Chapter 22 #2
“Thanks for coming over to see me.” He sat down, and his eyes looked sad. Tired. I pushed away the urge to tell him that everything would be okay. That I could forgive him.
Because we had a long way to go.
“Of course. But let’s start with Ronny. He made it sound like you two were good, and he was heading over to meet you the day he came to the coffee shop.”
“Demi.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and not doing more about what you shared with me regarding what had happened with Ronny is my biggest regret.”
“Not sending two innocent teenagers away from their families for months? It’s the Ronny incident that you’re most upset about?” I folded my arms over my chest and raised a brow.
Yeah. Things are about to get real. I’m not holding back.
“One thing at a time, sweetheart. I said I’ve made many mistakes.
But I should have reported Ronny. I did call him immediately after I spoke to you that night, but he didn’t respond until the following morning.
He told me he blacked out and had forgotten where he’d been the night before.
He agreed to see a therapist and genuinely seemed to feel terrible about what had happened.
I didn’t want a police report to be filed because I knew it would humiliate him and his family.
But I was wrong. I put your safety on the line. I never thought he’d show up here.”
“Well, he came to meet you recently, right, Dad?”
He nodded the slightest bit. “Patrick came into town and asked Ronny to be there, too. He wanted his son to apologize to both of us. I told him that you weren’t currently speaking to me, so I guess he took it upon himself to go to the coffee shop and address the issues himself.”
“That’s not what he did. He came in angry and told me that I messed everything up for both of our families.
That there was a lot of money on the line, and I caused all these issues over nothing.
He still thinks he did nothing wrong. You get that, don’t you?
Have you seen the things he’s posting on social media now?
About me? Your daughter. That I was a tease and that I’ve twisted the whole thing.
The stuff he’s saying about Romeo being the son of a jailbird.
That he’s trash and so am I.” A tear ran down my cheek.
I tried to put on a brave face, but it was all taking a toll. I was tired of all of it.
“I’m very aware. I have Sam reaching out to him today.
” Sam Simmons was my father’s attorney at the investment company that he ran.
“He is going to take those posts down, or he is going to get slammed with a defamation of character lawsuit. I have ended all business ventures with Patrick and their family moving forward. I should have done that sooner, but I’m trying my best to repair our family, Demi. ”
I nodded. It was a start.
“Okay. And how exactly are you planning to repair things with Romeo and River?”
“Your mother tells me you’re dating him and that it’s gotten serious.” He cleared his throat. “You do know that his father served time, and he and River were not innocent kids back then. They ditched school and had reputations for getting into fights.”
“Well, your son and Ronny ditched school that day, as well, didn’t they? And Romeo was going through a hard time. His father had just gone to prison, Dad. His family was falling apart, and you made everything worse. Who cares if a teenager ditched school all those years ago?”
“His father had three DUIs and could have killed someone.”
“And my father is a liar who sent two teenagers to a hellhole to save his son and his pathetic friend.”
His brows narrowed as he studied me. Anger flashed across his gaze, but he quickly fixed his features. “I am truly sorry for what I did. I did not want your mother to suffer because Slade made a stupid mistake. I was trying to protect my son. My wife. My family.”
“At the expense of someone else’s.” I shrugged.
There were no tears left to cry for my father in this moment.
“Dad, that is not okay.” There was a disconnect here, and he wasn’t understanding the magnitude of his actions.
“He’s such a good man, Dad. And you owe him an apology—you owe both of them an apology. ”
He looked away, staring out the window at the water in the distance.
“So, this really is serious between you two, then? You’re in love with a boxer.
One who has no college degree or plans for the future outside of getting into a ring and getting punched in the head.
Are you doing this just to prove a point to me? ”
A maniacal laugh left my lips, one I didn’t know I was even capable of. “You’re serious? You think I’m in love with Romeo because I want to teach you a lesson?”
I pushed to my feet. I didn’t know that I could leave this house more disgusted than I was when I arrived.
“Demi. Stop. That’s not what I meant.”
I whipped around. “You don’t even know him.
You judged him back then, and you’re judging him now.
Judging me!” I was pissed. “So what if he doesn’t have a college degree?
Ronny has one. Slade has one. And look at their goddamn lives.
Romeo is a professional boxer. He runs the gym his father started so that he can help take care of his family.
He’s honest and hardworking and strong. And I love everything about him.
Shame on you for thinking that money and power make someone a man.
I don’t know that Mom is looking at you the way that I look at Romeo lately,” I spewed.
“Let’s face it, Dad. You were going to let Ronny get away with what he did to me because it was going to cost you money.
If I hadn’t fought him off, and Liz hadn’t been home and walked in, he most likely would have forced himself on me, Dad.
But at least he has a college education, right? ”
I stormed out of his office and found my mother standing in the entryway.
“Demi Crawford, you get back in here right now. This conversation is not over!” he shouted as he followed me into the foyer.
My mom looked between us, exhaustion written on her features.
“It’s time for you to go,” she said to my father as she glanced at the front door.
“Agreed,” he said as he looked at me. “You come back when you can show me some goddamn respect.”
My mother chuckled. “I was talking to you, Jack. And from now on, I’ll meet you at our therapy appointments. You are not welcome here.”
He sighed and shook his head. And then he marched out of the office, grabbed his keys, and stormed out the front door.
“I’ve made a mess of our family, haven’t I?” I whispered.
“Nope. You’ve done nothing wrong. Your father has made a mess of our family all on his own.”
She wrapped her arms around me, and I wondered if our family would ever recover.