I’m yelling and my head hurts. I must calm down. “You two need to stay away from me right now.” I go back to my chair in the corner and sit down, drawing my knees to my chest.
Maybe this will be the wake-up call my dad needs to change. Is he capable of change?
I really hope so.
I wipe my eyes and then pull out my phone. My first instinct is to call Cody. I have so many questions—the most prominent being why he was at my father’s house—but I can’t deal with him right now. He hates my dad; he wouldn’t understand why I’m here. Instead, I send a text to Connie telling her what happened.
My mom and Vince are sitting on the other side of the waiting room. Holding hands. My dad could die, and they’re holding hands.
To keep from screaming at them, I close my eyes and take several deep breaths. This isn’t the mother I know. She always said family comes first. Always. I held her hand when she would cry because Ronan never came home. She was the one who always defended my dad and told me he loved me in his own way. The person I see sitting next to Vince now, that isn’t the same woman.
I hear my mother murmur something to Vince, then she walks over to sit in the chair across from me.
“I know you’re angry with me, and I understand. But there’s a lot about our marriage you don’t know. Your father has not been faithful. I’ve kept that from you because I didn’t want to give you any further reason not to like him, but I refuse to be painted as the bad guy here. Yes, I fell in love with Vince, but I tried for years with your father. I really did. He’s a hard man to love, honey. I know you know that.”
I swallow, then turn to her. She’s right. He is hard to love. And while I’ve never caught him with another woman, I’ve heard her accusations in their arguments.
My anger at her melts as I realize I’ve never thought about how it must be for her. Certainly, my dad must try to control her too. But growing up, I rarely saw him. Well, until high school. Then he was around. But I wasn’t—or at least, I tried not to be. My parents rarely talked around me.
I wonder if my brother has any idea about this. My brother. “Have you called Ronan?”
My mom’s eyes widen. “No, I’ve been so worried about Lawrence, I didn’t think of anyone else. I’ll call him now.”
She jumps up, but before she can walk outside to make the call, a man in scrubs approaches us.
My mom turns to him. I stand as Vince comes to stand between us.
“Mrs. Gardiner?” He has a solemn look, and I know his news before the words are even out of his mouth. “I’m Doctor Nichon. I’m sorry. We did everything we could, but the bullet caused too much damage. We weren’t able to save him.”
I fall back, and Vince catches me and leads me to a chair. The doctor continues to explain what happened, but I’m not able to listen. All I can see is my dad lying on the floor, bleeding. There was so much blood.
Once the doctor steps away, we all sit in silence, no one knowing what to say.
“Lucy?” Connie appears in the waiting room.
“Connie?” I look up, dazed.
“I came as soon as I got your text.”
“Connie, thank you for coming. I’m afraid Lawrence didn’t make it.” My mom dabs her eyes.
Is she even upset? Her tone is sad, and her eyes are wet, but something is missing.
Vince sniffles behind her. “Dammit. I never got a chance to explain, to make him understand.”
All my anger returns as I pop up to my feet. “Understand that his wife and his brother were having an affair? I know my dad well enough to know he would never have forgiven you.”
“Lucy,” Mom scolds.
“Don’t. You know it’s true.” I turn to Connie. “Can I go with you?”
She reaches out and locks her arm with mine. “Of course.”
I grab my purse, which has somehow stayed with me, although I don’t remember carrying it.
“Lucy, wait.” Mom grabs my arm, and I stare at her hand. “I’m sorry how all this came out. I hope you can forgive me.”
She releases my arm after a moment when I don’t look up. Then I let Connie lead me to her car.
