Page 13 of Paths
All the years we spent together—until I got sloppy—were perfect. Twelve years is a long fucking time when I’m only thirty. From the moment I laid eyes on her when she was sixteen, I knew she was mine.
I suddenly feel whole, the limb that was severed from my body when she disappeared has been miraculously healed.
But only for an instant.
When I finally take a breath, the relief dissipates.
And anger takes its place.
They must see it, because my dad quickly stands, his chair rolling back, slamming into the wall. Sensing Jeff close to my side, I turn and with all my might, put my hands to his chest and push. “Where the fuck is she?”
Jeff stumbles back a couple steps before advancing on me. I push again when he tries to restrain me and he growls, “Enough, calm down.”
“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down! Is she here? Did you bring her here?”
“There’s no way we’re telling you where she is while you’re acting like this. Get your shit together,” Jeff commands, standing a good few feet from me, posed defensively. He’s fifteen years my senior, I’ve got at least thirty pounds of muscle on him. He couldn’t do shit to restrain me if he tried.
“Weston!” my dad shouts. “Enough—that’s an order.”
Breathing hard, I force myself to halt, and do my best to calm down. There’s no fucking way they’re gonna keep her from me. She’s mine and always has been.
After allowing a few moments to go by, my chest is still heaving. “Tell me where she is.”
My father narrows his eyes. “You prove to me you won’t run out of here creating a shit-storm, I might tell you. But you’ve gotta prove to me you can handle her. I haven’t told the Augustines yet—we need a plan that’ll convince her to come back on her own. I think the best way to do that is to use Joseph. I still can’t believe she left him as close as they are. For now, know she’s safe and we’ve got eyes on her all the time. Byron’s on it.”
“You put Byron on her?” I yell. “Why the fuck would you do that? I don’t want him anywhere near her.”
“Settle down. He’s been told to watch her, that’s it.”
Fuck. I’m surprised I can process any of this, all I can think about is getting her home. This time in my home—I’ll insist on it. Living all these months not knowing where she is has been hell. I spent the first month looking for her—my dad and the others understanding what I needed to do. I knew I couldn’t keep that up forever, not doing my fair share of earning and letting the others carry my responsibilities. Plus, I had to man up. I knew she left because of me.
“Tell me,” I exhale, trying to hold onto my control as I stare at my dad, “where is she?”
My dad looks from me to Jeff, curtly nodding once.
“Virginia,” I hear from my side and turn to Jeff. “She’s outside of DC, but your dad and I have already talked, expecting you’d lose it. You show us you’ve got your shit together over the next couple days, we’ll tell you where she is, but you can’t fuck this up again. She knows too much and because of that, we want her home where we can keep an eye on her. We need her loyal to you like a woman should be—and to prove she’s not a liability. If she is, we’ve all decided it doesn’t matter what family she belongs to, we’ll take care of her like we would any threat.”
“No!” I yell.
“Look.” Jeff puts out a hand to calm me, as if anything could calm me when they’re talking about Maya being a liability. “First off, that piece of ass you keep on the side is gone—cut her out for good. Second, you propose to Maya as fast as you can and marry her soon after. If you want her, you tie her up tight, and that includes babies.”
It’s all I can do not to put my fist to his face, but I know better, and deep down, I know he’s right.
My voice is tight and strained when I agree. “Done.”
Jeff nods and takes a step back.
“Son, you’ve got twenty-four hours to get rid of that skank and make a plan. Don’t disappoint me.”
I want to scream at both of them to tell me where she is so I can go to her, convince her to come home, or if I need to, force her to. I need to prove to her I want her more than anything and things can be good again, like they were in college, and the couple years we had after. She wore my ring once—I’m determined she’ll wear it again.
I say nothing and turn to leave. There’s no way I can see my mother right now. She’ll know there’s something wrong, and I know there’s no way my dad told her about Maya. She’d be on the phone with Vanessa Augustine faster than I could blink.
I go straight to my car. I need to figure out how to make this happen.
*****
Grady –
