Most of the time I noticed he tucked himself away in his music room. I was still shocked to learn that he enjoyed playing instruments and had a whole room dedicated to it.
“Now come on.” Shooting my attention back to him, my face turned with curiosity. I poked my lips out and scrunched my nose.
“Where are we going?”
“Meet me downstairs.” He turned to leave my room. My hands fidgeted and my skin tightened. I wanted to defy him and go to the hospital. According to my dad, they were doing my mom’s check-in now and she was due to go under soon. I needed to get my car from Jatavia’s and hurry to the hospital.
Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair. I guess I could go with him, then sneak away and call a ride share wherever we ended up.
“Kairus.” I gulped in disbelief. My eyes went wide as I stared at the large, white building. He parked near the emergency entrance and cut his truck off.
“Let’s go.” He didn’t wait for me as he opened his door and climbed out.
I hurried and undid my seat belt, scrambling out of the truck behind him.
“What are we doing here?” I wondered. My blood hummed and rushed through my body. I tried to keep my excitement hidden but my heart danced in delight.
“Your mom is having surgery today, right?” he grunted.
I swallowed hard and nodded.
“A’right then.” His response was sarcastic as if the answer was simple, but I was confused. Kairus bringing me here didn’t make sense.
“You’re gonna stay with me?” I asked once we were in the hospital.
“If you think I’ma let you stay here alone then you must not know me yet.”
I cut my eyes at him. “What does that mean? It’s not like I’ma run.” He gave me a look of distrust but stayed silent.
Rolling my eyes, I followed him to the elevators and waited. Anxiety fueled my racing thoughts, not only about my mom but Kairus too. I hoped he didn’t have a motive today and wouldn’t cause a scene either.
We stepped into the elevator and he pulled his phone out, tapping away on the screen. I watched him out of the corner of my eye. He was dressed in a charcoal gray suit, with his hair freshly lined up along with his mustache. His five o'clock shadow complemented his square jawline and offset the scars on his face.
“If you’re gonna stare at me then be more discreet with it.” Kairus didn’t take his gaze off his phone as he spoke. My eyes widened and snapped forward. Tension grew in my shoulders and filed through my body.
When the elevator doors opened on the right floor I couldn’t get out fast enough. I hurried down the hall to the room I knew my mom was in. As soon as I turned the corner I saw my dad in the hall on the phone.
He looked up and his eyes brightened when they landed on me until he noticed I wasn’t alone. A sullen expression formed on his face. His eyes darkened and he pinched his lips together tightly.
“We’ll talk more later.” He hung up when I was inches away.
“Sweetheart.” He smiled tightly at me.
“Hi, Daddy!” I rushed into him, throwing my arms around him. His body was tense but he hugged me anyway. When it came to my dad I had mixed feelings. I still loved him but I had some resentment toward him too.
“What is he doing here?” he asked.
I pulled away and looked over my shoulder. Kairus, who looked bored yet intimidating, glowered at my dad.
“Jeremy, is there a problem?” Kairus’s tone was taunting.
Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I bounced my gaze between the two. The last thing I wanted was issues between them or for anything to alert my mom that something was wrong.
“If you’ve come to cause trouble…” My dad went to step forward, but I placed my hand on his chest.
“Daddy, he didn’t. He’s just here so I can see Mom,” I insisted.
My dad kept his eyes locked on Kairus. His jaw ticked and his stare hardened more. “How’s the hand?” Kairus questioned, making me whip my head to him a scowl.
