“I’ll help him with that. You just go and try to make the best of your visit with your dad.”
“Okay.” I slipped on my shoes, then started for the door. “I’ll let you know when I’m headed back.”
I grabbed my keys and purse, then walked out to my car. As soon as I started driving towards my dad’s, dread set in, and I was tempted to turn around and put off our talk for another day. Then I remembered the look on Grayson’s face when I told him I was finally going to see my father. He’d done so much for me, and I couldn’t bear the thought of letting him down. So, I did the only thing I could.
I swallowed my apprehension and pressed forward. I tried not to overthink things as I continued to drive towards Dad’s house, but it wasn’t easy. Every few miles, my mind would drift back to the night of Drake’s attack and the look on my father’s face when he saw me standing with the Ruthless Sinners. It was enough to make my heart ache with regret. I wished that I’d talked to him sooner, then maybe all this wouldn’t be so hard. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go back in time and change things. I had to face the music and try to make things right between us.
When I pulled up at the house, Dad was sitting on the front porch swing waiting for me. I got out and couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t smile as I made my way up the front steps. Usually, he greeted me with open arms and a big hug, but today, he remained seated and didn’t say a word as I walked over and sat down next to him. I feigned a slight smile and mumbled, “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Thank you for letting me come today.”
“Of course.” His brows furrowed. “I’d never turn you away, Kiersten. You’re my daughter. My pride and joy. Nothing will ever change that.”
“Not even the fact that I’ve been lying to you?”
“We’ve both done our fair share of lying.” Dad turned and looked at me as he said, “But I never meant to hurt you. I do hope you know that.”
“I know that’s not what you intended, but you did. The night I found out what you were doing in the basement hurt me in ways I still can’t comprehend.” I could feel the emotion building inside me as I continued, “I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d never gone down there. I wish I’d never seen you burning those bodies in the incinerator. Because seeing you do that stole something from me, and that nearly killed me. I just couldn’t bear knowing there was this dark side to you that I never knew existed. It was almost like you reached through time, and you stole my trust in everything I ever thought was real.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. But you have to know you were never supposed to see that.”
“Maybe not, but I did, and I’ve spent years waiting for you to tell me why.”
“I had many reasons for not telling you, Kiersten, but all you need to know is that I did what I did for our family.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t just blow it all off like it was something you had to do,” I fussed. “You could’ve gone back to your job in forensics, but you chose to do this instead. I need you to tell me why.”
“I’ll tell you, but only because you’re in bed with them now.”
“In bed with who?”
“The Sinners.” His tone was cold and harsh as he said, “You’re part of their world now.”
“But what do they have to do with—”
“I’m getting there.” He took a deep breath and turned to look out towards the pond. It took him several moments, but he eventually said, “Losing your mother nearly destroyed me. My head went to a place it never should’ve gone. I tried to keep it together for you, but I couldn’t let go of the anger. I needed someone to answer for what happened, and other than myself, there was only one other person who came to mind—her doctor. I started looking into him and discovered that your mother wasn’t the only patient he’d lost under his care.”
“But Dad, things happen. Doctors lose patients all the time—”
“Yeah, they do,” he interrupted. “But this was different. This was negligence.”
“Yes, it was.” I was eager to hear the rest of his story, so I asked, “So, what did you do?”
“I went to see him. I wanted to hear him admit what he’d done, and as stupid as it may sound, I needed him to apologize for making such a careless mistake.”
“And did he?”
“No, he did not.” Dad stood and walked over to the front porch rails. It was clear that reliving this story was hard for him, but that didn’t stop him from telling me, “He had no remorse over what had happened to your mother. He blamed her for the mistake and said I had no proof of my claims of his malpractice. I wasn’t surprised that he tried to blow me off. This guy had a real God complex, and that only made me angrier. I knew in my heart that he was the reason why your mother was dead, but there was nothing I could do about it.”