Page 119 of Fierce-Ivan

He had a game plan to wear her down.

Things turned and he was upset and worried he might lose what he gained.

He had to remind himself that maybe his aunt was right. That following rules and guidelines, researching and everything else he’d done in his life wasn’t always the way to go in a relationship.

These things couldn’t be planned.

So here he was ready to be there for Kendra. To talk to her and hear her out.

“Ivan,” Kendra said when she opened her door after he’d knocked. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

He moved past her into her apartment, seeing the laundry being folded on her couch. He knew she did her laundry on the weekends, but the past several Saturdays she’d been at his house.

She hadn’t mentioned wanting to stay with him last night and he didn’t bring it up when they talked. It was part of her needing space, he knew, but it bothered him still.

“I came to talk to you. I think we need to talk about a lot of things. Your neighbors opened the door downstairs for me.”

She moved her laundry out of the way. “Please sit. Let me start. I know that my life is in chaos right now. I’m sorry about that. And sorry that I dragged you into it.”

“You didn’t drag me into anything,” he said. He couldn’t sit. He was too ticked she was apologizing for something she had no control over. He grabbed her by the arms. “Look at me. You’ve done nothing wrong and more right than most. Life is messy and I can’t seem to get you to see that.”

Her eyes started to fill. “Trust me, I know it’s messy. No one knows it as well as me.”

He pulled her to his chest and held her. “That doesn’t mean you need to do it alone.”

She started to sniffle. “I know. I’ve been told that a lot lately. That I don’t need to take it all on my own.”

“My aunt,” he said.

“Did she tell you?” she asked, moving out of his arms and sitting down. She patted the couch next to her.

“She showed up at the brewery yesterday afternoon. That woman just can’t stay out of people’s business.”

Kendra smiled and wiped at a tear rolling down her cheek. “She means well. She’s right half the time, but I don’t want to admit it.”

“Tell me about it. What was she right about with you?” he asked.

It might be best to let her say what was on her mind first. She seemed open to talking and not upset he showed up when she’d said she needed space.

“I told her what happened with my father,” she said.

“Which I’m sure is more than you told me,” he pointed out.

“It was,” she said. “In summary, my father is a dick. I’ve said it before. He wanted me to take care of him. I did everything I could the other day. I made sure he had what he needed. I went to the store. I set him up. He’s not dying. He had a mild concussion and they released him. He must have been a jerk to the nurses too because the one that discharged him almost seemed to sympathize with me.”

“Some people aren’t good at hiding who they are.”

“I don’t think he ever tried to hide it. Maybe I was shocked he thanked me for showing up the first day and felt he’d be different when I went back. But he wasn’t. I just didn’t see it so much with him though until he left us,” she said.

“You were a kid. You weren’t supposed to see it or even know what it was when you did see it. Not then.”

“I suppose you’re right. He never asked about me or my life. Not once. Not even about my mother. It was all about whining and complaining and how was he going to manage with his leg in a cast. His left leg. He can drive. They told him that once he stopped taking the pain meds he would be fine. They even said he shouldn’t need them for more than a few days.”

“Sounds like he wanted you to care for him like you did your mother? That he felt it was owed to him?” he asked. Talk about something that might make him blow up.

“He did. I lost my temper. I said a lot of things to him that had been building and ended by telling him he had enough friends that he’d rather spend time with over his wife and daughter years ago, that I’m sure they’d help him now, and I left.”

“And you felt horrible for doing that,” he said, his hand on her thigh. “Even after everything that he’d done to you?”