23 Emeric
I hate hospitals, so going to one the following day puts me in a bad mood. Nate thought it was funny that I was willing to go to one at all, and I know there will be questions from Callie later.
They’ve gone off in the group chat about taking care of the club again with Jo and Vinny, who are oddly quiet. Something’s happened in Florida and they aren’t sharing. I know Nate and Callie are doing it in jest, but I don’t want anything to trigger one of them while they deal with Alastair. He’s more than a handful.
I try not to overthink things as we walk through the front doors and a nurse immediately waves at Serenity. There goes being discreet.
“Are you sure Emilio tipped the cops off,” she asks, quietly enough that I almost don’t catch it. She’s been on edge all night, and I didn’t even have to fight her to come back to my place. She warmed half of my bed but I don’t think either of us slept much.
She was overthinking but I was busy watching her. Vienna sends her a lot of messages that she sometimes mutters about, but I can’t tell if her dad is reaching out to her or not.
“Chad is supposed to be on his regular route,” I say with a shrug. There’s no reason he should deviate, but there’s also no way of knowing if he’ll show today. I haven’t seen him since he tried to get into the club, but I’m hoping those bruises are nice and dark going into the workweek. He deserves more, but if I bust open the scabs on my knuckles one more time, Serenity will blow a gasket. She’s already tried to bring Anita back over to check my hands, but there’s nothing wrong. I just need to stop punching things long enough so they can heal.
That’s not something I imagined being a problem when I came back to Colorado. But I didn”t have Serenity to factor in back then either.
She tugs her lip between her teeth as we walk, and I see Anita ahead talking to some guy that means nothing to me. Serenity stiffens, some of the unease disappearing when her spine straightens. “We’re going over there.”
“I thought you wanted to avoid people.”
“Not that person.”
Serenity hooks her arm through mine and drags me over, causing the pair to stop talking. There’s a guy talking to Anita, but I don’t think I’ve seen him around the club. He could just be a coworker, and I glance down to read Henry on his badge.
Anita’s eyes widen, and I take it that she had no idea Serenity would be in. “Oh! You’re working today!”
“I just stopped in for a few things,” she lies, letting go of me to slide her arm through Anita’s. Her eyes narrow on Henry, turning hostile instantly. “Are you bugging her?”
Henry looks between the three of us, raising his hands when he meets my gaze. “Am I in trouble again?”
I frown, but Anita smacks him. “No. This is Emeric. He’s with Serenity.”
I don’t quite follow what’s going on, but Serenity just shrugs and turns the three of us away. Henry doesn’t follow, and I don’t bother asking. “Was he bothering you?”
“No, Serenity. We”re still going to have to work together for a long time. I have to interact with him sometimes.”
“Gross,” she says, looking up at me. “Her ex-husband is a tool.”
Anita chuckles. “Yeah he is.” Looking between the two of us, she stops walking near the nurse’s station. “Are you here to do some recording? Your Dad’s been complaining today about that.”
Staring at Serenity, I try to gauge what she’s thinking. Her lips flatten into a thin line, and it takes a moment before she responds. It would be great if Anita could avoid digging for answers right now. “No. I’m not currently working with my father.”
She nods, not bringing up anything else. I like Anita, because she isn’t incessantly nosy. I’d prefer to stand here and avoid talking to anyone else, but our luck ends there.
“Serenity?”
I turn with her, both of us looking back at Wayne. His bushy brows are drawn down, and I notice that the guard with him today isn’t anyone I know. He’s got a tablet tucked under his arm that he tightens his grip on when he glares at me, and I can feel the beginnings of an argument coming on.
She stiffens beside me, her whole body going rigid, and I look down to meet her eyes. If she doesn’t want to be around him, I’ll take her elsewhere. Fuck I didn’t even want her to be in the building with Chad. I’d like him locked up so I don’t have to worry about where he is.
Or dead. If he could drop dead that would be easiest.
“Dad,” she replies, turning to nod to Anita. With how upset she’s been I’m surprised she can so easily brush him off. “I just needed to grab something from Dr. Eichel. I’m on my way out.”
Anita raises her brows, and it takes a moment to remember that’s her. I never hear her last name, and we don’t refer to her as a doctor at the club. But like a true friend, she plays along. “Yup, thanks for coming to grab it, girl.”
Serenity shrugs even as her Dad approaches. “Don’t worry, I won’t be in the way of your surgeries.”
She moves to shift past but Wayne blocks her. The anger in his eyes is missing today and maybe he’s finally decided to regret being an asshole to his kid. It doesn’t fix anything but at least he has a speck of remorse. “Serenity, dear, we should talk-”
“I don’t have anything to say to you,” she says, her words quieter than before. “Not here, not now, and not yet. Maybe sometime.”
Wayne frowns, looking at me. I’m not quite between them, but it would be so easy to shift in front of her if he wants to try and get her to talk. I see the hate in his eyes and smirk, letting him burn in it.
Fuck him. I’m doing a better job taking care of her anyway. He never had her best interests in mind, just the ones that fit his narrative.
“Please,” Wayne stresses, looking between both of us again. He scowls before continuing. “He can come.”
My brows lift, and Serenity shoots me a confused look before she sighs and nods. Her hand grips mine and she pulls me down a hall. Wayne mutters something behind us, but I’m focused on the girl leading me away.
If she’s even a little uncomfortable, I’m ending this talk. We aren’t here to make up with family as is.
She stops in a nearly empty waiting room down the hall, and when I glance out the window I see the parking garage almost perfectly. We’re only on the second floor, so whenever Chad pulls up outside I’ll be able to see him.
“Relax,” Serenity whispers, turning to press a hand to my chest as she stands on her toes to speak into my ear. Those beautiful eyes peer up at me before facing her father. “Emeric treats me more like family than you do, dad. So say whatever you need to. He’s not going anywhere.”
Wayne looks up at me, and I swear if I have to get into it with him in a goddamn hospital I’m going to wail on him like he deserves. “I want you to come home.”
I snort, and she gives me a pleading look to play nice. When she speaks to her dad, she squares her shoulders and tilts up her chin. “No. I’ve lived at home for most of my life. When I didn’t live in your house we got along the best. I need to be my own person now.”
“You”re going to be your own person with him,” Wayne sneers.
“No, just on my own.” Her fingers knit through mine, and I lift her hand to kiss each knuckle. Wayne watches with a look of disgust. “I’m plenty old enough to live on my own. Or with Emeric. The point is Dad, it’s my decision.”
His hands skate through his hair, pulling at the thinning pieces and making them stick out. “I don’t get you kids. First it’s you acting out and now Vienna plans to move out-”
“Vienna’s graduation is next week,” she says slowly, watching me from the corner of her eye. “We’re adults now Dad. You can’t control us forever.”
He huffs. “I just don’t want you to end up like Jo-”
“There’s nothing wrong with her,” Serenity interrupts. “She had some bad things happen when she was younger, but she found a husband in the end and Vinny supports her above all else. I won’t get into the same trouble she did, but you can’t keep me in a bubble anymore either.”
Wayne snarls, looking back at me. “Is it because this guy took something from you? If he’s hurting you honey-”
“Emeric didn’t do anything,” she snaps, and it’s the most comfortable I’ve heard her all day. “He only offered to make what I wanted a reality. Something you”ve never done. It’s always been whatever you wanted and whatever means it took to get there.”
He sighs like this is tiresome. “Serenity, I do what I have to for you girls.”
“Is that why Mom left you?” she snaps, and I can’t stop the smirk that slips through. “You might still be legally married but she’s left you in every other way imaginable. She doesn’t support your choices.”
“Don’t bring your mother into this. That has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me,” she cries out. “I’m your kid. Your choices with Mom affect me too. You guys haven’t gotten along in years. Nothing’s changed that.”
“We are working to keep the marriage going. We’re devoted to it.”
“No, mom’s devoted to your bank account.”
Wayne throws up his hands, but he doesn’t move any closer to her, his first smart decision today. “That’s really none of your business.”
“And my love life isn’t yours,” she snaps, running a hand over her face. She pulls away from me, clenching her hands, and paces to the window as she takes a steadying breath. I track her with my eyes, waiting to see if she wants me to comfort her in front of her father.
She stands there for a moment until several cars outside the window catch my attention. Serenity must notice them too, because she presses herself to the glass. I pace over, her dad following me, as several cars pull up near the dropoff zone.
Immediately, I recognize Chad’s work vehicle. I had Russell send me the company name. He’s out of the car, looking a little beat down with the black eye and bruises on his face. Briefly Serenity looks up at me, the stress on her face making my heart ache, before she looks back outside. I guess she couldn’t see how bad it was from across the parking lot in Anita’s car.
The cars that pull up behind him are a bit overkill in my opinion. But Emilio laughed when he messaged me, saying the poor sap that got stuck talking to him when he called Chad in is somebody he hates. There’s more people arriving for the arrest than I expected.
“That’s the guy that attacked me,” she mutters, glancing towards her dad. “Not that you care.”
“What? When were you attacked? You didn’t tell me that.”
“Because you didn’t give me the chance,” she snaps, shaking her head. “You knew something was off with me that night and yet you never asked what, Dad.”
“I thought you were just out having fun. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
I cross my arms to keep them from reaching for Wayne. Every time he shares something new, I hate him a little bit more and the urge to punch him intensifies.
“It wasn’t fun,” she says dryly, her eyes refusing to move from the window. The cops grab him and handcuff him before they start patting down his pockets. I doubt Chad’s got anything illegal hiding in his work clothes, but I’ve seen stupider shit -
One of the cops pulls something out of Chad’s sweater, and I chuckle when I realize what it is. I just wanted him to get a mark on his record and have a shitty day. He had to know this is my doing. but carrying anything questionable is a crappy idea at work. From the response the cops have, and the way Chad starts vehemently shaking his head, I’m pretty positive it’s drugs. At the very least he’ll get in trouble for possession.
He”s going to fuck himself over with this one. I may not need to do anything else. He”ll bury himself.
“Should I ask what happened,” Wayne says quietly, looking good between us. The guilt on his face is satisfying, and he glances back at me before looking at her again.
“No,” she replies tightly. “It”s been handled. Emeric took care of it.”
She steps into my side for a hug, and realization flashes across Wayne”s face. It sure took long enough to connect the dots.
He clears his throat, looking uncomfortable. “I suppose I should thank you.”
“It”d be a good place to start.”
“But not now,” she interrupts, staring at me. “I need to be away from all of this right now. Alone. My mind needs time to think.”
“I can help-” Wayne begins.
“No, you can”t,” she says again, tucking herself against me. She”s just about finished here. “You”re not the person for the job anymore. You might be my father, but you were never my Daddy. You need me to stay safe to feel accomplished, but your love is conditional.”
Wayne looks between us, his jaw ticking again. “We need to talk-”
“No,” she replies, her voice growing quiet again. “Some other time, yes. At Vienna”s graduation this weekend, no. I need space of my own Dad and I need to work through things myself before I can keep talking with you.”
He scoffs.”You still work with me. We”re just not going to talk when you set up recordings for my surgeries?”
“About that, the club is keeping me busy and that was something I came up with to pass the time. I think it”s best for both of us if you hire someone to do that for you.”
Wayne’s face turns an angry red, and his eyes snap to mine like I gave her the idea. “You can”t just waste all your time at a sex club! What will your mother say?”
I glance down, knowing she doesn”t have that great of a relationship with her mom. “She”ll be happy I learned to stand on my own without you.”
She grabs my arm when Wayne fumes, tugging me to follow her out of the waiting room. He’s cursing under his breath behind us, but he doesn”t want any more attention than we’ve already drawn. She keeps her head high, only looking towards the windows and the mess outside once.
I spot Anita when we round the corner, nervously biting her nails. I wonder if she thinks we came in for Wayne, or if she even noticed the mess outside. I nod to her, and she shoots a concerned look at Serenity. I’m sure I’ll be hearing from her soon, possibly when she shows up at my house again.
Serenity sinks into my side, and I kiss her head when we step onto the elevator. “That’s my girl.”