“I totally made you speechless, didn’t I?” he asks, a chuckle escaping his gorgeous mouth. “It’s a personal skill of mine. I have that effect on women.”
No kidding, I think to myself. The sight of him alone is enough to make me speechless, but I am not about to admit that to him or to myself.
“Don’t flatter yourself.” I tease back. “I am just surprised that you weren’t mean to me this time.”
He remains rooted to the floor, waiting for me to say more. I realize I still have not acknowledged what he said about his grandpa. “I do care about your grandpa and I’m glad to be here,” I start, wanting to explain more now that we’re having a friendly conversation.
“I feel indebted to your grandpa. He helped me at a very difficult time in my life. Saved me from a lot of trouble, and I am eternally grateful for that. I‘ve also become close to him while visiting him the past couple of months. I know he’s officially your grandpa, but he is like a grandpa to me too. I don’t really have any family and he’s become like family to me.”
He releases a deep sigh, as if he was holding his breath, and a warm smile crosses his face. “I’m really glad you told me that. It makes me more comfortable about you being here.”
I nod. We lock eyes, and the electricity that I feel so often when looking into his sparkling eyes is suddenly in the air again. We stand there staring at each other, both rooted to the floor. Not having anything more to say, yet not wanting to break the connection we just formed. But my nerves finally take over and I force my eyes to look away.
“Can I ask you for a favor please?” I ask hesitatingly.
“It depends. What it is?”
“Can you please ask your family members to come visit him?”
I’m not sure if right now is a good time to ask this, but I know I may not get this opportunity again and David really needs to see his family. As much as I hate to accept it, his time is very limited. He longs to see his kids and grandkids and he doesn’t have much time left for that.
“Are you sure you want my family members showing up here?” Aiden asks.
“Why wouldn’t I?” I ask, puzzled at his question.
“Because–you don’t know my family. They can be mean and downright nasty, and they don’t have a good relationship with Grandpa, but since he’s really sick, I have a feeling they will unleash their fury on you instead of him.”
I think over his assertion for a few seconds. I have no desire to be subjected to a nasty treatment, but if that happens, it wouldn’t be the first time, and I know I will figure out a way to deal with it. David’s need to see his family members supersedes my fear of getting a verbal lashing.
“Yea, I’m sure. I can deal with your family if and when that happens.”
“Okay. If you’re sure. I can’t make any promises that anyone will listen, but I will ask them.”
“Thank you,” I breathe, not sure what else to say. “You should probably go in and see him. I’m sure he’s waiting and wondering where you went.”
He nods his head and waves his hand goodbye before walking back into David’s room and closing the door. I stare at the close door for a few seconds before pivoting down the hallway and trying to calm my racing heart.
Two days later, as I am sitting next to David’s bed reading him his newspaper, the sound of click-ing heels down the hallway grabs my attention. I whirl my head around just in time to see a blonde beauty stride inside the room, Aiden following in her footsteps.
At first look, she looks to be in her thirties, with an hourglass figure, porcelain skin, and perfectly styled blonde waves. Her makeup is immaculate, and her outfit reveals expensive designer labels. But when I look more closely, I notice the appearance of fine lines on her hands and around her neck. A second look at her face reveals signs of plastic surgery. She’s definitely older than she looks.
The woman takes a quick look in David’s direction, barely acknowledging him before turning a curious gaze to me, moving her eyes slowly from the tip of my shoes to the top of my head, shamelessly appraising me. After a few seconds, she turns her nose up at me, tilting her head back towards David.
“Hi, Dad. So this is your new girl, huh? What happened to your busty blonde beauties? You must have lost either your touch or your taste,” she sneers.
“Where did you find her? Outside a high school in the ghetto? She looks like she’s sixteen... Is she even legal? And what is she wearing? You should at least buy her some nice clothes, so she doesn’t have to wear these Walmart clothes around your house.”
“Stop, Karen. Don’t talk about Aleah like that!” David exclaims, his face turning red.
“And, you’re standing up for her? This one must be a witch or something if she has you wrapped around her fingers like that.”
Her words infuriate me. I want to yell back that if I don’t have fake looks or designer clothes, at least I have a heart, as opposed to her who is coming to see her dying dad for the first time in at least three months and instead of paying any attention to him, is insulting his only friend and caretaker.
But instead of lashing out, I bite my lips down hard to stop myself from speaking out. I’ve always hated conflicts, and I really don’t want this visit to turn into an all-out fight. God only knows if David will ever get to see Karen again and I don’t want this visit to become about me. So before anyone else has a chance to say something, I force my legs up from the chair and quietly leave the room.
I try to hold my head up as I exit, but as soon as I am out, the negative force of everything she said hits me like a hurricane. Tears burn the back of my throat, as my body tenses with smoldering anger. I try to rush to my room before falling apart, but before I’ve taken more than a couple of steps, I feel someone’s hand on my arm. I swirl around in anger to see Aiden’s intense eyes.
“Aleah – wait... I’m so sorry about my mom,” Aiden whispers, his voice laced with shame.
I avoid his eyes, knowing that mine are brimming with tears, and try not to think about how the simple touch of his hand on my arm makes my whole body tingle. Instead, I focus on getting a few words past the huge lump in my throat.
“It’s okay. You did warn me about your family,” I manage to say.
“Yea, I guess did, but that,” he says, pointing to David’s room “was not okay. It’s not right for her to say those things to you. You didn’t deserve that... I’m really sorry about her,” he repeats. “She can be a real bitch. But she’s usually all talk and no actual harm. My Uncle Tom on the other hand, can be both mean and dangerous, and I think he’s planning on coming for a visit soon. You should really try to avoid him when he comes, if you can.”
I nod my head, knowing I won’t be able to get any words out without breaking into tears. Instead, I keep my head down and my eyes glance over to his big masculine hand resting against my arm. This simple innocent touch has butterflies soaring in my stomach, and the feeling really confuses me.
Right now, I just can’t deal with all the emotions running through my body, so I slowly move my arm. Aiden senses my uneasiness and pulls his hand away. I wave him goodbye quickly and walk to my room, locking the door behind me.
When I am safely inside is when insecurities hit me in full force. I walk to the full-length mirror in the bathroom and stare blankly at my profile. Do I really look sixteen? I’ve been told I look young before, especially when I don’t have make up on, but sixteen? Maybe I should start wearing make up around the house. I stopped putting make up on after I moved into David’s house because no one hardly comes over and I didn’t feel the need to have make up on when taking care of David, but maybe I should.
I continue gazing at my image in the mirror. I’m wearing blue skinny jeans and a black sweater. Karen’s right about my clothes. They may not be from Walmart, but they’re department store clothing.
I’ve never felt the need to buy expensive designer clothes. When I lived at my parent’s house, I had a limited allowance and didn’t want to waste it on
expensive clothing, and now that I’ve been making my own money, I’ve been saving almost all of it for when I go back to school.
I can’t afford to buy expensive clothes, and more importantly, I’ve never felt the need to. Of course, like every other girl my age, I like to have nice clothes and play dress up every once in a while, but I’ve never had the urge to spend hundreds of dollars on a piece of clothing just because of its label. Does that make me look like I’m from the ghetto? Does a mere look in my direction gives Karen the right to judge my whole character based on my appearance? I wonder what makes people like Karen think they can judge someone so quickly? And more importantly, how can they express whatever comes to their mind without giving a simple thought to how their words might hurt others? How could she not know or not care that her insults hurt me like a blade running through my heart?
I hate that I’m letting her words get to me this much. She’s obviously shallow and judgmental, her comments not worthy of my time, but it’s really hard not to. When you are raised as a woman to believe that a lot of your self-worth comes from your physical appearance, it’s hard to ignore a direct disparagement of your whole look.
The image in the mirror stares back at me, as I study it harder. I know I’m not bad looking, even if I feel that way right now. I am of average height with a slim figure and curves at the right places. I pull my ponytail out and let my jet-black waves fall over my shoulders. My hair comes up to right above my waist and is one of my best features.
I can make myself look pretty if I want to, and I usually don’t care what someone like Karen thinks about me. Yet her words keep turning over and over in my head. I let my mind wonder, if the reason her derision has affected me so much could have anything to do with the fact that she’s Aiden’s mom. Before the thought takes hold in my mind, however, I let it go. That’s not somewhere I need my mind to go right now. So, I shake my head to clear my mind, while making my way back to my bed where I can close my eyes and try to forget the insults directed at me by another member of the Pierson family.
The ringing of my phone snaps my mind back to reality from the book I’ve been immersed in. David’s been taking long naps in the afternoons recently, and I’ve started reading in my room to pass the time. I take a look at the caller ID on my phone and don’t recognize the number.
There are very few people that have my new phone number and I have all of their numbers saved in my phone. Curiosity gets the best of me, leading me to pick up the phone, but I instantly regret that decision, as I hear the voice on the other end.
“Hey little sister... Miss me?”
My stomach drops instantly, as a cold shiver travels up my spine. Shock and panic overtake my body, making my words choke out in my throat.
“What? You forgot how to talk?” Shane asks mockingly.
“How did you find this number?” I finally manage to say with a trembling voice.
The sound of his sinister laugh makes my blood run cold.
“You underestimated me little sister. You think you can just run away and do whatever you want and we won’t ever find you? Think again... And if you think you are safe because you’re living in some rich old bastard’s house, then you’ve got another thing coming.”
Raw panic sets at the pit of my stomach, making my hands tremble at the knowledge that he knows where I live.
He laughs again. “You didn’t think I could find you, did you?”
Despite the panic overtaking my whole body, I realize at this moment that what I say next could make the difference between being left alone or being threatened and harassed. I have to act like I’m not afraid. Even better, I have to somehow scare him. That’s the only way he may back away.
“Stay away Shane. You don’t know what you’re dealing with. These people have a lot of money and a lot of influence in this town. You don’t want them as your enemies. Plus, this time around, if I see you anywhere within a hundred feet of me, I’m calling the police. Don’t think for one second that I will keep my mouth shut to protect you... With your record, do you really want to get in trouble with the law?”
I manage to say this with as much conviction as I can muster, praying silently that he believes me.
“Nice try little sis. You don’t scare me and neither does your rich pimp. You’re going to pay for what you’ve done to our family,” he snaps back. A few seconds later the line goes dead.
As soon as I realize he’s disconnected the phone and I no longer have to put a brave face on, I fall apart. Panic overtakes my whole body, turning my stomach into a millions knots, with cold sweat breaking all over my skin.
This cannot be happening. Just when I thought my life was falling into place, my family has to show up and ruin it all again. My relationship with David may be unorthodox, but it’s still a valuable friendship to me and I don’t want to lose it.
As thoughts of David cross my mind, I’m suddenly jolted out of my panic induced daze. I have to let David know. Shane is crazy, and I wouldn’t put it past him to do something stupid like coming up here.
When I get close to David’s room though, I realize it may not be a good idea to upset David. He has been feeling worse recently, and worrying about Shane would not be good for him. So instead, I walk back to my room and grab my phone quickly to call Lou.
As soon as he picks up, I give him a brief summary of the conversation I had with Shane, also including some background information about why I left my family’s house so he knows how serious this is.
“You did the right thing by calling me first before telling David. He doesn’t need to worry about this right now, but we do need to be very vigilant. David’s house has a high-end security system, but that’s not enough. I’ll hire some security personnel for the house and someone to go with you outside when you have to leave the house. In the meantime, talk to Maria and Nick. Make sure they understand that no one should be allowed in the house unless they personally know them…and Aleah?”
“Yes,” I manage to say.
“I’m sure this is terrifying for you, but don’t worry, we have your back. We won’t let your family harm you again.”
His reassurance warms my heart, mitigating some of the fears, but it would be a long time before they are completely gone.
An hour later after talking to Nick and Maria, I’m back in my room trying desperately to distract myself with my book, when I hear commotion coming from David’s room. I rush to his room to see a towering man with salt and pepper hair, barking orders at the nurse.
In the midst of the chaos, I hear David’s impassioned plea. “Stop, Tom. What do you want?”
My guard goes up immediately. This must be David’s oldest son. I remember Aiden’s warning to me a mere few days ago to stay away when he comes around. I debate for a few seconds whether or not I should go in, before I hear David again.
“You can’t do that Tom. You have no authority.” His voice is laced with pain, telling me that he needs me. Even though, my stomach is in knots, I push through my fears and walk in the door. As soon as he sees me, Tom stops talking, instead running his eyes up and down my body. After a thorough appraisal, he tilts his head back to David.
“So that’s the caregiver, huh?” he says, making quotation marks with his fingers for the word caregiver. When David just stares at him, he whirls around to face me.
“Go and pack your bags girl. You’re leaving.”
“WHAT – What do you mean?” I almost shout.
“I mean you’re taking your ass out of this house right now. Go and find yourself another old man to mooch off of.”
I stand frozen, unable to believe my ears.
“You can’t do that Tom. She’s my caregiver and this is my house. Last I checked, I get to decide who stays here and who leaves,” David exclaims.
“Last you checked, you were healthy and of sound mind. You’re neither of those anymore, as is evident by your choice of caregiver. You’re letting a gold digger skank stay at your house and get paid, just beca
use she has a pretty face. Your mind doesn’t work right anymore. It’s time to give it up Dad. I’m taking you to a care facility where they can take proper care of you.” He says the last word in a cold and calculating voice.
“You have no authority to force me to go anywhere. Even if I had lost my mind, you would need a power of attorney from me to make decisions on my behalf. You don’t have that and you can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do,” David says firmly.
“I am your oldest son and I have all the authority in the world. You are leaving this house today,” and “you,” he says pointing to me. “Why are you still here? Didn’t you hear me say to go and pack your bags? I recommend you do that before I physically throw you out of this house.”
I remain rooted to the floor. “I’m not going anywhere,” I say firmly.
“Go to your room Aleah. Let me handle this,” David pleads.
I look from David to Tom and back. I don’t want to leave David alone with this maniac, but there’s not much I can do here either. David seems to need legal and physical support right now, and I can’t provide either. What I can do is to go and call Lou and Nick for help. And that’s what I decide to do. I rush to my room to get my phone, forgetting to lock the door behind me.
Lou picks up on the first ring.
“Everything okay, Aleah?’ he asks in a worried voice.
“No−David’s son, Tom is here and he is making a huge scene. He says he’s going to take David to a care facility and I have to leave the house immediately. David told him he doesn’t have authority to make those decisions, but he’s standing his ground and threatening to physically throw me out of the house.”
“Are you serious? Go to your room and stay there. He can’t do any of that, but someone has to stand up to him. I’ll leave work right way and should be there in about thirty minutes. Stay put,” Lou suggests, before hanging up.
Relentless Hope (Resilient Hearts) Page 8
