Why Not Now? (The Blue Vista Crew #2)

31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Derek

T he next day is my family’s Christmas dinner. Trish and her husband, Henry, are going to Vancouver Island tomorrow to be with his family for Christmas Day. We switch back and forth each year, and this year, Trish and Gina will be spending the day with their in-laws. My friends have decided to come to my house for Christmas dinner since Spencer, Vic, and Adalie don’t really like their families and Lis’ sister is also going to the Island to visit her wife’s family. Mom is coming over for dinner as well since she’d be alone otherwise.

Of course, there’s someone missing from all these plans, and I remind myself that I intend to give her some space, let us both cool off a bit and get through the craziness that is the holidays before I sit her down and figure out what we need to do to make this work.

I park in Mom’s driveway behind Gina’s minivan, which she bought as soon as she found out she was pregnant, and gather the presents for my family, trying to shake off my weird feelings as I go inside and climb the stairs. I find some false cheer that my sisters and mom will almost certainly see through, but it’s the best I can do right now.

“What’s going on?” I call. “Has Santa been here or what?”

“Uncle Derek!”

I barely reach the top step when a pig-tailed five-year-old launches her tiny body at me. I catch my niece Nicole and lift her into my arms while I take the last step up and set the bag of presents aside.

“Santa brought me a puppy!” Nicki says, full of excitement.

My eyes shoot to my sister, Trish. “Did he?”

“A stuffed puppy,” Trish clarifies. “Miss Nicki really wants a puppy and Santa brought her a stuffed one with a letter that says if she helps Mommy with a few chores every day, Mommy and Daddy will get her a real one before next Christmas.”

I widen my eyes as I look back at Nicki, who squeals with delight and squeezes my neck in a hug.

“Did you get enough presents, then?” I ask her.

She immediately lets go of my neck and shakes her head.

“You need another one?”

She nods so hard her whole body wobbles.

I set her down and reach into my bag, handing her a box wrapped in green paper with red Santas all over it.

While she’s ripping the paper, I shake hands with Henry, hug Gina, and shake hands with her husband, Walter. By the time we’ve all said hello, Nicki is done and says, “I always wanted this!”

Trish looks over at the unicorn puzzle I’ve given her.

“She’s never seen that puzzle before.”

“Ah. But she’s always wanted it.” I shrug. “An uncle knows these things. I’m also going to take her, James, and Travis to the Aquarium in January.”

James toddles over when he hears his name and holds his chubby arms up to me. I scoop him up to a soundtrack of giggles.

“You’re taking all three of them?” Gina asks.

“If you don’t mind. I’ll have some help. Spencer and Lis want to come. I figure three adults to three kids is a good ratio.”

Gina snorts. “I saw them at your birthday. They’re going to have kids like tomorrow.”

I smile, knowing that he’s going to propose in about a week, but since it’s a secret, I don’t say anything about it.

We move further into the living room and Nicki immediately asks to open her puzzle, so she sits on the floor with her dad and they set out the pieces. I hand out other presents and get a few in return. Mom gives me a hug and a kiss and a new jacket. My sisters both give me a couple new books.

James and Travis need help opening their presents and when everyone has opened everything, we sit around watching the kids play and chatting.

Eventually, Trish asks, “So what’s going on with you and Ava? I can’t help but notice you didn’t bring her today.”

I drop my head back on the couch. “Fu—”

Gina clears her throat before I can finish the word.

“—udge,” I say, looking at her contritely. Then I turn to Trish. “Did you really have to ask that today?”

“Yes. She broke my baby brother’s heart and now she’s not here. Has she broken your heart again? Do I have to go claw her eyes out?”

I snort. “No. You don’t have to claw her eyes out.” I lift my head and look at my family. “We had a fight a few days ago. I’m going to fix it. I’m giving us each a bit of space first.”

“Why are you going to fix it?” Gina asks. “Did you mess it up?”

I glance down at my hands, holding them together because I feel the urge to push up glasses I’m not wearing. If I do that, my family will absolutely call me out on it.

“I think we both did.” I nod as though confirming with myself. “But I’m not going to let us go another eight and a half years before we find each other again. We’re going to fix this.”

“How?”

I turn to my mother. She asks a very good question. One I’ve been asking myself over and over for the past day and a half. I keep thinking of all the things I can do to show her I love her, to show her I just want to be there for her. But that’s exactly why she was pissed at me in the first place. Because I did things for her. So what can I do?

“I don’t know yet.”

My phone rings and when I see who’s calling, I step into the kitchen to answer it. “Hey, Ace. What’s up?”

“Derek?” She sniffles and I’m instantly on alert. She’s been crying.

“Lacey, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Is Ava okay?”

“Ava’s fine. I’m sorry. You’re probably busy, aren’t you? It’s the weekend before Christmas. Of course you’re busy.”

“Don’t worry about that. What’s wrong, Lacey?”

“I went out with Todd,” she says, sounding so miserable I want to punch that creep in the face.

“Did that little fucker do something to you?” I’m already marching through the house, grabbing my jacket. My family is looking at me with concern, but I ignore them all.

“No. Yes. Kind of.”

“Did he hurt you, Lacey?”

I take the stairs two at a time until I’m in the foyer and stepping into my shoes.

“He didn’t hurt me. He just—” she cuts off in a sob and my heart wrenches out of my chest. “He left me here. I’m alone and cold and I don’t know what to do.”

“Where? I’m coming right now, Lacey. Where are you?”

“I’m in Queen Elizabeth Park.” She sniffles again. “I can walk home, Derek. It’s okay. It’s not really that far.”

“No. I’ll be there in five minutes. Stay put. I’ll call you back when I get there, all right?”

After I hang up, I drive faster than I should to the park and pull over, calling her back. I don’t need to, hanging up before it connects, because she sees the car and comes toward me. I get out, noting she’s not wearing a jacket.

“Where the fuck is your coat?” I ask, taking mine off and wrapping it around her.

“I took it off in his car.” Tears stream down her cheeks as she huddles in my jacket. “He told me to get out, and it was in the backseat with my purse. He drove off before I could get them. I had my phone in my pocket.”

“Good. Get in. Where does that little prick live?”

“You’re not going to fight him, are you?” she asks, going pale.

“Fight a sixteen-year-old boy? He’s not worth my fucking time. Or yours, Lacey.” I open the door for her. “I’m getting your coat and purse back.”

She slides in and I close the door softer than I want to. I want to slam it, but I’m not angry at Lacey. I’m pissed at this kid, Todd, who thinks it’s okay to leave a girl stranded in December with no coat. And, if she’d kept her phone in her purse, no way for her to call for help.

When I get in the driver’s side, I look at Lacey expectantly, waiting for the address. She tells me and I know the street, so I drive there and park in front of the house, marching up to the door and knocking hard enough to release some of my anger.

A woman answers and blinks at me in question.

“Is Todd home?” I ask.

Something on my face must make her hesitate because she asks, “What do you want with my son?”

“I just want to get my sister’s belongings from his car.”

She looks behind me to where Lacey sits in my passenger seat. I don’t turn to see what she sees, but her face hardens and she calls for Todd.

When he reaches the door, I have a sudden wish that looks really could kill, because if they could he would be an oily puddle on the floor.

“Todd,” I say. “I’m here for my sister’s jacket and purse, which you drove off with when you left her alone in Queen Elizabeth Park.”

His mother blinks a few times before her expression turns furious. “You did what?”

“I—” His gaze shoots between me and his mother, looking scared now. “I didn’t know her stuff was in the backseat.”

“You think that’s what the problem is here?” his mother screeches.

“If I could get Lacey’s things?” I ask before the mother can really get into whatever punishment I’m certain she’s going to dole out.

“Keys,” she says, holding out her hand.

Todd digs in his pocket and pulls them out, then she walks me to his car.

“I’m very sorry for what he did. I’m going to talk to him, and I assure you, he’ll be sufficiently punished.”

“I’m sure he will.”

“I wasn’t aware Lacey had a brother.”

“Um.” I hadn’t really been thinking about it when I’d said sister. “I guess I’m kind of her brother-in-law?” I clear my throat and open the back door of the car, grabbing Lacey’s things.

“I see. Well, I’m very sorry about what happened.”

I nod and start toward my car. I don’t have anything more to say to Todd’s mom now that I got what I came for. When I get in, I hand Lacey her purse and jacket and when she goes to remove my coat, I stop her.

“You’re still shivering. Use yours to cover your legs.”

I adjust the heat, then drive to her house, sighing as I realize Lacey has called me instead of her sister again.

“Before I ask this, I need you to understand, I will always drop everything to help you if you need it. But why did you call me instead of Ava?”

“I’m supposed to be grounded. I snuck out while she was at work. I left her a note, telling her where I was,” she adds quickly. “So she wouldn’t be worried. Just mad. Plus, we’ve been fighting since…”

“Since I left yesterday?”

“Yeah.”

After a moment of silence, I say, “Lacey, your sister loves you very much. She would have come to get you as well.”

“I know she would have,” she says, her voice soft.

I stop in front of her house, and we get out of the car. The curtains twitch upstairs and a moment later, the door opens.

“Lacey?” Ava says. “What happened?”

Instead of answering, Lacey just starts crying again. She runs into the house, past her sister and up the stairs.

Ava looks at me. “What happened?”

I shove my hands in my pockets.

“She broke up with her boyfriend. He left her in Queen Elizabeth Park, and she called me to get her.”

“Why did she—nevermind. Thank you for bringing her home.”

I shrug. “No big deal. I’m always here if Lacey needs me.” I want to say I’ll be here if she needs me too, but I don’t. Not yet. She wants to do things on her own and I have to let her. “I gotta get back to my mom’s. See you later, Ava.”

I walk back to my car, each step away from her harder than the last. Maybe we don’t have to wait until after Christmas. Maybe we can fix this now. I turn around, opening my mouth to speak, say something—anything—to get her to talk to me. But she’s already gone inside and closed the door.