Fall To Pieces: Broken #2 (The Broken Series) (23 page)

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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Kyle

The door opened, and I stiffened.

There was only one person w
ho came into this hospital room without knocking, and that person made my skin fucking crawl.

“Morning, Darling,” Jimmy Bennett said, as he walked over to Lee and kissed her on the forehead.

I had to hold onto Lee’s hand a little tighter to keep myself in my chair.

Even though I’d paid for him to fly here, I still struggled with keeping my cool around him.

The man was built like a brick shit house, and the knowledge that he used this strength to wield control over Lee as a child, caused my body to thrum with rage.

Every time I looked at his beefy arms, and huge motherfucking chest, I was hit with an insane urge to return the beatings he’d given my girl.

“Carter,” he acknowledged, nodding in my direction as he pulled up a chair on the other side of his daughter and sat, eyes narrowed, directed at me.

I nodded stiffly. “Jimmy.”

Jimmy didn’t like me.

He didn’t have to say it, it was obvious in the way he moved around me, or the way he watched me like a hawk with those cold gray eyes of his.

It was a fair assumption to presume that the angry energy I had pulsating towards him, was being returned in waves.

“Any news?” he asked, and I shook my head.

I knew what he meant; Jimmy had been checked as a donor.

“You’re not compatible. The doc told me this morning.”

“Well, shit,” he muttered, pulling off his baseball cap and wiping his sweaty brow.

Running his hand across his gray stubble jaw, he leaned closer to Lee.

“Now, don’t you worry about a damn thing, darling. Daddy’s here, and he’s gonna get you all fixed up.”

He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it, before glaring at me. “I see you still aint put a ring on my daughter’s finger, boy.”

“Her choice, not mine,” I said through gritted teeth.

I’d asked Lee to marry me more times than I could count. She was the one with the reservations.

Jimmy let out a whistle.

“Well, damn, that girl’s smarter than I gave her credit,” he said, looking straight at me. “If she aint gonna marry you, there aint no reason for her to stay here.”

Turning to face Lee, he smiled.

“You’re gonna come with your daddy, aint ya darling, you and that grandbaby of mine?”

I shoved my chair back, and stood up quickly.

“Over my dead body, is my daughter going anywhere with you. Lee might have forgiven you, but I sure as hell haven’t forgotten what you did to her. Lee and Hope are staying with me.”

The chair I was sitting on crashed against the wall behind me, but I didn’t move to pick it up.

I remained stock still
, glaring at the gray headed, child beater holding my girl’s hand.

Lee was going to get better, and then we would go and collect Hope together…

“That’s real fucking hypocritical, kid,” Jimmy snarled. “Considering, you’re the reason that crazy redhead bitch put two fucking holes in my daughter’s body.”

Those words took the air right out of my lungs, and I staggered back.

“Don’t like hearing the truth, do ya, boy?” Jimmy continued. “I never claimed to be a good father. I sure as hell know I screwed things up in the past. But I’m better now, and I’ll be damned if I sit back and watch you destroy my baby girl’s life.”

He leaned his elbows on the side of Lee’s bed; his bicep’s flexed as he focused on me.

“This is what’s gonna go down, son. My baby girl’s gonna get better, and when she does I’m gonna be taking her and the baby home to Louisiana with me, where I can keep her safe, where I can protect them both, because god knows, you’ve done a real, fucking stellar job at it so far.”

“I didn’t know…”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you didn’t know, Carter. I don’t like you, not one fucking bit, and I aint taking no more risks when it comes to Delia. God knows how many more skeletons you got, waiting to jump out of the closet.

“She’s nineteen years old, for Christ’s sake. She’s just a child herself; she’s my child. My teenage daughter, who you went and got pregnant, and now you’ve got yourself a baby girl of your own as a result. Put yourself in my shoes kid. Think of what’s best for them.”

“You’re not taking them.”

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders.

“We’ll see,” is all he replied.

I had to get away from that man or they were going to need another bed in that room, real fucking soon.

“I’ll be outside,” I growled, as I stormed out. I had to get away from him or I would lose it.

*****

Running my hands through my hair, I rushed from Lee’s room, needing to get a little space and breathe for moment.

I was not prepared for the welcoming party that awaited me.

“There you are, kiddo. I was wondering when you were going to come up for air again,” Linda said. “You know…With all that self-pity you seem to be bathing in.”

I closed my eyes, and made to go back inside Lee’s room, but she grabbed my arm, yanking me back.

“Look at her, Kyle,” Linda demanded.

I shook my head.

“I can’t.”

The sounds of her babbling, were slitting through me. “Please
, Linda, just take her, get her out of here.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that
, Kyle,” she replied firmly. “This little girl needs her parents. And since her momma can’t take care of her, then her daddy sure as hell will.

“Look at her, Kyle; she is your flesh and blood. Open your eyes. Do
n’t let your fear of the future be the cause of you making the biggest mistake of your life. Take your child, now.”

Shuddering, I opened my tear filled eyes as Linda placed Hope into my arms.

The feel of her, the smell of her in my arms…It was too much.

“Linda, I’m scared.”

“Since when did fear ever stop you, Kyle Carter? You’ve been feeling the fear and doing it anyway since you were twelve years old. You can do this, and you will get through this.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Kyle

I stood at the edge of the cemetery, behind of the crowds of mourners and reporters who had showed up to watch Cam’s casket being lowered into the ground.

Derek stood stiffly by my side.

Using one hand to rock Hope’s buggy, I placed the other on his shoulder.

This was harder for him than me. I knew that, and I empathized with him no end.

It was too hard for him to stand at her grave and watch Cam’s burial, while Mike stood side by side with the family he’d once been a member of.

I comforted myself in the knowledge that whilst nine days had passed since the attack
, and the doctors hadn’t yet found a kidney donor, the love of my life wasn’t being placed in the ground.

S
he was still fighting, and she was still alive.

We stood there silently, until the priest excused himself and the crowd dwindled.

“You ready to go, man?” I asked quietly, tucking Hope’s blanket around her sleeping body. 

Even though it was early June, the air was cold in the cemetery. My heart swelled in my chest at the sight of
Hope, and I stroked her cheek as I silently thanked Linda for helping me come to my senses.

I was ashamed of myself for denying my daughter.

The fear of living without Lee, the depression…I hadn’t wanted to see Hope because I knew that when I did, I would have to carry on.

Those first few days after Lee’s surgery I had-
in my delirious state of grief-
decided that if Lee didn’t make it, then I didn’t want to…

I had selfishly blocked Hope out of my life in a bid to ease my conscience, knowing that once I saw my daughter, I would have to live, regardless of what happened…

It had been an unforgivable thing to think, and to be honest, at the time I hadn’t been thinking.

I hadn’t considered Hope’s future, or thought about what Lee would want. I’d been too caught up in my guilt and grief to think straight.

I was now though, and I wasn’t going to let my family down again.

Derek wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and nodded. 

I clasped the handles of Hope’s buggy, and walked towards the exit.

“Kyle, wait,” a voice shouted from behind us. “I need to talk to you.”

I cringed.

If I had to tell one more reported ‘no comment,’ I was going to lose my shit.

I swung around, and my heart hammered in my chest.

Not here…

Mora Frey stood five feet away from me, red faced, and panting.

“Mrs. Frey,” I acknowledged quietly. “I’m so sorry about Camryn.”

I didn’t know what else to say to the woman.

In truth, there was nothing else I could say. Nothing could bring Cam back. No one could rewind to that night and press pause.

Mora kept moving towards me and I braced myself for the slap I was sure to get.

I could not have predicted what happened next.

“Kyle,” Mora sobbed, wrapping her arms around me tightly. “I’m sorry, I’m so terribly sorry.”

I wrapped my arms around Cam’s mom and held her, unsure of what the hell to do.

I glanced over at a baffled looking Derek, then down at Mora’s grief stricken face.

Why was she sorry? Why was she apologizing to me? This was all happening in reverse.

“I’m the one who’s sorry…”

I started to say but she didn’t give me a chance.

“I’ve been trying to contact you.”

Her voice quavered as she slipped her hand in
to the pocket of her skirt. “I hope it’s not too late.”

She handed me an old
, wrinkled piece of paper, folded many times over.

I stared down at it, my brow creased.

“I don’t understand,” I muttered. “Too late for what…”

I was interrupted by the appearance of Cam’s father.

“Mora, dear, please stop this. Let the boy be,” he said to his wife, as he tried to free her grip on my arms.

He looked at me with dead eyes. “Kyle, please ignore my wife, she hasn’t been herself since…Camryn’s passing,” he said, choking out Cam’s name. “She doesn’t know what she’s saying. She isn’t thinking clearly.”

“I am thinking clearly,” Mora screamed, shrugging away from her husband. “For the first time in nineteen years, I am finally thinking clearly.”

Turning to me, her eyes filled up with tears as she asked, “How is Lee? Have they found a match?”

I shook my head. “No, she’s still the same, the doctors said…Why? What’s going on here, Mora?”

Cam’s mother burst into tears, and pointed at the sheet of paper in my hands. “There’s your answer. Go there, you’ll find a match for Lee.”

“Jesus, Mora, you can’t keep doing this,” Ted hissed. “Don’t you think that boy’s going through enough?”

Ted began to pull Mora away and I kicked into action.

“Derek, will you take Hope home? I won’t be long.”

Derek nodded, took hold of Hope’s buggy, and headed towards the exit.

I was confused as fuck.

Mora sure as hell sounded like she knew what she was talking about.

And I needed to know.

Unfolding the sheet of paper, I stared at it, confused for a moment.

“What is this?” I called after her, but she was gone out of earshot.

“Mora?” I shouted, jogging after them, toward
s the other exit.

“Let it go, Kyle,” Ted warned, as he bundled Mora into his car. “Go back to Lee, sit with her and pray for her. Hold her in your arms. I don’t want my wife upset any further.”

I shook my head, ignoring Cam’s dad. I focused on her mother.

“What did you mean when you said
, I’d find a match? Are you talking about Lee?” I demanded franticly.

Excitement bubbled to the surface of my heart.

“Is that it?” I asked. “Do you know someone who can help her?”

“Did you hear what I said?” Ted snapped, as he slammed Mora’s door closed, and rushed around to his side of the car.

“Go home,” he said, as he opened his own door. “You’re chasing a dead end. Tear up that piece of paper and go back to your life and forget this conversation ever happened. Nothing good will come from it.”

“What life?” I demanded, at wits fucking end.

I threw my hands in the air, gesturing wildly. “My entire world is slowly dying in that hospital bed.”

Leaning down, I put my hand on the window of the car. “Mora, if you know something, anything that can save Lee, please, please just tell me.”

Mr. Frey slammed his door shut, and started the car.

“Wait…” I shouted, slamming my fist on the window as the car pulled
off slowly. “You buried your world, don’t make me bury mine.”

The car slowed,
and the window rolled down.

“Go there,” Mora sobbed, pointing at the piece of paper in my hand. “Find that address, and you’ll find Delia Bennett.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand?”

“Lee’s mother,” Mora whispered. “She’s alive.”

*****

The smell was the first thing that hit me when I got home.

“Dude, where the hell have you been?” Derek demanded when I walked into the bedroom.

“Sorry,” I muttered, loosening the knot on my tie. “I got a cab to the hospital. I needed to check on Lee.”

“Any change?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“I gave Hope her night-time feed…I used the formula in the white tin, that’s the one she’s supposed to have, right?” Derek said.

I nodded, in amusement as I took in the carnage.

The floor was covered in wet wipes, clean diapers and stuffed animals.

Hope was kicking around on Lee’s bed, and Derek’s face and shirt was covered in baby powder, as he held a dirty-diaper away from his body.

“Thank god,” he said in relief. “I thought I’d poisoned her, but, nope, your daughter is just plain nasty,” he accused, throwing the diaper at me. “That’s her third number two, in an hour. She’s like a machine.”

Hope babbled contently, and I felt myself smile, for the first time in nine days.

I tossed the diaper back to Derek, who darted out of the room, holding it away from his body as if it was a bomb ready to detonate.

Shrugging off my black suit jacket and tie, I rolled up the sleeves of my white shirt, and walked over to the bed.

“Come here, baby girl,”

Hope gibbered, her tiny hands and feet splayed wildly.

“What did Uncle Derek do to you?” I crooned, as I adjusted her back to front diaper and redid the poppers on her onesie.

“You missed daddy, didn’t you, gorgeous?”

Dimming the light, I picked her up and rocked her gently in my arms, until her eyes began to flutter.

“Sleep tight, baby girl,” I whispered as I laid her in her crib, and tucked her up. “Daddy’s got a plan.”

I leaned down and kissed her tiny head of brown curls.

“Mommy’s gonna be home, real soon.”

*****

After settling Hope down for the night, I joined Derek on the couch.

“I need your help with something,” I said, popping the cap on a bottle of beer Derek had set out for me.

“Kyle, it’s been a really long fucking day,” Derek groaned, as he stretched his legs out in front of him, and laid his head against the back of the couch.

“I’m exhausted. I’m not a nursemaid for Christ’s sake. Besides, I still smell like shit from the last favor I did for you.”

“I found out something today,” I said quietly, taking a sip of my beer. “Something big.”

“Don’t wanna hear it, man,” he said, closing his eyes. “I need a quiet night, just one drama-free night.”

“Lee’s mother is alive.”

I still couldn’t believe it.

Derek’s eyes shot open, beer squirted from his mouth.

“Holy shit,” he muttered, wiping his mouth with his hand, before chuckling. “Good one, Kyle. For a second there, I thought you were serious. Pretty sick joke, dude.”

I placed my bottle on the coffee table, and twisted on the couch to face him.

“I’m not joking around, Derek. Mora told me that Lee’s mother is alive.”

I pulled out the sheet of paper and handed it to him. “And, apparently, she has been living right under our noses.”

Derek read the address on the note.

“Denver?” he asked, confused. “I thought that Lee’s mother died when she was a baby?”

“So did I. So did Lee, for that matter.”

“So, what, she’s come back from the fucking dead or something?” Derek jumped up and paced the room.

“That’s all I know, Derek, well, that and the fact that she’s living only a twenty minute drive from here.”

“This just keeps getting better
, Kyle.”

He ran his hand over his shaved head. “
A miscarriage, a poisoned dog, a gun attack from fucking psycho ex-girlfriend, a murdered ex-girlfriend, and now a reincarnated mother...What’s next, is Elvis gonna join us for a spot of tea in the kitchen?”

He stopped ranting and stared at me. “And Cam’s folks told you this?”

I nodded.

“Fuck,” Derek hissed. “So, what, they’ve known Lee’s mother is alive, and has been living in Denver all these years, and said nothing? Shit, Kyle, do you think Cam knew?”

I shook my head. “No, I can’t imagine Cam keeping something like that from Lee. She loved her too much to hide that kind of a secret from her.”

“Well,” Derek urged. “What the hell are you waiting for? Go get her, and drag her ass to the hospital.”

I leaned forward. “My sentiments exactly.”