CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Stephen
I woke up feeling great the next morning. I had to work, and it was Brandon’s last day of school before his summer started. I had been saving vacation time to plan some trips, and I found myself thinking ahead to trips with Mandy while the coffee brewed. As terrible as the week had been while we weren’t in contact, everything felt right all of a sudden.
I tapped on Brandon’s door before starting on French toast for breakfast. I wasn’t in a huge hurry to get into the office, feeling that the hard part of the project was over.
When there was a knock at the door, I glanced at the clock. It was a bit early for Danielle but okay. I plated the bread and turned the stove off before making my way to the door. I wasn’t dressed for work yet, so the workout shorts would have to do. There was another knock, and I cursed under my breath as I threw the door open.
What. The. Fuck?
The face I thought I’d never see again looked back at me, purple hair framing her heart-shaped face. Lacy’s blue eyes were wide as she looked at me. “Stephen,” she said softly as I shook my head.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her in a slow, controlled voice as she looked past me into the house. “How did you know where we were?”
Pink tinged her cheeks, and I felt rage rushing through my veins. “Terry told me. He’s my son too, Stephen.”
I looked back to make sure that we were alone and then stared her down. “Your son? You handed Brandon off to me six fucking years ago, Lacy. I’ve done all of this on my own. Why would you think that he needed you now?”
“I cleaned myself up. I fixed my life. That and I miss him…I miss you.”
Hell fucking no. There was no me to her, no us.
“I want you to get the fuck out of here. We’re doing fine on our own. I can’t do this to him after so long,” I told her as pain throbbed behind my temples. “You left us.”
“Dad? Is breakfast ready?” Brandon asked as I prepared to slam the door in her face. It was more than he could handle and I needed to handle this a certain way.
Things moved quickly as he walked over to stand behind me and Lacy’s mouth dropped open. “Brandon? Look at you. You’re so big now.”
“No, not yet,” I pleaded with her, needing time.
“I’m your mom. My name is Lacy,” Lacy blurted out as I felt everything crumble around me. “I’m here to get to know you again, you and your dad. I’ve missed you.” I reached around to hug my son, looking down at him to see that the damage was done. He was staring at Lacy with big eyes as I felt my heart breaking.
I ended up letting her in and trying to get Brandon fed as he asked her a bunch of questions. It was the worst hell on Earth as she tried to explain to a goddamn seven-year-old what happened and I held my hand up as they both looked at me. I could tell that Brandon was surprised at my reaction to Lacy and I sucked in a breath. “Can we talk?” she asked me, a pleading look in her eyes as she stared at me. There was so much emotion in those big eyes, and I wished like hell I could ignore it.
“Do you have the same number?” She blushed and shook her head, asking for some paper. Lacy jotted something down and handed it to me, making me hate her even more for a moment. What kind of woman changed her number when she abandoned her son? “I need some time, Lacy. We…need some time. I’ll call you when I’ve had some time to think.”
She nodded slowly and told Brandon that she’d see him soon before making her way to the door. Everything she’d told him was a blur. I locked the door behind her as I turned to look at my son. He was the rock in my world, and I detested the hope that was in his eyes.
“Is that really my mom?” he asked with deep emotion in his voice.
I nodded. “Yes, she is, but I need to figure some things out before we see her again. It’s been a while.” I stroked his hair and led him to his plate. “Get some of this in your belly. I am going to get dressed for work.” I felt bad leaving him alone in the kitchen, but I needed a minute to myself. Hell, I needed a week to myself after that shit. All the pain came back as I walked toward my room, the pain that she caused when she left us alone. Brandon had no memory of it but I sure as fuck did. It turned my world upside down, and a simple apology couldn’t fix that. It couldn’t fix things.
I pulled on some black slacks and a random shirt from the closet, dressing automatically as I thought about my sudden shift in life. I hated Lacy, but she was Brandon’s mother. He deserved to have both of us, didn’t he? He deserved something like a family once I sorted through my thoughts and had a very in-depth conversation with her. If she was right again, I couldn’t keep her son away from her.
How I wanted to, though.
I finished dressing and fixed my hair, having dried from the earlier shower. I gave it an extra messy look, laughing bitterly as I thought how much it suited the day. By the time I was back in the main room, Brandon seemed to have eaten something and Danielle was arriving. He was telling her all about Lacy, and my nanny shot me a look of horror. I assured her that I’d call her later and explain this before I hugged Brandon goodbye, telling him to have a great day at school.
The bright sun seemed dull as I walked to the garage to get to my Jeep. The day seemed horrible as I started the engine and drove to the office, so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even remember the short drive. I made some coffee and saw Paul on the way to my office, who immediately recognized the strain on my face. We went into my office, and I looked around, seeing it clean even as last night played back through my mind. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
“What’s wrong, man?” Paul asked me as he closed the door behind us, taking a seat on the couch as I joined him. I had a feeling that I was going to be worthless today.
“Lacy showed up at my door this morning,” I told him as he stared at me. “Six fucking years and she just drops by? I couldn’t shut her up before she told Brandon who she was. Fuck!”
“Look, I know you hate her. What she did was wrong, but she is his mom. Maybe you should talk to her, maybe give them a chance. Hell, maybe you should give her a chance.” I stared at him, my eyes cold with rejection at his idea. The thought of it made me numb. I was with Mandy now though, and I had no idea how all of this was going to work. “You were good together once, weren’t you?”
I blinked. All I could think about was the damage that was done when she left, losing all memories of before. “I don’t even fucking know anymore.”
“I’m just saying that maybe you should have an open mind here.” Paul paused. “I don’t think that Mandy is the girl you want to think she is. I don’t know where you’re at with her, but she’s a player. She’s a tramp, and she’s flirting with half the building, including me.” I looked at him in disbelief. “She came to one of the happy hours without you and acted the same way as she did before. She was all over a few guys.”
My stomach twisted as I thought about taking her bare. Was she lying to me about being clean? The idea of that just settled on top of everything else that was going on, and I sipped my coffee as if it was going to save me from all of this. “Are you serious?” I asked, seeing him nod out of the corner of my eyes. Mandy seemed so sincere to me.
“Sorry, Stephen. I know that you were into a girl for the first time in a while, but you need to know. Maybe this happened at the right time.” Paul gave me a shrug when I looked at him. “Maybe you should spend some time with Lacy and really talk to her. She might be sincere in wanting to be in your lives again.”
“Maybe,” I murmured as I leaned back. Everything felt so damn complicated and harsh.
Fuck dating. It obviously wasn’t for me.