Page 14 of Revival

"Fine, Daddy. But you don't get to hogmy uncleall weekend onmybirthday."

Her little smirk makes me laugh, then she’s swept out of sight by the nanny.

I turn toward Jacob with wide eyes. “Holy shit. How did I forget it was Stevie’s birthday weekend?”

Jacob grabs us each a beer before taking a seat in the chairs in front of the bus.

"You've had a lot going on in the last few months, man. How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

“This is me you're talking to. No bullshit."

I sigh, then take a swig of my beer. "Good and bad. Days are usually better than nights. The dreams are more sporadic now, but according to my neighbor, they are just as loud.” I grimace as Ms. Giordano’s angry, crinkled-up face pops into my mind.

“And Bailey?”

My stomach sinks. “No change with Bailey, but the doctors are still hopeful. I found her an amazing care facility overlooking Malibu."

"When is the trial?"

"August 4th."

"What are they being charged with?"

"A slew of shit I don't care to talk about right now." With each question, anger races through me. He knows I don't want to talk about this, but he persists.

"When are you going to start tattooing again?"

"Never! I don’t know why people can’t this through their fucking heads.

"Simmer down there, buddy. I'm your best friend, man. I get to ask these questions so that you can avoid a thousand idiots asking you later."

Pissed at myself for losing my temper, I grab the chair and sit back down to finish the conversation. "This is why I've barely seen the light of day since the shooting. I hate every dumb-ass question people ask me. I have panic attacks even hearing a tattoo machine, no less using one. Tattooing was the one thing I truly loved doing, and it was taken from me. Now I have no idea who the fuck I am anymore."

"And then there's Bailey," he says.

"And then there's Bailey," I repeat with a heavy sigh. "She is my tattoo ride-or-die. She's been with me through thick and thin and never left my side. And now we're left wondering when and if she'll ever wake up.” I swallow the thickness in my throat. “And all of this is my fault. I would have given those guys any amount they wanted to keep my empire safe. Why the fuck did they have to shoot her? Why couldn't she just stay in the bathroom when all of this was happening?"

"I'm sorry, man. I know this must be difficult, but I know Bailey, and she wouldn't want you blaming yourself. She'd be pissed that the Rome we all know and love is turning into someDanielguy we've never seen before."

"You don't know what you're talking about," I huff, crossing my arms like a child. “I’ve always been Daniel.”

"Okay, buddy.”

He clinks his beer bottle against mine to get my attention. “Life is a happenstance of revolving doors. You can either spiral out of control forever or push your way through and make it out the other side. The choice is yours."

Staring at the fire, I avoid eye contact. He's right, and I have no intention of admitting it.

Chapter Nine

Andrea

As I drive away from the house for the last time, tears silently slide down my cheeks, settling in the spot right below my chin. I loved my home. I wanted to grow old in that home. Teach my grandkids how to swim in our pool. Spend my forever in the hills of Sonoma with my husband.

When I locked the doors for the last time today, I knew my life as I had known it was forever gone. My ex-husband is starting a new life—with a woman almost half his age—my kids are going away to college, and I've purchased a two-hundred-thousand-dollar camper to live in. What the fuck am I doing?

"I'm so excited for you," Lindsay says from the passenger seat beside me.