Chapter Thirty-Four
Misty
The last thing I expected to find was Zeppelin beating up Ben on my front lawn. And now Bernie sobs while Zep tells her not to listen to what her father said.
What the hell happened?
“I’m suing his ass,” Ben groans as he sits up.
Helping him, I shake my head. “Probably not a great idea if you want to keep breathing,” I mutter so Bernie doesn’t hear. “Vice president of a motorcycle club, Ben.”
Whatever Ben said pissed Zep off enough to nearly kill him. It’s probably best to find out what he’s doing here and send him on his way fast. For his own safety.
“And you let a criminal around our daughter? What the hell is wrong with you?”
Zep snorts. “You wanna talk about criminals? Let’s talk about your rap sheet motherfucker.”
“Language,” I snap at Zep before turning to Ben. “Wait, what rap sheet?”
“He’s lying,” Ben says.
No, Zep isn’t. I can tell. Ben is.
I stand and move away from Ben as I try to figure out what exactly happened. Bernie sniffles, and I walk toward her, but she holds out a hand to stop me.
“Dad said he was going to take me from you.”
Crossing my arms, I glare down at Ben, suddenly thankful Zep was here. “You did, huh?”
“Then he told me he has to take responsibility for his mistakes. He means me. I’m a mistake, Mom.”
My heart sinks. ‘You said that?”
“Seeing our daughter with a man like him set me off. You can’t blame me,” Ben says. “What responsible mother lets her daughter anywhere near a damned biker?”
Zep chuckles. “Compared to a drug dealer who likes to smack around his girlfriends?”
“Fuck you,” Ben spits.
Okay, the rap sheet comment begins to make sense. I’m about to ask what exactly he’s been arrested for, but Bernie’s next statement knocks the wind out of me.
“Dad said he didn’t want me to be born. That’s why he’s never been home.”
I can’t breathe. The world fades to black as I realize the secret I’ve kept for her entire life is now out in the open. “You… said that to her?”
“That’s what he did to get a beating,” Zep says, his arms crossed with a satisfied smirk.
“You lied, Mom,” Bernie says, and her gaze shoots daggers at me. “I don’t want to go with him. He’s not my dad.”
She storms inside, slamming the door behind her, and I feel like I’m drowning. A current has me and drags me further and further from the surface. I can’t take a breath, and I have to sit on the porch.
“You never told her?” Ben asks.
“Why the fuck would I tell her that, Ben?” I snap. “I never wanted her to know!”
“I thought you already told her!” he shouts back.
Oh, it’s my fault he told his daughter he never wanted her and that’s why we’ve been alone. My bad.
“You called her a mistake, asshole,” Zep says. “That girl is anything but a mistake.”
“What else would you call having a defective kid at sixteen?”
“Defective?” I nearly shout. “Fuck you, Ben. I suggest you get out of here and never come back.”
He snorts, and he looks ridiculous. Trying to look smug when your eye droops doesn’t quite hit the mark. “I have a right to my daughter.”
“You want her for your own benefit. Don’t think for a second that I don’t know the real reason you’re in Gravelton. It sure as fuck ain’t out of the kindness of your heart,” Zep says.
Zep’s been looking into Ben? He never said anything. Then again, why would he? I would’ve told him not to, but I’m kind of glad he did. There’s clearly more going on with my daughter’s father than I ever would have guessed.
“What exactly do you think you know, asshole?” Ben asks.
Well, he clearly hasn’t gained common sense since we were kids. His broken face hasn’t yet proven to him he doesn’t stand a chance against Zeppelin Molloy.
“Did you talk to Butch?”
Butch? What the hell does Zep’s father have to do with this?
But whatever this means hits its mark because Ben’s face falls more than just literally. “Yes.”
“He told you to fuck off, and that’s why you came over here. Think it’ll look good to a jury when that warrant catches up to you.”
Warrant? “What the hell are you two talking about?” I ask.
Ben shakes his head. “It’s nothing. He’s making up shit as losers do. Take a look at what I drive and then what he drives.”
“Yeah, looks like you could’ve afforded child support for the past eight years no problem. But then again, the IRS has no record of your income because it’s not exactly legal, is it? Technicalities are your saving grace, aren’t they?”
Butch? Legal? “You sell drugs for the Venom?” I hiss. “Do you really have a death wish?”
“It’s worse than that,” Zep says. “He’s running from the cops. Got a warrant out for murder because the drugs he sold killed a teenager. He’s not here to be a dad to Bernie. He came to talk to Butch to get the charges dropped. When that didn’t happen, he was going to take Bernie to get sympathy.”
There’s so much to unpack in that statement, and I’m not sure where to start. So I start with the obvious. “You killed a kid?”
Ben’s hands fly into the air. “I didn’t shoot him or anything! It’s not my fault the drugs weren’t mixed right.”
“Get out of here and never come back,” I say. “And tell your parents they’re done seeing Bernie, too.”
“Did you forget who my parents are, Misty?” Ben asks with a cocky grin. “We’ll bury you in legal fees.”
“I’ll bury you in the fucking ground before you ever have the chance,” Zep says. “Or maybe I’ll just knock your ass out and hand you over to the cops. Doubt you’ll get bail.”
There’s a look of panic that crosses Ben’s face. And not at the death threat. He’s scared to be arrested.
Oh my God, it’s true. Everything Zep said about the father of my child is true.
“What happened to you?” I ask.
I feel sick. Absolutely sick.
“You happened to me!” he shouts. “You didn’t get rid of her like I wanted you to, and everyone thinks I’m this deadbeat father because I wanted a normal life.”
“You are a deadbeat father,” Zep says. “And a fucking asshole.”
Ben just turns on his heel and heads back to his car. I’m conflicted because I know things could have been so much worse if Zep wasn’t here, but I still can’t look at him without feeling like my heart is being ripped straight out of my chest.
“Thank you,” I manage without making eye contact. “I need to talk to Bernie.”
“I’ll be home if you need anything.”
I walk inside, and Bernie sits on the stairs with her arms wrapped around her knees. “You lied to me.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because I never wanted you to know,” I say. “The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you, baby. You’re my entire world.”
She shakes her head. “That doesn’t mean you get to lie to me.”
“Being a mom is hard,” I admit. “We grew up together, Bernie. We’re still growing, and it might not have been the right choice, but it was a risk I was willing to take. I love you so much, and I’ll do whatever I can to keep you from feeling pain.”
“I sent him cards for Father’s Day. Did he get any of them?”
Nodding, I kneel in front of her. “I sent them to him. I got his address from Granny and Papa, and I mailed them.”
“The birthday cards he sent me… They were from you, weren’t they?”
I bite my trembling lip. “Yes.”
“You lied to me for eight years, Mom!” Bernie’s lip quivers as she looks at me with such betrayal. “You lied to my face. You say lying is the one thing we never do to each other. Friends don’t lie!”
“I’m sorry, Bernie—”
Pushing past me, she rushes outside. I run after her, but I have to stop for a car, giving her time to reach Zeppelin who sits on his porch.
He knew she’d come running to him.
“Give us a few minutes, Mama,” Zep says.
The way Bernie refuses to look at me, her back toward me as she shakes with sobs, makes me want to fall to my knees and wail. How the hell did this get so screwed up?
“Make sure she gets home?” I ask, wiping my eyes.
I don’t care if Zep sees me crying right now. This isn’t about him or us. It’s about Bernie.
“Of course.”
As much as it kills me, I know I need to give her space. I turn around and walk back inside before the sob escapes. She has to forgive me eventually, right?