His End Game (MMG #1) (18 page)

“First, let me say how sorry I am for your loss. Your aunt was a wonderful woman who will be terribly missed,” said Clark Harrison, my aunt’s lawyer.

“Thank you,” I said.

“I will make this short and sweet. Elizabeth Davis, in her last will and testament has left all of her worldly possessions to her niece, Ellison Elizabeth Davis. This includes her home, which is fully paid for, as well as her car.”

I smiled when he said this.

I can just picture myself cruising around town in my aunt’s 1999 yellow Cadillac Deville
.

“
everything else, her checking and savings accounts and such, can either be liquidated or switched into your name,” he continued, interrupting my thoughts.

“The house is paid off?” I asked. This surprised me.

“Yes Ma’am. Well, you still have to pay taxes, utilities and phone but you will never have to make a mortgage payment. If you choose to sell, then you will receive the full price, minus the realtor fees and expenses.”

This means I can afford to come home and live here if I want
.

Memories of my life in this house flowed through me; my childhood, holidays, hanging out with my aunt….Max.

I didn’t know this
.

How did I not know this?” I asked him.

“No one knew this. That’s the way she wanted it. She wanted you to have a sense of home; the only home you have known. She didn’t want you to ever have to worry about not having a place to come back to.”

“She wanted me to come home?”

“She told me that she hoped you would. She felt that you left here a lost soul and hoped that you would find your way back home one day.”

I heard sniffles from the peanut gallery behind me and felt the tears welling.

“Lord knows this house is big enough. How many bedrooms in all, three or is it four?” Joss asked.

“Four,” I replied.

“I would so redo the kitchen first,” said Piper.

“Ooooh, me too,” Joss agreed.

“Enough, Thelma and Louise,” I said glaring over my shoulder. “I need to think. I have a job in Greensboro, a life. I can’t just drop everything I have worked so hard for, can I?”

“Sure you can. After all, you are all alone in your apartment that you
pay
for each month, in a city where your friends and family no longer
live
,” stated Piper.

“About the bank accounts,” the lawyer started, “as it turns out, your aunt left you a pretty sizeable amount of money. If you managed it correctly, you probably would not need to work for quite some time.”

“Good, that takes the pressure off. You can come home, live here and apply for a job after you get settled.” said Piper.

“Why do you want me here? You’re moving to Texas!”

“I’m only planning on staying long enough to make my parents happy. Then I plan on moving back in here, with you.”

“Really?” Piper and I living together would be a lot of fun.

“Kurt is looking for another bartender right now,” Joss jumped in. “You have a lot of experience. You could move home and work at Dragonfly until you find another gig?” She sounded so hopeful.

“I need to think about it. You are both moving way too fast and I can’t breathe.” Needing air, I asked the lawyer for a five minute break.

“You can’t hide behind your fears and heartache forever,” Piper said, standing behind me.

“I’m not. This isn’t about Max anymore, at least not all of it. I left because of him but I need to come back because of me.”

“Are you going to talk to your dad before he leaves?”

“I don’t know, would you?”

“I don’t know.”

“He didn’t want me.”

“No, but you don’t know why. No one does. Don’t you think it’s time you find out for sure what happened?”

“Maybe. If it had been Max and I had found myself pregnant back then, I would have kept the baby.”

“Yes, but what if the circumstances were different? What you and Max had was once in a lifetime. That doesn’t mean it was the same for your parents. Obviously neither of them was ready to have kids or they wouldn’t have put you up for adoption.”

“I know you are right, but that doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t have a father growing up.”

“Look, you just lost your aunt. She is the only family you have known. Maybe your dad showing up now is a good thing. Maybe you should just hear him out before you shut that door forever.”

“Maybe I will. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that he’s here in Charlotte.”
My dad. Now that was something I thought I’d never say
.

Mr. Harrison left me overwhelmed by all of the decisions I suddenly had to make. Saying goodbye to Piper was horrible, as usual. Joss and Kurt had to go work on bar renovations, so I threw on shorts, a tank and running shoes and headed to the quarry. It had been on my mind since last night and seemed the right place to go to clear my head.

Parking the car, I made my way to our cliff.

What do I do? Do I want to talk to my dad? Do I want to give up my job and move back here? What is the right thing? What will make me happy
?

My thoughts drifted to Max.

I wish you were here
.
I miss your smile, your eyes, God, your lips. I miss your hands on me and the way you felt inside me. If you’re up there watching over me, then help me make the right decision
.

I had dated guys throughout the years. One, my junior year, was even kind of serious. In the end, I was too closed off and he wasn’t Max. I decided to forget about dating and concentrate on my studies.

Pathetic
.

Taking in a deep breath, I decided that the right thing to do was to move back to Charlotte and get closure with my dad.

Done
.

Surprisingly, feeling better, I looked up at the clear blue sky.

Thanks babe, I love you
.

I drove home with Imagine Dragons blaring through my speakers, my windows down, the wind in my hair and a much lighter heart.

I decided the next morning to pull the trigger on visiting my dad. So, with no warning, I drove to his hotel. I hadn’t told anyone about my decision to move back to Charlotte. I needed to get this with my dad out of the way before I finalized any plans. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on room 405.

“Ellie,” my dad said as he opened the door, obviously surprised. “I was afraid I wasn’t going to see you.”

“Samuel, I didn’t know you were going to see me either until late yesterday afternoon.”

“What changed your mind? And, please, call me Sam.”

“Well, Sam, what changed my mind is the desire to know what would make someone walk away from their kid and stay away for twenty-two years.”

“Come in and have a seat. I’ll do my best to explain.”

Samuel Davis was a good looking man with dark blonde hair like me. His eyes, however, were darker than mine and a different shape. I placed him at about six feet two inches tall. He seemed to have a no bullshit attitude which, I hate to admit, I respected. I didn’t want to like anything about him.

“I met your mom in fifth grade,” he began. “We hung out with the same group of friends through middle and most of high-school. It wasn’t until the summer before our senior year that we noticed each other.”

“So, you two started dating then?” I asked.

“Well,” he paused, “not exactly.”

“Look, I am not young or naïve, so I would greatly appreciate your honesty.”

“I get that, but you need to understand that the circumstances surrounding your conception are not exactly the easiest thing in the world to discuss.”

“Fair enough,” I said.

“Neither your mom nor I were inexperienced. In fact, that’s what drew us to each other. Uh… we both liked the same things.”

Great, my parents were both nymphos
.

“God,” he said running his fingers through his hair, “this is harder than I thought. Okay, basically, your mom and I just hooked up for sex. We were never in love and really didn’t even like each other. At least, I didn’t really like her.”

“So, you were just friends with benefits.”

“We were two people who knew what we wanted.”

“And she got pregnant.”

“Yes and I didn’t think it was mine, so I asked her to get an abortion.”

“Would you have wanted me if you had known I was yours?”

“I did know, eventually.”

“How?”

“Your aunt took you in for a paternity test when you were a few weeks old. She wanted to know and thought it would make me change my mind and come home.”

“I see.”

“No, I don’t think you do, Ellie. I was an eighteen year old boy who had the rest of his life in front of him. Your mom wanted me to commit to her after a year of hooking up every now and then for sex, even though we both knew I wasn’t the only guy she was sleeping with. She told her friends that she was going to catch me, like getting pregnant was a game or something and I wanted nothing to do with it.”

“But yet you still had unprotected sex with her?”

“I didn’t mean to. She planned it all out. She knew there was a party that all of the varsity football players were going to. She knew we planned on getting slammed because it was so close to graduation.”

“So, what you’re saying is that my mother intentionally got pregnant in order to trap you?”

“That’s exactly what I am saying.”

“How did you learn all of this?”

“When I refused to buy into the whole scheme, her best friend let it slip.”

“Wow. So, why come back now?”

“I grew the fuck up. I had nothing to offer you then. Hell, I may still have nothing to offer but I want to try. I want to get to know my daughter. I can’t give you all of the years back but maybe we can have a future?”

“Would you have come back if Aunt Elizabeth hadn’t died?”

“I’ve been wanting to come back for the past ten years but your aunt wouldn’t allow it.”

“Really? She never mentioned it.”

“She said that you were happy. She had custody of you and didn’t want me interfering. By law I had no ties to you. I had to stay away because she asked me to, whether I wanted it or not.”

He tried to see me. He wanted to know me
.

“She wouldn’t let you see me? But… she knew how not having parents affected me.”

“She was protecting you. How did she know that I wasn’t going to show up and then bail on you? She did the right thing. I see that now.”

“I’m not sure what to do with all of this. I mean, I know nothing about you.”

“Ask me anything you want. If this is the only chance that I get to talk to you, then I’m taking it.”

“Where do you live?”

“In Raleigh.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I am a book editor.”

“Are you married?”

“I’ve been divorced for three years.”

“Any children?”

“Only you.”

“Did you want more children?” I knew I was getting personal but for some reason I needed to know.

“I wanted to know you and then, yes, I wanted more children. My ex was okay with it until she couldn’t conceive. Then, she didn’t like that I had a daughter floating around. This is the main reason we ended up divorcing.”

“You told her about me?”

“Eventually, yes.”

“I’m sorry about your divorce.”

“Thanks, but I am much happier without her. Can I ask a few questions now?”

“Sure, but I might not answer.”

“That’s fair. I know you went to college in Greensboro. What are you doing now?”

“I just graduated from UNCG with a degree in Business Administration. I have a job lined up in Greensboro, only…”

“Only?”

“Aunt Elizabeth left me everything.”

“Ahhhh, I see. Are you happy in Greensboro?”

“I’m content.”

“Do you have a boyfriend keeping you there?”

“No, no boyfriend,” I was quick to answer.

I watched his eyebrow raise in question. “What’s stopping you from moving back to Charlotte?”

“Nothing really, I just need to quit my job and move my things.”

Enough with question time
.

“Listen, I should probably get going,” I said.

“Ellison, for what it’s worth, I am sorry that you grew up without a mom or dad. I won’t apologize for letting Elizabeth raise you, though. She did a much better job than I ever could have. From what I have seen, you have grown to be a strong down
to earth woman and I am proud of you. Will you think about giving me a chance to at least be your friend, if not your dad?”