Fall on Me

by Chloe Walsh

  "Stop," I hissed. Rubbing my face roughly with my palm, I tried to get myself under control. "Don't read another word," I whispered. What the hell was he playing at? Who the hell was he trying to fool?

  Both of my sons.

  As a father...

  Our family.

  Like he had the slightest clue about being a father…I didn't have a father. I had a fucking sperm donor.

  "Where are you, Kyle?" Lee asked quietly. "You're not in a meeting. I can hear traffic."

  Groaning, I leaned forward and rested my forehead against the wheel. "Thirteenth Street."

  "Why did you lie to me? We promised each other," she whispered and I slumped in my seat. No more lies we had promised each other. No more fucking lies and I was still lying. Goddammit to hell.

  "I can't find Derek," I confessed guiltily. My tone was gruff. My whole body was on fire. "Didn't wanna worry you." I heard her breathing hitch and I flinched.

  "Can you come pick me up?" she asked quickly. I could hear ruffling noises in the back ground and I suspected she was pulling on her clothes. "I think I know where he is."

  ****

  Lee

  I felt horrible for calling Linda to come over and watch Hope for me when she obviously wasn't at her best, but I didn't have any other option. "Thanks so much, Linda," I mumbled as I shrugged on my coat, ignored the huge swell of guilt filling my heart from the sight of her washed out face, and rushed to the door. Kyle was waiting outside in his car and I didn't want my daughter coming with us. She didn't need to be exposed to all of this misery and Kyle was too temperamental to go on his own. We needed to talk about this. He needed to stop lying to me. I didn't care if he thought he had my best interests at heart or not. He needed to be straight with me. Lying to each other and hiding the truth had wrecked our relationship before. It was a horrible repetitive habit that we needed to nip in the bud.

  "Take care of him, Lee," Linda called after me.

  "I will," I replied as I pulled out the door and rushed down the steps the where Kyle was waiting in his car.

  "I'm sorry," were the first words Kyle said when I climbed into the passenger seat of his Mercedes. "I panicked…Fuck." His face held the world of remorse. I wasn't angry with him, but he needed to stop hiding things from me. I understood why he did it, but I needed to make him understand why he had to stop doing it.

  Lowing my hood, I dusted off the flakes of snow that had landed on my shoulders before turning to face him and reaching for his hand. "We've screwed this up before by not communicating. Let's not go down that path again." Stretching across my seat, I planted a soft kiss on his lips before pulling back. "I'm not a porcelain doll, Kyle Carter." I rubbed my thumb over his lip and watched as he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "We're a team and I will help you when you're in trouble. Do you understand me? Consider me your Tails."

  "As in Sonic the hedgehog?" He grinned and shook his head in amusement. "So, I'm Sonic and you're Tails?"

  "What?" I said with a shrug as I sat back into my seat and fastened my seatbelt. "Cam had a Gameboy when we were kids. It was the best analogy I could think of."

  Kyle smirked at me before revving the engine and speeding off. "So, Tails," he mused as soon as we arrived in the hill. "Where's our golden hoop?"

  He wasn't going to like this. I sighed heavily before saying, "I think he's at your father's house."

  Kyle slammed his hand on the blinkers and made a highly dangerous–highly illegal–U-turn. "Goddammit. Why the hell would he go…"

  "Because he's more than likely after reading the paper and freaking out over what David said about Cam," I said calmly. I had just about fallen off the couch when I opened the newspaper and read what David had said. Incapacitated. That stung. That hit me hard… "Take a deep breath and slow down. It will be okay, Kyle."

  I didn't believe a word of what I was saying.

  I had a really bad feeling about this.

  Dread was rising in my heart…

  ****

  "I don't know if I can do this, Lee," Kyle muttered as he pulled the car to a stop outside the most prodigious house I'd ever seen. It was huge–at least four stories tall–snow white in color and completely intimidating. It was snowing heavily now and instead of making the property look endearing, the snow seemed to have the opposite effect. This was a cold home with no love…

  Kyle unfastened his seatbelt and drummed nervously on the steering wheel with his hands as his eyes flickered between the house and my face. "I haven't been inside that house in eleven years…and Derek might not even be here."

  He was going to do this.

  I didn't need to coax him or persuade him to do this.

  "I'm with you," was all I said and it seemed to break him out of his panic.

  His hand darted from the wheel to my chin. "I know you are," he said in a soft contemplative tone of voice as he stroked my jaw with his thumb and nodded in what looked like determination. "Come on, princess," he said as he opened his door. "Let's do this shit."

  ****

  Kyle

  "Stay calm," Lee coaxed in a soft tone of voice she stood by my side, with her small hand wrapped around mine, at the front door of what I liked to call the manor. "I'm with you." I knew she was and that knowledge alone made the butterflies that were fluttering around my stomach die down.

  I would never admit it to Lee, but this place made me as uncomfortable as Thirteenth Street made her. I felt out of control here. I had no control here. This was his turf and I was unwanted. Standing on David Henderson's doorstep made me feel like a vulnerable twelve year old boy again. The last time I stood on these steps was with my grandfather, the day he brought me home. I quickly learned that day that I didn't have a dad and I never would have one. The look of revulsion on David Henderson's face when he looked at me was burnt into my memory. I would never forget the way that bastard had looked down his nose at me like I was a piece of shit on his shoe. I would never forget the words that came out of his mouth.

  "Am I supposed to know who he is?" David scorned.

  "You're not blind, David," Frank growled as he clamped his huge hand down on my shoulder. "Open your damn eyes. His name is Kyle. Kyle Carter. His mother was Sarah Carter?"

  David looked straight in my eyes, his expression impassive, as he raised his brow and said, "Am I supposed to care?"

  "Fuck you, asshole," I hissed, my temper getting the best of me.

  "Calm down, Kyle," Frank coaxed as he stepped towards his son. "This boy is your flesh and blood," he told David, his tone gruff. "Please tell me you didn't know…" Frank's voice broke. He looked down at me with kind blue eyes, blinked back the tears that were pooling in them before facing his son once more. "David, tell me you didn't know about him? Tell me you didn't knowingly allow your own son to spend nine years of his life as an orphan."

  David's brow rose in surprise. There was no flicker of any other emotion on his face besides a glint of amusement. "So, she's dead?" he mused. "Can't say I'm surprised." He shook his head and smirked down at me. "Your mother had a nasty little habit…thought that would've taken care of you."

  "You knew she was pregnant…" Frank snapped, but I was already moving.

  Shrugging Frank's hand off my shoulder, I stepped forward and got right up in my father's face. "You make me sick," I snarled, shoving his chest with my hands. Even though I was only twelve, he staggered backwards from the force I used. "I'm gonna make you so fucking sorry for this."

  David threw his head back and laughed. "Do your worst, runt."

  "He's very posh, isn't he?" Lee whispered, breaking me out of my reverie. "You two are like chalk and cheese." I cracked a smile. Only she could make me smile when I was standing here. David's choice of home was just another difference in our personalities and it made me happy to know that she noticed we were nothing alike.

  Where I liked the things in my life to be simplistic, David liked extravagance. He valued luxury over practicality. I liked to think that I was sensible w
hen it came to money, but that man was fucking wasteful. He could take fifty homeless people off the streets with the amount of money he spent on lighting this monstrosity of a house each month. I squeezed her hand. "You have no idea, baby."

  The front door swung inwards and I was faced with the bane of my fucking existence. "Well, if it isn't it Boulder's very own broken lovers," David said with a smirk as opened the door wider. "I have something that belongs to you, Kyle. Take your shoes off." Turning around, he stalked down the hallway without as much as a backwards glance.

  Lee looked up at me with a nervous expression. "Are we supposed to follow him inside?"

  "Probably," I muttered, sounding like a petulant teenager but not giving a fuck.

  Stepping inside, Lee dragged me back by the hand. "Wait," she mumbled. Pointing at the white carpet in the hallway, she looked up at me with the most innocent expression. "Should we…you know, take our shoes off?"

  I snorted and hoped to god that I'd stepped in dog shit on my way here. "Stamp your feet hard, baby," I said with a grin and she nodded eagerly, her smile mirroring mine. God, I loved that girl…

  Taking a deep breath, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and stepped inside. With each step we took into the house, Lee moved closer and closer until she was welded to my side. I tightened my arm around her. "It's okay," I whispered. "You're safe. I'm with you."

  Lee's hand started to shake and I rubbed my thumb across her knuckles to try and soothe her. "I'm worried for you," she replied quietly.

  We rounded a corner to find David standing outside the door of the living room with a scornful expression on his face. Closing the door, he shuddered before glaring at me. "You owe me for a carpet cleaning," he growled.

  The loud moans and groans coming from behind the door confirmed to me the fact that Derek was here. I'd know his fucking groaning noises anywhere. I'd heard them often enough. The walls were thin in Thirteenth Street.

  "What's going on, Mr. Henderson?" Lee surprised me by asking. She surprised me even further by stepping forward, nudging David out her way and putting her hand on the door knob. The look of anger on her face matched mine when she swung the door open and saw Derek lying limply on my father's couch. The only positive thing about this whole picture was the pile of vomit sprayed all over his white carpet.

  ****

  Lee

  "What the hell did you do to him?" Kyle demanded as he stepped forward and shoved David out of our way. I couldn't hear David's reply. I was too busy trying to wake Derek up–and trying to avoid the vomit.

  "Derek," I whispered as I knelt next to the couch and shook his shoulders. He was slumped on top of an immaculate white couch and for the briefest of moments I felt a twinge of sympathy for Mike. It must have been horrible growing up in an igloo. Because that's what this house felt like and looked like to me. Everything was white, cold and clinical. My god, even the Christmas tree in front of the bay window was decorated in white ornaments and tinsel. I dreaded the thought of what happened to children with sticky fingers in this house…

  "Cam," Derek mumbled as he threw his arm over his face and groaned. "Make it stop…everything…hurts." My heart cracked open as pain for Derek flowed through me, but fear quickly took its place when his hand shot out and grabbed the back of my neck. "You…broke me," he sobbed, eyes closed, chest heaving. He pulled my face so close to his that I felt drunk from the fumes of alcohol that was coming from his breath. "You…I love you…"

  "Derek," I coaxed as I pulled at his wrist with both of my hands. "Please let me go. I'm Lee."

  "Whoa," Kyle shouted from behind me and in the next moment I was free and being pulled into Kyle's arms. "You okay?" he demanded as he ran his fingers all over my face and neck.

  "Yeah," I whispered even though I was pretty sure we were standing in vomit. "What's wrong with him? He's completely out of it."

  "That would be the sedative," David chimed in.

  "You drugged him?" Kyle spat as he rushed over to Derek. Kneeling down beside him, Kyle shook Derek gently before swinging his gaze around to his father "Are you insane?"

  "Insane, no. Fond of my property, yes," he mused with a shrug. "Stupid fool showed up intoxicated and shouting abuse. What did you expect me to do, take it?" David shook his head and sighed. "I don't take kindly to threats, Kyle. You should know that. He showed up at my house, damaged my property and intimidated my wife. He's lucky all I did was stick him with a needle. I haven’t forgotten about him punching me, Kyle. Crying and whinnying over a woman who didn’t want him. He's a pathetic excuse for a man…"

  "He is a good man," I snapped as I pressed down hard with my feet. Let's see how easily he gets that stain out... "Derek is hurt and he is grieving. Your son ruined his life and your thoughtless comments are no doubt the cause of this."

  "He is a dangerous man," David countered, glaring at me with a look of pure disgust. "A danger to himself and to anyone he comes into contact with. He needs to be locked up." He turned to look at Kyle and I noted that his expression softened. I narrowed my eyes in distrust. "If he steps foot on my property again, I will have him arrested. I don’t want to upset you, Kyle, but I can't allow this kind of behavior. Not on my property. Is that clear?"

  "I'll tell you what's clear," Kyle snarled as he hoisted Derek off the couch. "It's clear that you're still a heartless bastard." Carting Derek out to the front door, Kyle turned around and glowered at David. "You even think about causing trouble for him and I'll personally see that you losing everything you value."

  "Don't threaten me, Kyle," David warned. "I am not your enemy."

  "Don't fucking tempt me, David," Kyle shot back before glancing down at me, his expression softening. "Open the door, baby." I obliged and Kyle shuffled me out first before following with Derek.

  "If I was heartless, I would have had him locked up hours ago," David said in a condescending tone of voice as he trailed after us. "Check your phone, Kyle. You'll see that I made several attempts to call you. I am trying to mend fences with you…Look at me when I'm talking to you, will you?"

  Kyle didn't turn around. He kept his eyes focused on his car, his jaw rigid. I hurried ahead of him, my feet crunching on the snow and gravel, as I rushed to open the back door of the car. With a gentleness that only Kyle was capable of, he maneuvered Derek into a sitting position in the back seat before fastening his belt. Kyle crouched down and began whispering something to Derek as he cupped his cheeks and inspected his face, but I didn't eavesdrop. It looked too personal.

  Instead, I backed away from the car and kept backing up until I hit something hard. Staggering slightly, I steadied myself before turning around. I focused my gaze–more like deer-in-the-headlights stare–on Kyle's father, who was standing less than a foot away from me. His eyes locked on mine and I tried to give him my best evil-eyed stare, but I wasn't feeling half as brave as I had been earlier–when Kyle was standing next to me.

  I ran through all the possible things I could say to Kyle's father, but his cold stare was knocking the breath out of me. When he folded his arms over his chest, stepped forward and smirked I lost all courage and edged away from him. I could have sworn I saw his lips twitch. He was enjoying this…He wanted to scare me. "I don't like you," I blurted out, still stepping away from him.

  "I don't like you either," he said softly, so softly I wasn't sure if he'd actually said it or mouthed the words.

  "I don't trust you," I countered, feeling a little better when he remained where he was standing. "You're calculating, deceitful and a very bad man."

  "You're guileless, unkempt and annoyingly bulletproof," he tossed back at me. "What's your point, Delia?"

  I registered the sound of a car door banging and footsteps approaching about two seconds before Kyle stalked past me, not stopping until his fist connected with his father's jaw. David's head snapped back as he fell backwards, landing on his butt on the snow coated ground. "Say that again to her," Kyle snarled as he towered over his father, his chest heaving, his
whole body shaking. "I dare you."

  "Kyle," I yelled as I rushed over to him. Grabbing his arm, I tried to pull him away, but the man was like a rock. "You crossed a line when you drugged my friend," Kyle roared, eyes fixed on his father's in menace. He didn't even seem to feel my hands pulling him. "But you crossed a goddamn continent with her." His hand shot out and he grabbed his father by the collar of his shirt before pulling him to his feet. "You think you can insult my woman? Talk to her like she's a piece of shit? The mother of my child?" Kyle shook his head. "Not fucking happening."

  I heard another door slam and watched in horror as Kyle's step-mom, Anna, came rushing towards us "Kyle," she said in stern tone of voice. "Let your father go."

  Kyle didn't answer her.

  I didn't think he could even hear us.

  He had flipped.

  Pushing David back, he threw another punch and hit David directly in the nose. "There will be no fences mended," Kyle spat before hitting him again and then again. "I am not your son."

  Oh god…

  My stomach churned at the sight of the blood spurting from David's nose, dribbling down his face. Droplets of blood landed on the ground, darkening the snow, and bringing with it every tormenting memory of that night to the surface of my mind…

  I was bleeding, my hands, my stomach… I could see a river of dark blood, spreading over the fabric of my red dress...