by C. J. Welles
“He’s not leaving anything, and I don’t want it.” I reach over and grab the papers on the desk and throw them at her. “You can fucking keep it. All of it. I don’t want his dirty money.”
All my mother does is sneer at me. Is she for real? I’m her daughter. She brought me into the world. Christ, she is meant to love me, be the person I can trust and go to when I have troubles. Not the person who ran me out of the house after I had been raped.
“You don’t deserve it anyway. I’m his wife, he should have left it to me.” She turns to Jim. “Have you shared the lovely news with her yet?”
“Gabriella, leave now,” he replies and gives her a warning look.
“She has a right to know. She used to ask all the time for the answer. She so desperately wanted to know, so now she can,” my mother says in a snarky tone.
“Not like this,” Jimmy says in a gruff tone. He grabs the phone and dials. “Security up to my office now!” He slams the phone down.
“They won’t kick me out. Martin still owns this place until those papers are signed.” She points to the papers on the floor.
They will never be signed. I don’t want anything to do with this place or this family.
“Gabriella, if you don’t leave freely, they will escort you out. Do you want to make a scene and have everyone in the building see you being escorted out by security?”
My mother glares at Jimmy before opening her mouth. She gives me an evil smile before she talks. “Okay, Jimmy.” She turns to me, “Your daddy dearest-”
“Gabriella. Shut. The. Fuck. Up,” Jimmy grinds out.
I don’t have a clue what the deal is with these two people, but they are both giving me the shits. Jimmy seems to be hiding something and my mother is just being a total bitch, like she has been all my life.
I sigh and turn my head from side to side looking at them both. “Just fucking tell me. This family has made my life hell enough as it is, what’s one more thing?” I yell out.
∞∞∞
Chapter 33
Jimmy
I DON’T KNOW how Gabriella ended up with a daughter like Callista. Gabbie is a selfish bitch who only cares for herself. Callista was always a sweet young girl who wanted to become an attorney. She was forever studying and when she was younger, she would sit there and tell me all the new things she learned. We would read books together, but they weren’t little kiddie books. They were always about new things that she was interested in.
I still can’t believe that all those years, I spent with her as my niece, she was my daughter. I have been robbed of twenty-two years of my daughter’s life. Gabbie is a real fucking bitch for the stunt she has pulled. And I will be making sure she pays for it.
I’ve known for nearly two months that Callista is my daughter, and it still hasn’t sunk in.
I look to Callista who is looking back and forth between Gabbie and I. I hate to tell her like this. I hate her not knowing, but I know it is going to be a big shock, and I wanted to be able to tell her myself when I know she is ready.
If Gabbie wasn’t a female I would have knocked her out by now. The way she has treated her daughter, how could she keep that information from her?
“Callie, I think you should take a seat,” I say, as I walk around my desk.
“No, just tell me.” She’s so feisty. She gets that from her mom. I won’t be saying that out loud though.
I sigh and rub my hands over my hair and down my face. “I… Ah, I don’t know how to tell you this.” This is so fucking hard to get out. “I… I am-”
“Oh, for fuck's sake, he’s your father,” I hear Gabbie yell, and I want to ram her head into a wall. I am totally against violence towards woman, but by god is she a bitch.
I look at Callista who doesn’t seem to have taken in what she has heard. I swallow hard around the lump in my throat. “I am your father, Callie.” That was the hardest thing I have ever said. Telling a twenty-two-year-old I am her dad.
I stand there staring at Callista, but she doesn’t react. She just stares at me like I am some strange alien.
“Did you hear him Callista? He’s your dad. You so badly wanted to know. Martin wasn’t enough for you, you wanted to know who your real dad was. So, there it is.” She is a fucking bitch.
Callista spins to fully face me with a shocked look on her face. “You… You…” She opens her mouth again but doesn’t say anything.
She sits on the chair and lowers her head between her knees. There’s a hard knock on the door and then security walk through the doorway. “Sir” they acknowledge me.
“Please escort Mrs. Reeve from the premises. She isn’t to enter the building anymore. If anyone has any problems, send them to me.”
“You can’t do this,” she screams.
“I can and I am. You are a heartless bitch.” The two security guards escort a screaming and kicking Gabriella towards the door.
“Wait!” I hear Callista call out before they reach the door. Callista gets up on shaky legs and slowly walks to Gabriella.
“So, you are telling me all along my father has been right in front of me?” she whispers, and I only just hear her.
“Yeah. I fell pregnant to him when I was trying to get Martin’s attention. I was always after Martin, Jimmy was just a fill in until I got him. Martin was the one with all the money. He was the one who was going to go far. You were just a mistake, but Martin was happy to take responsibility for you.”
“Get her out of here,” I yell.
Callista moves so fast no one has the chance to stop her. She pulls her hand back and punches Gabriella in the face. Blood gushes from her nose, and she starts screaming.
“You bitch,” Callista roars. “All those years I lived in hell, you never listened to me. My father was right there, I could have been with him. But instead, you kept me with a monster.” She spins to me. “Did you know? Did you just abandon me? Was I not good enough for you as well?”
I stumble backward. She is so angry. I knew it would be a shock, but she looks like she wants to murder someone.
“No! I only just found out,” I say quietly, but truthfully. I sit down in the chair in front of my desk. The hate and anger rolling off Callista is too much to take in.
*
Jace
I SHOULD HAVE got in the car with her, I shouldn’t have let her face this alone. I’m a sorry excuse for a fiancé. This is all I’m thinking as I drive back to Austin for the second time today.
Once I reach Austin I head straight for the Reeve offices. This whole thing is just a shit show. I honestly don’t know what the fuck that dickhead was thinking. Did he think Callie would go sob on his grave and accept any forgiveness he offers? Pffft, what a dick.
Riding the elevator to Jimmy’s level, I’m bloody well worried what I’m going to find. I don’t have a clue how much they have told her. Anything that they say can possibly gut her. I just pray they leave the worst to last until I can be here for her.
As I approach his office, I hear yelling and I can see his receptionist standing just outside the door. When I hear Callie’s voice, I stride towards the office quickly. The redhead receptionist, Jessica, gives me a weak smile and a worried look.
“Sweetheart, all is okay. You go back to your desk,” I say in an encouraging voice. The fewer people Callie has hearing her business the better.
She nods slowly and walks away. As I walk into Jimmy’s office I’m a little confused. There’s a lady who would be in her fifties, being held by two security guards. She has blood coming out of her nose and is now screaming at Callie.
“What’s goin’ on?” I ask Callie softly, as I reach her side and pull her in for a hug. I look at Jimmy who gives me a grave look and shakes his head.
Oh fuck. I know exactly what has been said.
“Angel, look at me. Everythin’ is going to be okay. Just come take a seat,” I say as I direct her to the couch.
“No. That bitch-” she points towards the lady with the bleeding
nose. “She has destroyed my life.”
I’m guessing that bitch is her mom. “I know baby, but we’ll get you through it.”
She looks at me with a blank look on her face, then she turns pale. “You… You knew? You…How? Why… Why would you not tell me?”
“I only found out this mornin’, Angel. I promise.” And I feel like an asshole. I didn’t want her to find out like this. I knew it would kill her. I wanted to be with her.
This whole thing is fucked. Callie’s mom is a useless bitch who has played with everyone’s lives just to get what she wants.
*
Jimmy
THE SECURITY GUARDS take a wailing Gabbie, who is threatening to sue Callista, from the room.
I walk to the couch on the other side of the office and sit down. Callista stays standing near the door not moving while Jace tries to talk to her. I feel bad. It was my idea not to tell her just yet and I asked Jace to keep it from her. I just didn’t want it to be too much for her all at once.
I sit and watch them for a few minutes, feeling like I am intruding. After five minutes, I get up and walk over to Callista. Her whole body is shaking, and she is breathing heavy. “Callie, come sit down,” I say as I take hold of her elbow.
I lead her to the couch and sit in the chair next to her. “Why. Why would she do that?” she asks quietly and brokenly, as Jace paces back and forth in front of the office door, looking lost.
“I don’t know,” I uselessly reply. Because I honestly don’t know. The only thing I know is that Gabriella is a bitch and has taken something from Callista and I that we can’t get back.
She sits there, mumbling things under her breath. I catch a few things. ‘Hell house’, ‘useless bitch’, ‘evil man’. I’m starting to think Callie is having a meltdown when I hear the word rape.
I touch her arm and she slightly jumps. “What are you talking about Callie?” She shakes her head and stands up.
“Nothing. Just nothing.” She walks over to the floor where all the paperwork is lying and starts to pick it up. Jace bends down to help her, but she pushes at his shoulder. “You’ve done enough thank you.” He looks pained as Callista gets up and walks back to me, she hands me the files.
“I will sign it all over to you. I don’t want any of it.”
“I will organize with Dexter to sort it out,” I reply. I really would like to work beside my daughter. But I know she doesn’t want to. She would also have to go back to college and study.
Callista nods at me and turns towards the door without another word. Jace follows her and goes to grab her by the elbow but she pulls away from him.
“Don’t touch me. Once again, you’ve lied to me and kept things from me,” she yells at him and I feel bad again.
“Babe, I didn’t want to, and I was doin’ it for the best,” Jace says back in a stressed tone.
“The best for who? My mother? My uncle, well, apparently father? The best for Martin?” she screams again. “You know what this family means to me. You know what I went through.”
“Yeah babe, I do. That’s why I was trying to protect you for longer.”
“I don’t need protecting now. I needed protecting years ago. I needed to be protected from that monster. I needed someone to look out for me when I was scared and alone. I needed someone there for me when I had my virginity ripped away from me,” she roars loudly, and even I flinch from the anger I can hear in her voice. “There is so much I need, but to be lied to once again isn’t one of them,” she says flatly, then walks out the door.
I sit there for a moment then something she says comes to the front of my mind. Virginity ripped away.
He wouldn’t have, would he?
My own brother?
I jump up and take long strides until I reach them in the waiting room.
“What did you say in there?” I ask Callista. She looks at me with a confused look on her face. “About your virginity,” I add, and I see her start to pale and her hands begin to shake.
“What did you mean?” I ask, with a shaky voice. She turns to face Jace, who wraps an arm around her, and they start towards the door without an answer.
“What did you mean?” I ask again, in a commanding tone. Callista stops and spins towards me with a blank look on her face.
“Oh, you heard me right. What you are thinking is definitely what when on.” I clench my hands into fists at my sides. “While my mother was lying to me about my father and he was right there in front of me, my step-father, “she spits the word out, “was abusing me. He took pleasure in using my body for his needs for years.”
The blood rushes from my head. The ringing in my ears is blocking out anything else she is saying.
Martin, my step-brother, abused Callista?
My step-brother rapped my daughter.
“Are you telling the truth?” I choke out.
“Yes. Why the fuck would I lie about that?” she goes to walk away but stops. “Oh, by the way. Congratu-fucking-lations, you’re a grandfather. Your beloved step-brother got me pregnant when he raped me.”
She rushes out, followed by Jace who has a sorry look on his face. I stumble to the closest chair and collapse in it. My whore of a sister-in-law has a lot to answer for once I get a hold of her.
∞∞∞
Chapter 34
Jace
“ANGEL, THAT WAS a bit harsh, tellin’ him like that. He ain’t done anythin’ wrong to you.”
“No, but you did. You lied to me earlier. You only said you saw him about the will. You found out who my father was and didn’t tell me,” she keeps walking down the hall, past the elevators until she reaches the stairwell.
“Babe, I know I should have told you, but I knew it was goin’ to be a big shock with everythin’ else goin’ on. Jimmy suggested we wait a week or so and I eventually agreed.”
“No.” She spins to face me with a death glare that could kill. “We are partners, you are my fiancé and you should have told me. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says or thinks, I come first,” she yells at me, then turns and continues to storm down the stairs.
When we reach the first floor she quickly walks out to the sidewalk and starts up the road. “Where you headin’?”
“Somewhere where you ain’t following me,” she answers, without looking back.
“Babe, just slow down. Please listen to me.”
“No Jace, you fucked up. Leave me alone.”
“You do realize you’re not actually that angry with me. You’re just directing’ your hate for your mother and Martin towards me,” I say, hoping she will agree. I may have held back information. But it pales in comparison to everyone else she has dealt with today.
“No Jace, I’m pissed at you. Now give me some space. Stop following me, like someone stole your fucking puppy.”
Okay, whatever she wants. I slow down and linger behind her, back a few yards. I follow her for ten minutes until she walks into a bar. I stay outside and peak through the door. She is perched up at the bar and by the looks of the bottle in front of her, she is going to be here a while.
I sigh. I’ll leave her alone for now. But I ain’t letting her go off alone. I pull out my phone and call Krystal, while I walk over to the café across the road.
*
Callie
I KNOW NONE of this is Jace’s fault, but I had nowhere else to direct my anger. My poor excuse for a mother wasn’t there, my monster of a step-father is dead and my apparent real father, I already inflicted enough emotional pain on him.
Jace though, we said just a few months ago we wouldn’t keep anything from each other and we had laid everything out on the table. I then find out he had planned with my father, to keep the truth from me.
God, I love Jace, but ever since we have been together, he has kept things from me. I don’t know how to deal with it. Will it always be like this? He should put me first, not strangers to him.
I hold the shot glass out for the bartender to fill it up again. I thank him when
he is done and tip it back. The burn as it goes down my throat is a welcoming feeling. It matches the burn in my heart.
The ache in my chest from everything I have learned today hurts. It feels as though someone has run over my heart with a mac truck then backed over it again.
I can’t believe Jimmy is my father. He’s always been my uncle. He and Martin have been step-brothers since they were teenagers. My mother must have been on drugs half her life. I don’t see why else she would turn down Jimmy for Martin. And she was pregnant to him.
I shake my head to trying to stop the thoughts. My mother is clearly a greedy nutcase, and there is no way I could even try work out what she was thinking, when she decided to fuck me over. It clearly wasn’t me she was thinking of.
I gesture for another tequila when it all gets too hard to think about. It honestly hurts my head trying to figure out why my mother would do it.
A few hours later, and a few more shots later, someone pulls the stool out next to me and sits down. I don’t look up and keep my eyes down on my empty glass. I ain’t interested in anyone trying to pick me up. I’m taken, and even if I wasn’t, I ain’t in the mood.
“You just going to sit here and drink all afternoon?” I groan when I hear Krystal’s voice.
I reply without looking up. “What are you doing here?”
“I guess you know why I’m here.”
“So, he can tell you, but he couldn’t tell me.”
“No, he ain’t’ told me anything. He just asked me to come down here. Now, do you want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Tell you my problems I got going on? Just like you’ve told me what’s going on with you.” Yep, I am in a bitchy mood.
Krystal doesn’t say anything straight away and I expect her to leave. “Callie, grow the hell up,” she growls at me.
I go to argue but decide not to. She must have put me in my place.