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

35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Derek

W e spend every night together after that. If I’m not at Ava’s house, she’s at mine. If Ava comes over, Lacey does as well. I know they’re thinking of selling their house, but they’ve decided to wait until summer so Lacey can focus on finishing grade eleven and Ava can focus on building up her photography business. I’m hoping by the time they list it, they’ll have agreed to move in with me.

While we’re not technically engaged yet, I have a plan to fix that, too. I’ve waited almost nine years for this woman. I figure I’ve waited long enough.

On New Year’s Eve, they’re at my place because we’re going to Blue Vista for our exclusive party.

I’m reading on the couch while I wait for Ava and Lacey to finish getting ready when there’s a knock on my front door.

“Who could that be?” I ask Abyss, who’s curled up on the couch with her head resting against my leg. When I stand, she looks up at me in extreme annoyance.

I go down the hall and open the door to find my father standing there.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“I wanted to talk to you. May I come in?”

I’m torn between letting him in and slamming the door in his face. I want to do the latter, but I’ve never been able to say no to my father when he’s standing in front of me. Which is part of why I never answered his calls. If I don’t speak to him, he can’t ask me for something I’m going to want to try to give him.

I lead him back into my living room, but neither of us sits. I cross my arms over my chest and wait for him to speak.

“You never answered my calls,” he finally says.

“That should have given you a clue,” Ava says as she comes down the stairs. She looks stunning in the dress I bought her for the ballet. Her dark hair is curled and tied up, and her lips are bright red, drawing my attention to them. She walks directly to me, stopping at my side. “What are you doing here?” she repeats my question from earlier.

“I came to speak to my son. Who are you?”

“I’m his girlfriend, Ava. We’ve met, actually, a long time ago. And I don’t think Derek really wants to speak to you.”

“That’s for him to decide, now isn’t it?”

I don’t say anything. I can’t. I uncross my arms and find Ava’s hand, squeezing it with my own, calming when I feel the ring on her finger. She squeezes back and I turn to my father. “I’m not going to give you anything,” I say. “So you can leave the way you came in.”

“What if I was dying?” he asks.

My heart clogs my throat, but Ava just squeezes my hand again and says, “Are you?”

My father blinks. “Well… No. But one day I will, and I want a relationship with my son before that day comes. And my daughters and grandchildren.”

“Have you spoken to Trish or Gina?” I ask.

He looks away. “No. They blocked my number. Since you hadn’t, I figured this would be a good place to start.” He takes a breath. “I have a problem. Several, actually. Drugs, drinking, gambling. If it’s addictive, I’m addicted to it. I also have a friend.” He swallows hard. “Had a friend. He and I would commiserate over beers about our families. How we had children who refused to speak to us. Refused to see us. About a year ago, he died. Liver cancer. Before the end, he reached out to his children. Wanted to mend fences, all that. They wouldn’t speak to him. It, um, it made me take a good long look in the mirror. I checked myself into rehab. I’m clean now, sober. And I—” He looks at me again. “I don’t want for us what he had with his kids.”

“Prove it,” I say.

“Excuse me?”

“Prove it. If all you really want is a relationship, if you’ve truly stopped drinking and don’t want anything from me, I might be willing to give it a shot. But you need to show me that’s what you want.”

“How do I do that?”

I look down at Ava, so beautiful, ready for a night out. I know, if she had the chance to have her parents back, she would take it in a heartbeat. If he’s serious about trying, about having a real relationship with me and my sisters, I could give him a chance to prove it. Just one. Everyone deserves one second chance, right?

I look at my father. “For starters, you can’t push it. You get what I offer and nothing more. I’m twenty-nine years old and I’ve lived pretty much my whole life without you. I don’t need you now. And you absolutely will not contact Trish or Gina. I will tell them what’s happening and if they want in on it, they can join us. They have young kids to consider and you’re not going to fuck with them when they need to be focused on more important things.”

He opens his mouth and I brace for him to argue—if he does, he can fuck right off—but he doesn’t. He closes his mouth and nods, indicating I should continue.

“I’m going out tonight. Ava, Lacey, and I are going to a party downtown. Tomorrow we’re going to Mom’s for dinner. Then I work every day until Sunday. On Monday, we can go for a coffee. Show up. Talk. Don’t ask for anything. We’ll go from there.”

He gives me a tight-lipped smile and nods his head. “All right. I’ll see you on Monday, then.”

He reaches out awkwardly as though to give me a hug and I take half a step back. Then he holds out his hand for me to shake. I stare at it for a very long time. I need to let go of Ava to shake it, and I’m not certain I want to. Eventually, he drops his hand and heads to the door. I don’t say anything as he leaves.

When the door clicks shut, Ava turns to me.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I probably shouldn’t have gotten involved. It just made me so angry that he thought he could show up here unannounced.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m glad you came down. You helped.”

“I didn’t overstep?”

I chuckle, lifting my free hand to cup her cheek. “Of course not. We’re a team. I never wanted it to be just me helping you. We help each other.”

“A team,” she says with a smile. “I like the sound of that.”