Page 50 of How You See Me (You and Me Duology #2)

Hayes

A va and I are halfway finished with our project when Mom walks in with a small parade trailing behind her.

“Look who we found in the lobby,” she says, motioning to Kayla and Victoria.

Ava, now sitting up in bed and flushed with energy, yanks the blanket over our crafting mission.

I rise to hug my other two sisters. Both are in college and too grown up for their young ages.

Kayla’s twenty-two, a first-year medical school student with the posture of someone who doesn’t flinch under pressure.

Victoria’s just nineteen but already a college junior, always sprinting past expectations.

The women in my life never cease to amaze me.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Victoria says, throwing both arms around me. “But what’s this I hear about you getting a girlfriend?” Mischief takes over her face. “Is she a Marine, too? She’d need access to some indestructible tactical gear and weapons to penetrate that wall of yours.”

“Shut up,” I mutter, prying her off.

“She’s an artist,” Ava chimes in, like it’s the best quality anyone could have.

“I knew that.” Victoria winks my way as she gets in line behind Kayla to hug Ava.

I move to close the door but an older version of a familiar face steps inside.

“Hi, Hayes,” my father says, setting his stance as if to say, I’m here to stay whether you like it or not .

I don’t. Not one little bit.

Ignoring him, I hold my shit together long enough to point at Ava through the crowd. “I’ll be right back.”

To avoid any potential interrogations, I escape. The hallway blurs around me. I rip the mask off once I reach the elevator hallway, lungs gasping for air that doesn’t smell like bleach and slow decay.

The door takes forever to open. When it finally does, I punch the Ground Level button like sheer force and a few floors can make the past disappear.

But a hand slams between the sliding doors, and they reopen.

Fuck me.

“Hayes,” my father says, guarded but casual, as he steps inside. He watches me closely, knowing I’m a ticking time bomb with him in my presence.

We stand on opposite sides of the small metal box he turned into a boxing ring by showing up uninvited.

This is the first time I’ve seen him in almost five years.

No matter what he has to say to me, I’ll never forget how his leaving destroyed Mom.

How his accusations that she’d been unfaithful when Ava was conceived ripped apart their marriage years before that.

After nearly three decades of marriage, she’d never given him a reason to doubt her devotion.

There's not one deceitful bone in her body. Only love. It’s a shame I can’t say the same about him.

“Why are you here?” I hear myself ask, the words seemingly coming from someone else.

“Because I am worried about Ava and your mother.”

“Since when?”

“Don’t give me that—”

“You lost the right to demand anything of me a long time ago. Don’t act like you care suddenly.”

The elevator dings, and I launch myself out the second the doors open, walking fast, not looking back.

“Hayes!” he calls once we’re outside.

I whip around, chest heaving. “What do you want?”

“Forgiveness.” The word cracks in his throat.

I wish I could feel something other than hatred. I’m too damn tired to deal with him and his convenient remorse.

“You haven’t earned it.” I pivot to continue down the sidewalk to find that elusive oxygen I need, but his hard footsteps echo behind me, stealing it all.

“I don’t have the patience for this.” I don't bother stopping or turning around.

He hasn't earned that respect either. “I have too much on my plate right now.”

“I know. ”

That stops me, and he stumbles backward when his momentum almost makes him crash into me. I outweigh him by at least thirty pounds of muscle. That collision wouldn’t bode well for him, and he knows better than to test me. “How the hell would you know?”

“Your mother keeps me updated.”

“What?”

“She and I have kept in touch. For the last three years.”

Just my luck.

“I’m sorry you felt abandoned,” he says before I have a chance to speak and shut him out. “But I wasn’t in a good place—”

“Don’t care.” I cut him off. “This was never about me. It’s what you did to everyone else that I take issue with. I’ll never understand why she forgave you.”

“Because I still love her.”

“Fuck you. If that were true, you wouldn’t have waited for Ava to get sick before crawling back.”

His gaze drops to the concrete beneath us.

I take a deep breath, trying to contain the explosion inside me. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. You’ve never wanted to be a father to her. So, what do you care?”

“I didn’t want more kids back then. That’s true. Your mom getting pregnant with Ava was a shock, but she’s my flesh and blood, and—”

“You didn’t think so at the time."

“I panicked and I’m not proud of it. I’ve spent the last five years trying to win you all back.”

“Bullshit. ”

“I’ve done everything I can think of, but—”

“Reach out to me. Everything except that.”

“Your mother wouldn’t give me the time of day for years. I knew you’d support her.”

“Damn right. She’s a force to be reckoned with and you don’t deserve her.”

“I know.”

I cross my arms, my bullshit meter fully activated. “What did you do to worm your way back in?”

“Wore her down with consistent groveling. She finally agreed to go on a date with me right before Ava got sick. I’ve been here the entire time, Hayes. I love you all like I never left.”

“But you did. You broke Mom’s heart and tossed Ava aside like yesterday’s trash. She’s the light of this family, the glue, and you missed all the good times.”

He shakes his head. “You’re wrong.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re the glue, son. Not Ava. You were the one holding them together when they were falling apart. You carried the burden, took care of them, pointed them forward. You’re a far better man than I could ever be, and I’m proud of you.”

The words sucker punch me in the gut, causing a dozen or so contrasting retorts to tumble into my thoughts. I say nothing. Not because he’s confusing the hell out of me but because Mom is running toward us.

I step around him and jog to meet her halfway. “What’s wrong? ”

“That’s what I came to ask you,” she says, breathless. “I saw you two arguing from Ava’s room.”

I squint up at the wall of windows glaring down at us, wondering which one is hers, and my shoulders slump with a new longing. “Ava’s okay?”

Maybe one day, that question won’t be the first to populate whenever I talk with my mother.

“Yes. She hasn’t had this much energy in days.”

“So, you came down here to stop me from lashing out? At least I didn’t do it in front of Ava like you expected.”

“Hayes, I didn’t expect it.” She places a steady hand on my cheek. “You’re always in control.”

“Doesn’t feel like it right now.”

I twist to find where my father snuck off to. He’s sitting on a nearby bench now, his elbows on his knees and head down, the same way Mom had been when I arrived. I don’t get the same knee-buckling sadness when he does it but the absence of it hurts just as much.

“Come on.” Mom grabs my arm and tugs me toward my father. “We need to talk.”

I want to tug back but know better than to challenge her.

When her mind is set on something, she’s a racehorse galloping downhill and there’s no stopping her.

She points at the empty bench beside him, and I do as she directs, but not without a disapproving grunt.

I can’t help it. Controlling my emotions takes more energy and patience than I have in reserve right now.

She lowers to sit between Dad and me and wastes no time. “I don’t expect you to understand. ”

“You’re forgiving him? Just like that?” It’s written all over her face.

“We’re working through some things. But yes. Life is too damn short.”

Asudden burst of anger pushes me off the worn wooden slats like they’re scorching hot.

“Let me finish,” she demands, yanking me back down by the elbow. “You don’t have to be okay with it. But you’re going to listen.”

My silence is all the compliance I give.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I needed to handle it my way.”

“And you knew I’d have something to say about it.”

“Yes.”

“Does everyone else know?”

“Just Raidyn.”

“Why?” I lean forward to ask him. “Why now?”

“It’s not sudden, Hayes. I’ve been trying to earn your mother’s forgiveness since I left. That needed to come first.”

“He’s moving back to town to help with Ava,” Mom blurts, ripping off the fresh bandages I’ve been frantically trying to place on all my wounded heart.

“I want to be a part of my kids’ lives and hopefully, earn a second chance with all of you.”

Mom takes his hand like no time had passed. Like he hadn’t abandoned us and broke her heart .

It’s the last straw. I launch off the bench, unsure of what I need to do or say, but I know I can’t stay here a minute longer

I’m acting like a dejected child, not the thirty-three-year-old man the Marines and war molded me to be. This shock and awe is far worse than war. For that, I can switch off my emotions and follow my training.

“I need a minute.”

Stomping off, the only thing I can think to do is call Josie. I check my watch. It’s around 6:30 p.m. there.

The phone rings three times before loud music sounds through the speaker. I recoil, moving the phone away from my ear.

“Hayes? I’m sorry.” Josie’s voice muffles with the noise. “Hold on.”

The music is replaced by honking cars and excited voices on her end, a little more manageable.

“Hi. I’m so glad you called,” she says, rescuing me from myself. “I’ve been worried about you. How’s it going?”

My hand drags across the back of my neck when a new twinge pulses there. “There are no words.”

“Try, my love.”

More emotions press against my ribs, clawing for release. I’m so sick of feeling this way, but the storm Raidyn warned me about is coming and it has my father’s name written all over it.

“Hayes?”

“Ava perked up when she saw me,” I grind out. “Mom said she has a new energy now. ”

“That’s great. See? She just needed her brother.” She pauses when the music blares again. “Sorry. There’s nowhere to escape the chaos in this place. Why do you sound upset?”

“It’s my parents. I think they’re getting back together.”

“Oh, Hayes. That’s more good news, right? Your family can heal and take care of Ava as a unit.”

Of course, she sees the silver lining. The rainbow in the clouds.

“I miss you.” And once again, I’m in awe of this woman.

“I miss you, too . . . so much.”

“I should get back to Ava before she falls asleep. I just needed to hear your voice.”

“I’m here, always. I love you and believe in you. Whatever you can handle right now is all you can do. But Hayes?”

“Yeah?”

She pauses with another sniffle. “I’d give anything for a second chance with my parents. Please think long and hard before you throw yours away.”

“For you, I will.”

“No. Do it for you . I know you can. You can do anything.”