“Divorce papers,” she says flatly. “Signed, sealed, and you get to deliver them since you’re friends with your daddy again.”
“You are kiddin’ me?” I shout after her as she walks away. I stand and shove my chair away, leaving it to clatter to the floor behind me. “You want me to deliver your damn papers?”
“I got nothin’ to say to that man, but you apparently do since you were with him yesterday.”
“I got six years of words to say to him, but that don’t mean I wanna do your dirty work!” I stand in the doorway as she unlocks her car. “You’re actually makin’ me do it, aren’t you? You’re sending your daughter to deliver your divorce papers!” My head shakes and hot tears burn in my eyes. “You’re unreal. You accuse me and Daddy of runnin’ from our problems, but look at you! You’re running from somethin’ you damn well caused and you don’t even give a shit!”
“Whatever I get from our divorce I’ve signed over to you,” she says. “Any money, it’s all yours. I don’t want a damn penny from him.”
“I don’t want the money! I don’t need the money! It means nothing to me. Do you get that? Nothing. I want parents! I want at least one parent that gives a crap about me, not money. You can keep the damn dollar.”
She glances at me before climbing in her car and starting the engine, and pulls away without responding. I stare after her for a minute, ignoring the eyes of neighbors peeking out from behind their curtains.
I guess I just became dinner’s hot conversation topic.
I go back to the kitchen and snatch the envelope up. The front door of our house slams behind me as I head back outside and get into my car, leaving in the same way my mother just did. Hastily. Without thinking. Not caring.
I make the fifteen minute drive to the Eagle with my head spinning. Every time she just takes it to a whole new level. I thought she’d hit rock bottom before, but now I know. Now I know the truth.
Sending your child with signed divorce papers is the shittiest of the shit.
And I can’t believe I’m actually doing it. I can’t believe I’m actually here delivering them for her.
Clara is behind the bar cleaning glasses when I walk into the bar. She looks up and smiles, but it quickly drops from her face when she sees me.
“You okay, sugar?” she asks softly.
I nod. “Is my dad here?”
“He’s in his room. He’s in four. Why don’t you go on up?”
“Thanks.”
Numerous pairs of curious eyes follow me as I head to the staircase at the back of the bar. Does no one around here have anything better to do than stick their nose in everyone’s business?
I find his room and bang on the door. Loud.
“Kia?” Dad says when he opens it. “I wasn’t expecting-”
“These belong to you.” I snap, slapping his chest with the envelope. “Signed, sealed, and now delivered,” I say bitterly, using Mom’s line.
“She sent you to bring them?”
I put my hands out to the side and shrug. “Here I am. Now, you can go back to New York and get married and play happy families, can’t you? You’ve got what you needed here.”
“Kia, I want you to be a part of my life in New York. I want you to meet Dee and to be around with the baby.”
“I can’t-”
“If you’re not ready for that yet then it’s okay, but I at least want us to try and rebuild our relationship.”
I hold my hands up, my head spinning at light speed. “I can’t even think about that right now. I still haven’t dealt with the whole Dee and the baby thing, so whatever right now. I need to process everythin’ before I even think about us, Dad. You can’t just drop this kinda bomb on a nineteen year old girl and expect her to be all rainbows and sunshine about it. I need time to deal with it.”
He sighs, but I see his resolve waver, and he nods sadly. “At least… Take my number, Kia. Then it’s down to you. There’s still a few weeks of summer left. You might feel differently when you’ve had time to accept everything and you’re not stuck here in Alabama. You can contact me whenever… If you want to.”
I bite the inside of my lip. No matter what’s happened, he is still my dad. And he’s right. In a few weeks, on neutral ground in the city, I might feel differently. There’s too many emotions and memories attached to home.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” he asks hopefully.
“Okay, I’ll take your number. But I’m not promising I’ll call, Dad. I’m not promising anything, whether I’m here or in New York.”
He nods again, his body more relaxed, and turns into his room. When he comes back out, he hands me a small piece of paper with three numbers on.
“My cell, office, and home number. Just in case.”
I curl my fingers around it. “Thanks, Dad.”
His voice stops me as I turn to leave, my other hand poised above the banister by the stairs. “Kia?”
I glance over my shoulder. “Yeah?”
“I want you to know, I’m really proud of you.” He smiles a little, and his blue eyes, a replica of mine, light up. “I know I haven’t been around, but I remember enough of you as a kid to know how you’ve grown. You’re a remarkable young woman, and no matter what happens, I’m honored to call you my daughter.”
A lump forms in my throat. Emotion wells inside of me and I can’t do anything but nod in response. My feet carry me down the stairs, through the bar, and away from the building to my car. I climb in, shut the door, and rest my forehead on my steering wheel as I hold in the tears.
I fail. One trickles from the corner of my eye, landing on my leg with a silent splash. My fingers tighten on the piece of paper crushed into my palm, and I take a deep breath.
I never knew how much I needed to hear him say those words, and I never knew how much they’d mean if I did hear them.
Until now.
CHAPTER 14
“We’re going out,” Luce announces, letting herself into my bedroom and dumping a bag in the middle of my floor.
I glance away from my book. “And where exactly are we going?”
“MIXX.”
“The new club in Dayton Creek?”
“The very same one.”
“And we’ll definitely get in?” I raise an eyebrow and dog-ear my page.
“Yep. Eighteen and over – if you’re twenty-one you get stamped so you can drink.”