Filed To Story: Secret Shifters Next Door Series PDF Free
Luis looked flustered and confused. “Shit, Ava, I didn’t know this was a treatment day. Honestly, I didn’t. Hang on, let me try and get him on the phone.”
“You do that,” I snapped.
He glanced at me and gave an apologetic shrug. “I have to warn you, he may not have service where he is.”
“I don’t give a fuck. If you can’t get him on the phone, you get your happy ass in the car,
drive to him, and tell him to get his ass home. Now.”
Luis hustled out of the room punching numbers into his phone. “Jesus Christ, okay, okay.”
I pulled my own phone out and called the hospital. There was no way we were going to make it on time. I waited almost ten minutes to speak with someone about changing his appointment to later in the week. The whole time, my anger kept building. He’d promised me he was going to go through with all the treatments. He told me to my face that he would make them a priority. Now he’d gone off on some
business that was somehow more important than his own life.
Luis leaned back into the kitchen. “Ava?”
“What?” My voice was only a step away from a scream.
“Sorry.” He dragged the word out. “Uh, Gio’s on the way home. Should be here in thirty minutes or so.”
“Good. Tell him I’ll be in his office.” I brushed past my uncle and stomped up the stairs.
Once I was in his office, I flopped into his large leather chair. I’d hoped being up there in the quiet would help calm me down. It didn’t. I looked around the room and saw pictures of me and Mom standing next to Dad. It reminded me of what I’d lost and how much I still had to lose.
I was not naïve. One day my father would die. Everyone would. But goddamn it, if there was a way for him to stay for a few more decades, I wanted him to.
Half an hour later, my father walked through the office door. He blinked in surprise when he saw me sitting in his chair. “Ava? Hey, sweetheart.”
“Don’t
hey sweetheart me. Sit down.”
He walked toward me and gave a lopsided grin. “Are we going to have a talk?”
“Sit the fuck down,” I snapped.
Dad’s knees almost buckled and he fell into the chair in front of me. His face went pale. He’d never seen me this angry because I’d never directed my anger at him. “You’re mad.”
“You’re damn right I’m mad. You knew you had a treatment today. Knew that I would come over to take you. So you got out of the house before I even woke up. How selfish are you? I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation. What do you have to say?”
Dad leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Listen, Ava, there were some things that needed my attention. Things that were more important than?—“
I bolted to my feet. “More important?
More important
? Are you fucking kidding me right now? Don’t you dare sit there and tell me anything is more important than your life. Nothing—
nothing—
in this world means more to me than
your
life.” Tears sprang to my eyes, and that just pissed me off more. I hated crying in front of my father. “You can’t throw your life away for some stupid job.”
He held his hands up. “Honey, I’m sorry.”
He got up and came around the desk. He tried to hug me, but I slapped his hands away. I was still pissed off, but he didn’t back away. Instead he wrestled me into a hug, his large arms encompassing me. I gave in and sobbed against his chest.
The stress must have been getting to me. I never broke down like this. Ever.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. You’re right. I was an insensitive asshole.”
He was probably only trying to appease me, but I didn’t care. It was good to hear those words, and I hugged him tighter.
“I love you, Daddy. You have to take care of yourself. I can’t lose you.”