Page 10 of Before the Fall
I expect him to answer immediately, but the phone falls silent. Why isn’t he answering?
“Did you hear me?” I ask, hoping the phone call simply dropped or went out for a second there.
“Yes, sweetheart. I heard you. Where did you hear that name?” my father asks, avoiding answering my question.
“Please, Daddy. Just tell me yes or no. Do you know a man named Rudolf Michner?”
My hand shakes as I hold the phone to my ear and await his answer. Why isn’t he simply answering me?
“Yes, I do. He’s dead now, though, but I did know him. Why do you ask?” my father answers in a low voice.
“How did you know him?” I ask as I look up at Jaxon as he waits to hear what I’m hearing.
“It’s a long story, honey. Maybe someday I’ll tell you, but not now.”
“Yes, now!” I say, practically sobbing. “I need to know. How did you know that man?”
Again, the phone falls silent, but I don’t wonder if the call dropped this time. I know what’s happening. I’ve seen this before when my parents fight. When my father’s in the wrong, he hesitates to say what needs to be said.
Finally, he answers, “I had to borrow money off him. After what happened to you, I wanted to take you and your mother on that trip. Do you remember how much fun we had when we went to Spain for those two weeks? Well, I didn’t have the money to pay for all of it, so I borrowed some. It’s okay, though, because I paid it all back.”
My heart sinks as I listen to his explanation. He needed that money because of me and what I was going through. He’s in trouble because of me.
“Okay, Daddy,” I say with so much sadness it practically drips off every word. “Thank you for being honest. I have to go now. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Okay, Tia. Are you feeling sick or something? You don’t sound right tonight.”
“I’m fine. I’ll talk to you later.”
My heart feels like it’s going to break after hearing the answer I dreaded. Setting my phone back on the nightstand, I lie back on the bed as I try not to cry.
“What did he say?” Jaxon asks, but I turn my back to him.
When I don’t answer, he climbs onto the bed and wraps his arms around me. “It’s going to be okay, Tia. I promise I’m going to take care of it.”
Something about the way he says that makes me want to scream. I turn in his hold and stare into his dark eyes as rage fills me.
“My father had to borrow money to take my family on a trip. And do you know why he felt like he wanted to take my mother and me on a damn trip, Jaxon? Because I was a fucking mess after that week you kept me out at that house. My father is in trouble because of you, and now you say you’re going to take care of it? Why don’t you just leave me alone? Just go and let me and my family live in peace.”
He stares at me in horror for a few moments but says nothing. Fine. I doubt he’d be able to say anything that I’d want to hear anyway.
Rolling over, I turn my back to him again and say in a low voice into the pillow, “Leave, Jaxon. You’ve done enough damage.”
I don’t know how long he stays with me, but at some point, I feel the mattress dip and then he leaves without another word. Maybe it’s unfair to blame everything on him. I don’t know.
All I know is I thought I was getting over him, and now I’m a mess again after seeing him.
CHAPTER FIVE
Jaxon
For two hours, I sit in my car in front of her house and wait to see her, but she never appears. She’s right. This is all my fault. I tried to make it up to her after what I did when we met because I love her. I’ve never loved anyone like this. It nearly tore me apart to break up with her last year, another one of my great ideas that ended up hurting her.
This is different, though. If I don’t do something, Tia and her parents are going to get hurt because of Victor.
Because of me.
I stare up at her windows wishing for nothing more than a glimpse of Tia. She knows I’m out here. She knows me better than anyone else on earth, so of course, she knows.