“Hey!” I said. “How is work?”
There was a short pause.
“Fine. You sound happy.”
“I finished finals. It feels good to be done for the semester.” I popped open the door to my car and sank into the driver’s seat.
“Am I talking to my sister? Don’t you usually mope when school gets out?”
“I’ve turned over a new leaf.”
“A new leaf, huh?” He sounded unconvinced.
“Yeah. Actually, that’s why I called. I’m going to a concert when I get back into town this weekend. Do you want to go with me?”
“What are we talking? Cello performance? Symphony?” he asked, sounding distracted.
“Um…it’s a rock concert.” I started up the car and drove back to my place.
“A what? You’re going to a rock concert? Who is playing?”
“The Drift. They’re this pretty popular band right now.”
“I know who The Drift is, Aribel. I didn’t think you even liked that kind of music.”
“I do. Plus, well…I want you to meet my boyfriend. Mom and Dad told you I was bringing him home with me, right?”
Aaron sighed. “Yeah, they told me. Also, Henry told me this guy is kind of crazy and yelled at you when he met the guy?”
“Ugh, why are you even listening to Henry? I told him I don’t have any interest in him. It’s like an arranged marriage, Aaron. It’s weird.”
“I’m just looking out for you. Henry is a good guy. We’ve been hanging out more since Christmas.”
“Great. Then, you date him.”
Aaron laughed. I could practically see him shaking his head at me.
“So, a rock concert to meet your boyfriend, huh? I guess I could swing that. It’ll be good for me to see him before Mom and Dad. That way, we can figure out how to reduce the damage. I’ve already heard Dad say the word phase a couple of times in relation to the new boyfriend.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course. “Thanks, Aaron. You’re the best.”
“This should be interesting.”
I laughed and agreed as I pulled into my parking spot. I slid the car into park, and then my laughter died out.
There, standing outside of my building, was Grant’s dad. He was leaning against the side of the stairwell, clearly waiting…for me. I swallowed hard and tried to think about what the policeman had said on the phone. Maybe I needed to talk to Grant’s dad and tell him to leave me alone—and also have my phone with 911 up and ready to make the call at any point.
“Aaron, I have to go.” I tried to keep my voice level. “I got back to my place. I’ll see you when I get home.”
I hung up and then readied the phone with 911. My pulse quickened as I slowly eased out of the car. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I couldn’t fucking believe he was here.
God! Couldn’t he get the picture that I didn’t want to get involved, and Grant didn’t want to talk to him?
No, clearly not.
I took a deep breath in and out. He needed to be told. That was what the officer had said.
I closed the distance between us on shaky legs. “Hello, Mr. McDermott.”
“Aribel Graham,” he said.
“What are you doing, staking out my apartment?”
“I’m not staking out your apartment, darlin’. I gave you plenty of time to contact me. You did get the phone number from your friend Cheyenne, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“Now, I’m simply following up on that conversation since I never heard back from you.”
“Did it never occur to you that I didn’t want to speak with you?”
I would be civil. I could be civil. This was possible. I wouldn’t stand before this man, terrified and shaking, like before. I would tell him the truth and then make him leave, or I’d call the cops again.
“I considered that, but this is too important to me. I don’t generally take no for an answer.”
He smiled devilishly at me, and I cringed away from it.
“I’m trying to talk to my son, and since he won’t answer you and you’re dating him, I thought we could have a chat.”
“A chat,” I said hollowly.
“Yes. A chat where I explain I need to see my son, and then you convince him to do that.”
“I won’t do that.” I crossed my arms over my chest, still tightly holding the phone in my hand. “Grant doesn’t want to have anything to do with you. I don’t want to either! You should leave both of us alone. Let him live his life without you. He’s done fine so far.”
Grant’s dad dangerously narrowed his eyes. “Well, I didn’t ask for your opinion on the matter. If he cares for you, then he’ll listen to you.”
My face paled. “You can’t use me to get to Grant. I know what happened that day, what you’ve done. The last thing he wants is to confront a very messy past. So, take it from someone who knows him, he’ll never want to see you again.”
“You don’t know the half of what happened or what I’ve been through. And Grant can’t escape his past any more than I can. While he might be gallivanting around the country with his band, he has to come home sometime. It would be easier for everyone if you agreed to get him to speak with me.”
I saw red. I couldn’t believe he was trying to convince me to do this. “No! I’m not going to do anything for you, and you don’t deserve anything from him, not after what you put him through.”
“What I put him through?” he bellowed. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. He sent me to prison.”
“With all due respect,” I said, slinking up the first step toward my place, “you killed his mother in front of him. You sent yourself to prison.”
“So, this is my son’s opinion of me?” He sounded dejected yet furious.
His eyes were murderous, and it made me take another step away from him.
“You’ve given him no reason to see otherwise, and stalking my apartment isn’t really helping.”
Grant’s dad nodded. But I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, if he was even considering my words. Then, without another word, he left.
I stared after him in confusion. All of that, and he had just left? It didn’t make sense. What did he want from Grant? The only thing I could guess that wasn’t sinister was some type of closure. But then, why would he say Grant had sent him to prison?