Page 49 of Don’t Open Your Eyes

Annabelle scoffed. “She tried a long time ago when I was little. All her letters went unanswered. I’m an adult now. I don’t need him.”

Randy threw up his hands. “Okay. I was only trying to help.”

“I have to go. I’ll see you after.”

She left without kissing him goodbye, still aggravated. What was it with him? His parents were still together. He’d grown up in the same house and was close to all his siblings. He had no idea what she had gone through. And what did it say about him that he wasn’t completely appalled by her father’s abandonment? Did he think fatherhood was optional? It made her a little nervous about his commitment to her. She pushed thoughts of Randy from her mind and rehearsed what she would say when she saw her father. He’d better not try to hug her. She would give him a cold hello, then take a seat and listen without comment. If he paused, she wouldn’t fill the silence. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

Annabelle parked her car and walked into the building and then into the coffee shop. It was close to five, and there were only a handful of people scattered around. He wasn’t here yet. She’d come half an hour early intentionally so she could be seated first and watch as he walked in. Her pregnancy wasn’t showing yet, for which she was grateful. She didn’t want him to know he had a grandchild on the way. She ordered a decaf latte and took a seat at a table in the back, facing the entrance. Her eyes trained on the door, she watched as several more people came in.

She froze when she saw him. He didn’t see her right away, his gaze sweeping the room, resting on another lone woman for a moment. He walked over to the woman and spoke and she shook her head. Annabelle scoffed. He didn’t even know what his own daughter looked like. Finally, his eyes rested on her. He moved toward her, and she suddenly felt flushed, the blood pounding in her ears. What was she doing? She didn’t want this. But it was too late now.

“Annabelle?” he said. She was surprised that his voice sounded so different from the one in her memory.

“Hello.” Her voice was flat.

He smiled at her, but she didn’t smile back. Then he pulled out a chair and sat across from her. “I see you’ve already got a drink. Would you like something to eat?”

“No,” she answered, avoiding his gaze.

He cleared his throat. “Thank you for meeting me. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”

“You didn’t leave me much choice.”

He had the good grace to appear embarrassed. “How is your mother?”

“I’m not going to discuss her with you.” She put her phone on the table, opened her timer, and pointed. “You’ve got sixty minutes.”

“Fair enough. I won’t insult you by making excuses for my absence in your life. I only wanted to explain. I was messed up. I took what I had for granted and chased the wrong things. It took me a lot of years, but I finally realized what matters in life. I know I can never make up for the past, but I’d love to be a part of your life now, if you’ll let me.”

She hadn’t planned on saying anything, but her anger got the better of her. “You messed up and chased the wrong things? That’s all you have to say? I thought you’d at least try to have a decent reason. Amnesia. Addiction. Jail.” She rolled her eyes. “Pathetic.”

“What do you want me to say? There’s no good reason. I was foolish and immature. But now—”

“I don’t want you to say anything. What makes you think I would have any desire to have a relationship with you? It’s too late. I wish we didn’t even have to take your money, but Mom deserves it, so I’m not even considering it your money. It’s hers. Twelve years! You had twelve years to try to fix things. You could have at least honored your obligations and paid her. She worked her ass off to make sure I had everything. Did you know that? She took the night shift so she could be at home with me during the day. She had no life!” Annabelle clenched her fists. “I will never, ever, forgive you for what you did.” She was panting, her heart racing, all her pent-up fury erupting.

“I guess I deserve that,” he said, looking down at the table.

Annabelle crossed her arms, still fuming, but said nothing more.

He stared at her for a long moment, then spoke. “You don’t have to wait for the hour to be up. I’ll respect your wishes. But please know if you ever change your mind—”

“I won’t,” she said.

He put a business card on the table. “Just in case.”

She stood and walked away, leaving the card on the table.

Scarlett

Scarlett was still so upset with her mother that she had barely spoken to her since she’d refused to let her go skiing with Avery. Now she was glad that she hadn’t told her about Ben. Her mom was turning into a bigger control freak than her father. But luck was on her side. Her mom had just left for a work trip and would be gone until Sunday. Scarlett had never told Avery that she couldn’t go, because she was going to do whatever was necessary to make sure she could. After they finished dinner, Scarlett jumped up and started clearing the dishes.

“Well, well, this is a nice change,” her father said, arching an eyebrow.

She smiled at him. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about doing more around the house. With Mom away, I thought I should start now.” She was laying it on pretty thick, but he didn’t seem to notice. He started to get up with his plate, but Scarlett took it from him.

“I’ll clean up here. Why don’t you go relax.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with my daughter?” he said, laughing. “All right, I’m going to go watch the news.”