“Thanks,” I whispered, watching Abi, too. “I need to tell you something about dad now.” Lucas’ sigh was so heavy it was like I suddenly placed the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Do I need to know? I am so over his shit.”
“I know you are. I went that day, the day he got arrested, and saw him in his office.” Lucas' eyes were now on me, staring at the side of my head. I refused to look away from Abi as I continued. “I told him everything I needed to say, telling him to go to hell for all he’s done, and that I was done with him.”
“Good, it’s about time you stood up to him. I am proud of you, Lisa.”
“He apologized,” I said, like it was some secret shame.
“Don’t tell me you believed it?” Lucas sounded upset as he asked.
“I mean, no, but then he said something and now I am not so sure. You should have seen him. He looked so broken, so…alone.”
“Good, he should be.” Lucas hates our dad the most, and in all honesty, he should. Dad was the harshest with him, and his manipulations continued even after he moved out.
“He said he knew I wouldn’t believe his apology and that he hoped his actions would speak louder than his words. What do you think he meant by that?” I was hoping he could shed some light on the man he detested.
“Who knows? He was probably just trying to manipulate you into forgiving him. Maybe he hopes you’ll help him out of jail or something. I wouldn’t put much merit into that apology. You know that.”
“I know.” I sighed, feeling a bit disappointed. There was still this nagging feeling inside of me that made me think I was missing something. I guess time would only tell.
“Good, don’t fall for his crap,” he reminded me.
“I am not going to.” I rolled my eyes, feeling a bit annoyed now. “It’s just.. I don’t know. He seemed so genuine for a minute that I almost believed him.”
“Don’t.”
“I know! God!” I snapped, feeling irritated that he felt the need to remind me continuously. I don’t know why I thought I could talk to him about this. Davis was the same way.
“Alright, chill,” he said, putting his hands up in surrender. I just rolled my eyes again, but said nothing.
Abi and I played for a while as Lucas worked. He was getting jobs for some employees from Dad’s business who wanted to abandon ship. I wondered who would take over. Who would be crazy enough to take over and try to fix the company image? They would have to have balls the size of Texas and brains the size of the continent. I laughed at the thought, making Abi giggle. At leastshenever looked at me like I was crazy.
“Where’s my baby girl?” I heard Liv call from the front door. She was taking her shoes off when we rounded the corner.
“Welcome home,” I greeted her, handing her the most precious baby girl.
“I didn’t know you were still here. I am glad you stayed. We need to talk.” She surprised me by the way she greeted me.
“That’s funny. I was going to say the same thing.”
Liv arched her brow at me, tearing her eyes away from Abi for just a moment to give me a look. She looked so beautiful with her daughter in her arms. I really hoped for their sake that her cancer was being treated already.
“Come on, we’ll go to the back porch.”
She led the way, not even bothering to greet Lucas. I was worrying about their relationship, feeling the strain from here. They seemed to grow distant, and I couldn’t have this happening. They were my happy place, the happily ever after you saw in fairy tales. I refused to believe they had problems.They were not allowed to.
“What did you want to talk about?” I asked her, wondering why she would take me out here and why she would want to talk to me so seriously.
Abi hung on her hip as she looked up at the late afternoon clouds. She seemed so conflicted, like she’d been thinking about this for a while. I got the feeling that maybe this was about what I wanted to talk to her about. Was she going to tell me what she had yet to tell Lucas?
“If anything were ever to happen to me, I need you to promise that you’ll take care of Abi and Lucas. You already do, but I need you to promise you’ll be here even if he pushes you away.”
“Liv, what are you talking about? You’re fine.”
“No, I am not. I haven’t told Lucas yet, but they found a mass and it’s cancerous. I found out I was pregnant not long before they told me I had cancer. I’ve been dying inside trying to decide what to do. How can I tell him this? After what happened with Ivy, will he be okay? I don’t want him to go back to being the way he was when we first met. I can’t stand the thought of him being that way again. Especially not with Abi around.”
Her words killed me, tore me right in half. She was worried about how Lucas would react to the news. Worried about him going back to his womanizing ways if she was to die. Although, why she was killing herself off like that was beyond me. I was furious, my body reacting on its own and slapping her on her free arm, shocking us both.
