Chapter 35 #2
“Do you remember this place?” Leo murmurs softly, his presence a steady comfort at my side.
“Sort of. There’re certain things,” I say, my gaze roaming over the house.
“How do we even know if he’s home?” Beck asks.
That’s a good question. There aren’t any cars in the driveway, but he has a four-car garage, so there’s probably more than enough room there for him to keep his cars inside.
“I mean, we’re here,” I say, taking a step forward. “Might as well knock.”
“Do you want us all to come?” Cameron asks, his brows drawing down.
“Yeah. If he has an issue with it, he can suck it up,” I say. It’ll probably be a little strange to see his long-lost daughter and five men he doesn’t recognize, but I’m not doing this alone.
Why would I do this alone when I’ve felt so alone my entire life? I’m going to do everything I can—with these guys.
Maybe with all five of them, I’ll never feel lonely again.
As we walk up the path to the front door, my steps slow.
I stop at the stoop, before the three stairs up to the front door.
“Everything okay, Starlight?” Beck asks softly.
I don’t answer, my mind working on overdrive as I crouch down.
“I remember—” My voice breaks as I remember the sight of the double doors in front of me. They’re still the same white, with the same golden door knocker.
A flash of my mom dragging me down the steps, her nails digging into my skin, appears in my mind.
My head hurts.
“Give her a second,” Eli murmurs from behind me.
“But—” Beck protests.
“I’m okay,” I say, pushing myself up to my feet and offering them all a reassuring smile. “Sorry, I just—I was a different height when I was here last.”
I take a deep, shuddering breath and I step forward to climb the steps, before I lose my nerve.
The doorbell chimes loud enough for me to hear it from outside.
I wait with bated breath, my heart pounding out of my chest.
And then the door opens.
Edison Wade, my father, blinks down at me with wide, startled eyes.
They’re the same as mine.
“Andi?” he says on an exhale.
Andi. Not Andromeda.
“Yeah,” I say, past the lump in my throat. “Hi.”
The shock in his expression instantly melts away as he breaks out in a bright smile.
I can see my own smile in his.
I’ve stared at myself for various things over the years to be able to tell. He looks like me when I’m actually smiling, not the practiced one my mom made sure I perfected before my first modelling gig as a child.
“You’re actually here!” he says the words with sincere happiness. It catches me off guard.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this. I imagined some big, angry alpha, from the way my mom described him. He has a slimmer build, surprising for his designation.
With his black jeans, three-quarter zip-up sweater, and greying hair, he seems like a normal, unassuming guy.
“I—I am,” I say, shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans and rocking back on my heels.
“Please, come in,” he says, stepping aside and gesturing inside.
“Are you... sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.” He nods. His dark eyes drift over my shoulder at the guys, his smile never wavering. “Quite the welcome party we have here.”
“Oh, yeah, these are...” I glance over at my shoulder, making eye contact with each of them.
“Are they your pack?” Edison asks.
I jerk my gaze back to him. His expression is open and curious, without a hint of judgement. My mom would never be this open-minded.
“Sort of,” I nod, my inner omega purring at the description.
My gaze drifts back to Cameron, who’s staring at Edison like Superman just appeared.
He did warn me he was a bit of a fanboy.
“Cameron Foster here is helping Beck with the documentary series we’re filming.
We actually just came from something for it.
He’s a great videographer and journalist.”
The comment makes Cameron’s gaze jerk towards me with wide eyes. They sparkle with a childlike wonder, except now it’s directed toward me. My gaze drops, a little uncomfortable with the attention. Nothing I said was untrue.
“But the rest of the guys are...” the words still on my tongue.
I think this whole situation is a little weird, considering I’m introducing my dad to a whole gaggle of guys in the same breath as seeing him for the first time. Plus, whatever I have with them is still so new. Meeting the family seems like a big step.
“Her pack,” Beck finishes for me. He offers me a bright, reassuring smile, easing the initial panic from those two words.
My inner omega likes him reassuring me. Especially since... well, he’s supposed to be the omega at the center of us all, even if his relationships with the guys other than Eli aren’t.
I let out a soft sigh, some of the tension in my shoulders relaxing.
“Yeah, my pack,” I repeat, turning my attention back to my dad.
“Well then, this is a pleasant surprise! It sounds like we have a lot of catching up to do, Andi.”
“We do,” I nod. “Are you sure it’s okay if we come in? We did kind of just spring this on you.”
“I’ve been waiting eighteen years for you to make your way back home,” Edison says, his expression sobering a bit. “Of course it’s okay.”
He was... waiting for me? To come back?
I... believe him.
My mom would probably call me an idiot. She’d probably call him a manipulative liar and yell at me for falling for his schemes. She’d bring up all the times I’ve fucked up and use them as proof for why I can’t trust my instincts.
“How much do you remember about this place?” he asks as we step inside.
“Shoes off?” I ask, glancing down at his slippered feet.
“Yes—actually, nevermind, I don’t think I have enough slippers for everyone,” he says, walking over to a closet by the front entrance and digging through it.
“Oh, that’s fine, no need for—”
The words die on my tongue when he lets out a sigh, shutting the door empty-handed. It’s what’s on the door that has the floor falling out from under me.
“Is that—”
“Ah, yes, it is. Do you remember?” Edison says fondly, stepping aside so I can get a better view of the door.
It’s covered in finger-painted designs, some of the paint old and faded, chipping in certain areas. There’s a red heart, a few different styles of flowers in varying colors. A small, childlike palm. Each design is painted next to a height marker.
My height. From when I was a child.
Edison steps aside completely, letting me make my way to the door.
There are markers that must be from when I barely learned to stand. They barely come up to above my knee.
I crouch down once more, pressing my hand over the little handprint.
“I’ve renovated the place over the years,” Edison comments softly, “But I could never bring myself to change that door.”
I bite back a choked sob, the burn of tears behind my eyes growing overwhelming.
“Oh, Starlight,” Beck murmurs, making his way to me and crouching beside me, his hand rubbing soothing circles on my back as I face the door.
My hand trembles as I lift it. I rub at the tension in my chest, trying to get it to disappear.
I shift, my socks sliding against the hardwood floor as I turn to view the room from about the height of the last marker.
I blink, taking in the sitting room, the hallway towards the rest of the house, and the peek I can see into his office.
A flash of a memory: standing in front of this door, jumping with excitement.
“Happy birthday, Andi.” My dad’s voice.
“This—this last one,” I say, stumbling to my feet. “It was from my birthday, right?”
“The last one we spent together, yes,” Edison says softly. The lack of volume doesn’t hide the slight tremble in his words. “You remember, then?”
“I—I didn’t, but now—now I do.”
“I’m glad. Welcome home, Andi.”