it will be okay.”
I hope my words don’t come back to bite me on my ass.
The restaurant is busy, and I can’t be sure if it will help to curb my mom’s reaction or if the diners will get a front row seat to a spectacular show she’ll put on.
I sip my water and cross my legs to stop them from bouncing.
I wonder how my dad is really feeling, mom hasn’t been home in a couple of months, and she was only home for six days before she took off again.
He rearranges the silverware in front of him.
He’s just as nervous as me but for different reasons, I’m sure.
“We could just leave, I doubt she remembers where we live.”
“Come on now, Amelia. She’s still your mom and she cares in her own way.”
No matter how many times she lets me down, he won’t say a bad word about her.
It doesn’t matter anyway, she walks into the restaurant and our chance to leave slips away.
My mom, Courtney Haynes, is a marvel to see. Men sneak sly looks at her as she breezes across the restaurant and Dad stands to kiss her when she stops by our table.
I catch the small cringe when he adds another kiss to her cheek, but she quickly covers it and smiles down at me. I don’t stand to hug her. We don’t have that type of relationship.
“Amelia, how are you, sweetheart?”
“I’m good,” I lie.
“She has some news to share with you, Court.”
“I have news too.”
I look to my dad and he’s just as intrigued as I am. Usually she regales us with her travels and everything she’s been up to, but she doesn’t declare she has news.
“Who wants to go first?” Dad asks and I purse my lips.
Mom orders a large wine and jumps straight in. “Now you’re eighteen, Amelia, I think you know our family dynamic is a little dysfunctional.”
“Court, I don’t think this is the place to talk about such matters.”
“Nonsense. I want a divorce, Richard. We’ve wasted too much time coasting along.”
I sit there watching my parents and while mom sips her wine, not bothered by the bomb she just dropped, my dad is holding himself together and says, “I won’t fight you on the divorce, it’s something we should’ve done years ago. We can talk about your terms at home.”
“No need, there are no terms.”
Dad’s mouth hangs open and Mom looks offended by his surprise.
“I’ve met someone, and he’s taught me how to let go of negative energy and how there’s no need to hang onto things that bring me down.”
I’ve always known she wasn’t faithful to my dad, but it must hurt for him to hear her admit it to his face.
“Let me get this straight, you see us as a negative energy in your life? You see our daughter as someone who brings you down?”
“Not you per se, more like the situation. Henry believes I need a clean start.”
“Mom, in your clean break, is there room for a grandchild?”
I can’t help the bitterness in my tone. But the shock on her filler filled face gives me the satisfaction I was seeking.
Turning on my dad, she snaps, “You let her get pregnant?”
Before he can defend himself, I jump in. “This isn’t his fault and after your declaration, it has nothing to do with you. You’ve shown me how not to be a mother. You haven’t been there for me and I’m not going to give you the chance to let my baby down.”
Pushing out of the chair, I don’t care to say goodbye. I don’t care when, if ever, I see her again. I didn’t even want to tell her in the first place.
I leave the restaurant and wait by dad’s car. It’s not long before dad follows me out with her tagging along.
“Amelia, I should apologise…”
“I don’t care to hear it. You should go, me and dad do just fine without you. I hate that you think we sit around waiting for you to grace us with your presence.”
Turning around, I face the door and dad gets the hint and unlocks the car. I’m so done with her. She’s unbelievable.
Dad talks with her for a couple of minutes and then says nothing on the drive home. I guess there’s nothing to say.