Chapter 6
Ryan
When I got the text, I was so fucking upset. By the time I parked at the airport and got on the plane, I was so worried I was shaking.
When I got to the house, it was unlocked. "Lindsey!" I shouted. "Dammit, Lindsey, what hospital is she at?"
There was a note on the table with the hospital's name and address. When I walked into Melissa’s hospital room, I wanted to hit something. Melissa was asleep, her face bruised and swollen.
I should've been here. I felt angry and guilty. She needed me, and I wasn't fucking here.
Lindsey walked into the room. "The doctor said she will be fine."
"Thank God. What happened?"
"She was in a car with some friends. The driver had been drinking and ran into a ditch."
"Drinking? What was my fourteen-year-old daughter doing in a car with someone who was drinking? Was Melissa drinking? Where the hell were you?" I was fuming.
I gripped Lindsey’s arm and dragged her to the hallway. I didn’t want Melissa to hear us.
"I was out. When I left the house, Melissa was home and was supposed to stay home."
"Lindsey, she’s fourteen. A good kid, but fourteen. Teenagers are not known for doing exactly as their told. She needs her mother to be home with her! My voice was rising, and people were starting to turn and look at us. “Think about what could have happened! We’ll discuss this later.” I gritted my teeth to keep from yelling. “I’m going to sit with Melissa. I want to be there when she wakes up.” I walked back into Melissa’s room.
I stayed at the hospital every night. They had Melissa on some strong pain meds, and she slept most of the time. Lindsey hadn’t been back. What kind of mother doesn’t visit her daughter in the hospital? I tried calling her, but she wouldn't pick up. I got that she didn’t want to be around me, but fuck … she was Melissa’s mom. She should be able to put her hatred of me aside for our daughter's sake.
I tried to read while Melissa was asleep, but I couldn't concentrate. Images of Emma pressed against my brain. I closed my eyes and could feel her soft skin as my hand traveled down her side and followed the curvature of her small waist and incredible hips. From the moment she walked into the Dusty Boot, I knew going to Denver had been a bad idea.
I thought she was hot when I first saw her. Later, I couldn't believe it when she walked into the bar. I watched her for a while, sitting on the barstool by herself. Just looking at her made my dick stand at attention. So cute and sexy with her hourglass figure and luscious curves all packed in a tight, toned little body. How could I resist? I had been drawn to her earlier just listening to her laugh. She had a deep infectious laugh that sounded spontaneous, real, and full of life. There was something different about her.
I hadn’t really planned to hook up. I was on my way to Colorado Springs, but visions of Emma popped in and out of my head as I drove. When I saw the sign for Denver, my truck just seemed to head for the exit. I also hadn’t planned on enjoying her company quite so much.
Running into Bob and him being Emma's friend's fiancé made the lying even worse.
"This is so fucked-up," I said out loud, not meaning to.
"What's fucked-up?" My daughter woke up.
"Currently, your face." I smirked. "Be a lady and watch you language."
She threw Pooka, a stuffed panda that she had been holding in her arms, at me. I gave her Pooka when she was eight, and she still slept with it.
"Seriously, kiddo. We need to talk about what happened."
"I know. Can it wait until we go home? When do I get to leave?"
"Doctor says today. He wants to run an MRI, then we are out of here. You understand how lucky you are, young lady?"
"I do, Daddy. How's Mom?" she asked, wiping tears from the rims of her eyes.
"Fine, concerned about you."
"Yeah, then where has she been?" she asked, twisting a piece of her long wavy brown hair around her finger. My heart broke. Melissa’s deep green eyes mirrored my own. She was so much like me.
"She just doesn't like to be around me." As I said the excuse, I knew it was lame. Lindsey should have been here.
“It’s okay. Mom and I will spend time together when I get home. I’m glad you’re here.”
Melissa's doctor signed the release, and we left the hospital that afternoon. Lindsey’s car was not in the driveway. I went inside with my daughter and waited.
“Okay, Melissa, time to talk. What were you thinking getting in a car with someone who was drinking? Who was this boy?”
“I swear, Daddy, I didn’t know Bobby had been drinking when I got in the car. Bobby is Tina’s brother. Tina is a friend from school. We were just getting a ride home from the movies.”
“Were you supposed to be at the movies?”
Melissa's eyes started watering. “No, but it isn't fair! Mom's never here …"
"What are you saying? She's never home?" My anger was beginning to show.
"I didn't mean that. I was wrong for going out without permission. I'm sorry, Dad."
I pressed for details. "Is your mom leaving you alone a lot? Is she seeing someone?" She began twirling her hair. "No, everything is fine."
"Honey, if there is a problem you need to let me know."
"I know, Dad, but there isn't."
I tried to keep my anger and dislike for her mother in check, a task Lindsey made harder than shit. I let it go and tucked my daughter into bed while I waited for Lindsey to get home. Lindsey walked through the front door with a scowl on her face. It was going to be a long night.
"Why are you still here?" she growled.
"Because you weren’t,” I snapped. “What's going on? You never came back to the hospital or answered my calls. Your daughter was in an accident and you don't visit her?"
"You were there," she retorted. "I'm here now, so you can leave!"
I should have left, but I didn't. I wasted the next few hours arguing with Lindsey, who, as usual, hurled my past back at me, making me feel like crap.
“You act like you’re such a great father … You left me alone, you were gone every weekend …” she snapped.
“Holy shit, not this again. I made a fucking mistake. I was there for Melissa before that and ever since. Can you say the same? Have you ever been there for her or me?
“You left me the day after we said I do.” I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. “Seriously, Lindsey, who took care of Melissa when she was a baby?”
“Fuck you," she answered.
I got tired of the fight, it was pointless. Our arguments always ended up here. We were never going to agree. I carried so much guilt. Did I do this to her? Is she frigid, unable to even be a real mother to our daughter, because of me? We were so young. I had no experience. She was my first real girlfriend. I had to get out of there. Lindsey promised to stay home with Melissa.
I checked on Melissa before leaving. Her bruises were starting to turn that horrible yellow color that meant they were healing. "I'll be back in the morning. Call me if you need anything.”
"I'm fine, Dad," she insisted as she hugged me goodbye. I left for home that evening, worried about my daughter and anxious to get away from my wife.
I hated Chicago but kept an apartment here to be closer to Melissa. I fixed a sandwich and sat in the kitchen. My night with Emma continued to play in my head.
I overheard her tell her friend she was commitment phobic. I was in no place to commit. She was fucking hot. Hooking up for a night should have been a good idea. Problem was a night didn't cut it. I still wanted her.
She knew it was a one-time thing, but I had left in such a hurry maybe I should call and apologize. Hell, she’d probably hang up on me anyway.