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“Yes.” No. It’s so far from okay it might not ever be okay again. I’m about to lose the love of my life. Addison was right, our path always led to devastation. He seems to accept my response and backs out of the room. I pace the room with my hands on my head.
“How do I know you’re not lying?” I know he’s right though. Our mothers were murdered the same year: hers first then mine. I knew this, but never in a million years would I have connected the two.
“If you need proof, you can always show Addison a picture of your dad. But you know I’m right, Aiden.” I continue pacing. That won’t happen. Ever.
The room closes in on me. I need to get out of here. I stare at Travis. “If you have any shred of love for your daughter, you’ll leave her alone. Forget you ever found out she was alive. For her own safety.” I slam the door open. I hear him saying something else, but I’m not listening. I’m not doing anything other than getting the fuck out of here.
Chapter Fifty-one
IT’S BEEN THREE days since I’ve talked to Aiden. When he left my house Tuesday morning, he told me he loved me. I believed him. Now he won’t return my calls. I’ve tried texting him but no response. I went to his office and Damon told me he had taken off for a few days. Each day that goes by, it gets harder to breathe. Hope slowly dwindles to barely hanging on. He doesn’t want me. I remind him too much of Travis. Time has changed his mind.
Travis’s attorney made a visit to my apartment yesterday. He still wants to see me. My life is in a tailspin, going round and round with no stop in sight. It’s going to throw me off if I don’t start putting my foot down and make it stop myself. I need to find out if Travis is the one having me followed.
I force myself to get out of bed. It’s Friday morning and the thought of seeing Travis today has me wanting to go right back to bed. Syd barges into my room right as I’m about to lie back down.
“No, Addie,” she says as she grabs me and pulls me to the living room. Too bad this living room can’t breathe any life back into me. She pushes me down on the couch and brings me over breakfast. “You need to eat, girlfriend. Enough is enough. The situation you are in sucks. But you’ve never been a quitter. Don’t start now.”
“Why? My life sucks. My entire life has been nothing but a roller coaster and I want off.” I throw my head back and stare up to the ceiling. “I’d rather be on the It’s A Small World ride. Smooth and slow.” I sigh.
Syd laughs. “Oh, pleeease. You hate that ride. You complained the whole time about it being the most boring ride you’d ever been on.” I look over at her. Really? Does she think that I really enjoy my roller-coaster life? “I’m not saying that your life has always had desirable outcomes,” she says as she looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve had some pretty shitty lows, more than anyone should in one’s lifetime, but you’ve always come out on top. You’ve got some great people in your life…” she smiles as she wags her eyebrows “…and Aiden loves you. You can see it every time he looks at you.” She leans her head on my shoulder. “I don’t think Travis being your dad is going to change that. Maybe he just needs some time to think things over.”
“Maybe.” Something is wrong, though. I tried to push him away, but he was so sure that it didn’t matter. I’m tired of trying to figure it out. It’s all I have thought about since he won’t talk to me. Syd is right. I have to keep living. I’ve been through heartbreak before. My heart has so many damn breaks, I’m surprised it’s still beating. But it is. The hurt reminds me everyday.
A couple hours later I walk into the jail to see Travis. They have me wait in the visitor’s room. I’m at a table with two chairs. I glance around and there are a couple of other tables filled with inmates and their visitors. Voices are quiet and soft; crying can be heard. The longer I have to wait, the more I fidget. This will be a quick meeting, I keep telling myself. Have my say and then leave.
They bring Travis in, hands in handcuffs, and he sits down in the chair facing me.
“Hi, Addison.” He softly smiles. He’s a good-looking man and being in jail hasn’t been too hard on him, yet. I can see how my mom would have been attracted to him.
I stare at him. It feels weird having him call me by my real name.
“I still can’t get over how much you look like her. I’m glad to see you. Glad you came,” he says quickly.
“I didn’t come to talk about my mom or us. I came to find out what you want. Then tell you that I’m never coming back.” My voice is void of any emotion.
He nods as he twists his lips. “I never meant to hurt you.” His voice is low. “I hate seeing you in pain. I should have never told him the truth.”
My eyes jump to his and I tilt my head to the side. “What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?”
“Aiden,” he says slowly with a questioning look.
“When did you see Aiden? He already knows about you… and me,” I say.
“He came and saw me on Tuesday.” He looks at me assessing my reaction. “Did he not tell you?” I slowly shake my head. Still confused. “It’s… you look heartbroken, I figured he—” Travis stops talking, shakes his head. “Sorry, I never should have said anything,” he says, looking down quickly. “I’ve done nothing right for you. I’m so sorry, Addison.” He lowers his head and runs his handcuffed hands through his hair. The powerful and confident man I met last summer is not the man in front of me. For a slight moment I feel bad for him.
Aiden came and saw him on Tuesday. I glance around the room, like I’ll find the answers hidden somewhere on the walls. It can’t be a coincidence that Aiden was willing to accept that Travis was my father before he visited him. What changed? What could he have possibly said that would make Aiden run away from me? I look back to Travis and his head is still lowered.
“What did you say to Aiden?” My voice cracks. Travis looks up. I can see the pain etched in his eyes. They probably match mine.
“Addison…” he sighs and pauses.
“Tell me!” I yell, slapping the table. “I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday morning. He knew about us and said it didn’t matter. What could you have told him that changed his mind?” I plead.
His voice is quiet. “I told him why his dad died.”
“You mean his mom and dad?” I force through gritted teeth. He will not discount the murder of his parents to me. He can’t give me a good enough reason for killing Aiden’s parents.
“I know this will mean nothing to you, but his mom was a mistake. She was not supposed to be in that car.” He’s looking straight into my eyes, his voice apologetic. He’s right. It means nothing to me. “But his dad took something of mine. Something irreplaceable.”
