TWENTY-NINE
I SHIFTED ON THE COT IN MY JAIL CELL for the millionth time, but no matter what position I was in, I still felt fucking lousy. I’d been sitting in the jail for the past five days, and I hadn’t even seen a judge yet.
They arrested me and threw me behind bars. The only other person I saw was the guard who brought me three meals a day.
No one came.
And I knew no one would.
I had nobody to call, and even if there was, I wouldn’t have called them anyway.
The jail wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be the past few nights, but oddly, I felt comforted by the bars surrounding me. I was still so angry about losing Clive, and I knew I couldn’t be trusted on the streets alone.
Not only had I almost drunk myself into a coma, but I had also lit the only real home I had ever known on fire and then passed out. I still didn’t know if the building survived, but suddenly, it mattered so much that it was still there—that all of Clive’s life was still in our apartment. I needed something to hold. I wanted something from him even if I lost the only home I had ever known to someone else.
The way I saw it, jail was the best place for me until I figured things out and got myself under control. I only wished I knew when I would be getting out and exactly how much damage I did to Mike’s and the apartment above it.
Keys jingled in the distance, and I tilted my head to see the guard coming my way. He wasn’t holding his usual tray, and considering it was lunchtime, I was curious as to why.
Sitting up, I threw my legs over the side of the cot and ran my fingers through the knots in my hair.
“Good news, Stephens,” he said, making me cringe at the last name I no longer used. “Looks like you’re finally getting out of here.”
I stood and walked over to the bars.
“Not possible,” I muttered.
I had been sitting in jail for five days twiddling my thumbs without so much as a peep from anyone. That was because there was no one.
“Hey, all I know is your paperwork is being drawn up, and your release is scheduled for noon.”
He didn’t say anything else as he walked back to his post, and forty-five minutes later, he was back to release me. I stepped out of the cell and in front of him, and he followed me.
“Someone’s here for you,” he said, his deep voice echoing against the cinderblock walls.
I frowned. “Who?”
“He said his name is David Spencer.”
“What does he want?”
Curiosity was getting the best of me. Where I came from when someone wanted to talk to you or see you it was for a bad reason.
“I don’t screen people, kid. It’s not in my job description.”
“Don’t call me kid,” I snapped, snatching the plastic bag with my belongings as we reached the front.
I had never met David Spencer in my life, but it wasn’t hard to figure out who he was. When I walked into the lobby area, he was the first person to smile at me. As I walked toward him, he set his briefcase down and held his hand out for me to shake. I shook it, eyeing him as he smiled at me apologetically.
“Mr. Stephens,” he said, shaking my hand.
I hated that fucking name.
“Sebastian,” I muttered, hoping he would never call me Mr. Stephens again.
“Sorry. Sebastian,” he corrected himself. “I’m David Spencer. I was very good friends with Clive, as well as his lawyer. Do you have a minute to speak with me?”
I nodded.
It wasn’t like I had any other place to be, and rushing back to the bar wasn’t something I was looking forward to.
“Why don’t we sit over here?” he said, leading me to a bench next to the entrance of the police station.
“First, I want to say how terribly sorry I was to hear of Clive’s passing. I imagine it’s been very hard for you. Losing a father is a very hard blow.”
I nodded again. I didn’t really know how to respond to that. Obviously, he was the lawyer who dealt with our adoption. Otherwise, he would have never called Clive my father. Not to mention, I could feel the raw emotion climbing its way up my throat and begging me to release a painful sob.
“Yes. So let’s get to business, shall we?” Reaching over, he grabbed his briefcase and popped it open. “A couple of months ago, Clive came to see me and asked me to draw up a new will to include you.”
I frowned.
“I don’t understand. Clive never mentioned you or said anything about a will.”
“I’m not surprised. That sounds like him. He asked that I draw up a new will to state that when he passed, everything went to you.”
Shock shook me, making me feel as though the world took a big spin.
“What?”
He chuckled. “I know it’s a lot to take in right now, but Clive left everything he owned to you, Sebastian.”
Where did the air go?
Suddenly, there didn’t seem to be enough air to fill my lungs.
I bent over, sucking in as much oxygen as I could as once again the world spun on its axis a little too fast for my tastes.
“The bar, the money, and the building he owns in the city… it’s all yours now.”
A crushed feeling filled my chest. I should have been happy to hear that I had so much handed down to me, but nothing, not even money and the bar, could take away the ache of missing Clive.
“Why didn’t he tell me any of this?” I asked, knowing David Spencer probably wouldn’t have the answer to that question either.
“Maybe he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. You know Clive. He didn’t like making a fuss over things.”
A grin tugged at the side of my mouth even though the pain of his loss was still so fresh.
David was right.
Clive hated making a fuss over things.
“But it is a big deal,” I blurted, anger moving back in. “It’s a big fucking deal. How could he leave everything he owned to me? How could he leave …” I couldn’t finish my sentence.
The words choked me as the real reason for my anger threatened to suffocate me once more.
I missed Clive.
“I’m really sorry, Sebastian. I know this is hard on you.”
“What if I don’t want it? What if I don’t want any of it?”
I expected him to look surprised, but he didn’t. Instead, he just smiled.
“Clive suspected you might respond that way. So he told me to give you this. He also had some very colorful responses to that question, but I’ll refrain from repeating those.”
As he spoke, he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a white envelope. On the front was my name, and I recognized Clive’s twisted handwriting. I took the envelope from him, my fingers feeling numb.
“Why don’t you read that and then stop by my office later this afternoon.”
He handed me his business card and then took a deep breath as he stood.
Before he got very far, I called him back.
“Why was I released? What happened to the charges?”
He shook his head, a blazing white smile on his face.
“They were dropped.”
“Dropped?” I could hardly believe my ears. “But why?”
He shrugged.
“The bar’s in your name now. Technically, there can’t be any charges against you.”
I didn’t respond.
I didn’t have a response.
“I’ll see you this afternoon, Sebastian. Take it all in.”
And as I left the police station with my belongings and an envelope from Clive, I planned to do just that.
FOUR HOURS LATER, I found myself outside the office of Spencer, Walters, and Associates. I stood outside the building, staring up at the massive construction. I hadn’t been to this particular part of the city in a long time.
Inside, I let the guy at the front desk know who I was there to see, and he sent me up to the tenth floor. The elevator doors opened to a snazzy reception space with a smiling redhead behind the front desk.
After telling her who I was there to see, I sat in the waiting area until David came out.
“Sebastian,” he said as he made his way into the waiting area. “I’m glad you came. I had my doubts that you would show, but Clive assured me you would.”
I snorted. “Clive thought he knew everything.”
David laughed. “That he did. Follow me.”
I followed him to his office, which was larger than the reception space I had waited in and took a seat in one of the two chairs across from his desk.
He plucked a folder from his desk and began pulling out papers. Spreading them out, he lay them down in front of me.
“I just need to get your signature on these, and everything will be finalized.”
I took the pen when he handed it to me then paused above the paperwork, not even sure of what I was reading.
“Can you walk me through everything?” I asked.
“Of course.” He leaned forward until he could see the documents in front of me.
He pushed one set toward me. “This first set of documents is your taking ownership of the bar. Take your time and read through it. Then I’ll just need you to initial and sign the last two pages.”
I nodded and leaned over the document in front of me. My eyes scanned the words, but I didn’t actually read them. I probably wouldn’t have understood them anyway.
All I needed to know was that Clive trusted the guy, and if Clive did, then so did I.
Flipping to the last few pages, I initialed and signed where he had indicated. I hated signing the name Stephens on the line, but I knew it was something I had to do since legally Sebastian Stephens was my name.
When I was done, I pushed the document back to him and waited for him to go over the others.
“These last three are all stock and bonds, bank accounts, and the building in the city. It’s a nice place but a little run down. Could use some love, if you asked me.”
I scanned the pages, barely listening to what he was saying.
“So if I sign these?”
“Well, once you sign, it all belongs to you. The property, the money, everything of Clive’s would now be yours.”
“His legacy,” I whispered with a smile.
“I believe that’s what he called it. So yes … his legacy would be yours.”
I initialed and signed where David instructed, and then he left the room to make copies of everything. When he returned, he handed me a folder with my copies of the documents I had signed. I hesitated when he offered the folder because this was the final moment. Taking the folders meant I was accepting Clive’s legacy, which in my mind felt like I was accepting his death.
I wasn’t.
But he was gone, and I was all alone once again. Clive had kept so many of my demons away by keeping me busy with work and life. He made me realize the bad things I had done all those years ago weren’t my legacy. He made me realize I had much more to offer, but with him leaving me so suddenly, I was reminded once again how evil and cruel the world was.