Page 63 of West (The Moral Compass 1)
Okay, it can’t be that bad. He smiled.
“It was from Mark. Your father. He knows, Sutton. Somehow, Stella got word to him just after you were auctioned off. She didn’t give him time to stump up the money or try to save you.”
I can feel my throat tightening at the sound of her name. We don’t talk about it. I have a therapist that I talk things through with, and it helps to separate it from my life now, but thanks to my mother, we are having to have a conversation about her.
“Okay,” I say with ragged breaths. “What happens now?” I ask.
“He wants to meet you. He wants to get to know you, and he wants to say he is sorry. He didn’t come right out straight away because he thought you’d been through enough and, although he’s your father, he’s just another stranger. These are his words, Sutton, not mine. He wants to tell you himself.”
I don’t know why, but I feel rage creeping up inside me. My brain starts to make up its own shit.Was this his plan all along? To get me to talk to his dead dad’s best friend who happened to father a child—namely, me? Is this a fucking trap?Panic sets in, and all I can do is run. I’m on my feet. Running into the bathroom, I lock the door. I need time to think. I need time to process this.
“Sut, you gonna let me in?” Kara says through the door. West must have asked her to come. “Come on, Chicka. We can work this through together like we always do,” she says in a calm pleading, only Kara voice. The one I can never say no to.
I unlock the door, and she comes and sits with me in the huge tub. No water, just us sitting cross-legged facing each other. It’s probably the closest we’ve been in weeks. She reaches over and takes my hands in hers. Tears fill her eyes at the same time as mine. We just sit and let them flow holding each other. A few minutes pass and then she speaks.
“West told me about the call,” she says, all snotty and sniffy, wiping her nose on the white Egyptian cotton towels. I can’t help but laugh. She just doesn’t give a shit. Money, no money, it doesn’t matter to her as long as she is happy. I never thought I would get to that point in my life because everything had been a struggle, but right now, that is where I am. I pick up another expensive towel and blow my nose loudly. She laughs with me and we fall about in the tub, laughing like we used to. I realise now my life has changed forever and it will never be like it was before.
“What do you think I should do?” I ask her.
She shrugs but avoids looking at me.
“Come on, Kara. You said you’d help me work it out. I need to know what you think.”
“You don’t want to know what I think, Sutton. You want me to tell you what to do. There is a difference. I’m not doing that Sutton; you need to make this decision on your own. Neither West nor I can tell you what is right, but if it was me, and you want to know what I would do, then I’ll tell you.”
“Yes, I want to know. What would you do?”
“I’d meet Daddy Big Bucks and hear him out. If I didn’t like what he says, I’d leave and never see him or speak to him again. But if I didn’t, I’d never know what could have been. It could be all roses and violins, or it could be daggers at dawn.” She lifts her head to look me straight on. “Don’t forget you also have a half-sister in this equation. Don’t you want to get to know her a bit or at least meet her?”
I shrug in reply.
“Hey, she’s not going to be better than me as a best friend. That I am completely sure of. But she’s your family, Sutton. Something you have very little of.”
Trust Kara to come in with the big guns. Tears flow again from both of us. The plush towels are now covered in snot and tears. I need to remember to get these in the washer later. I don’t want the cleaning lady to have to deal with these.
Doubt creeps in again. I need to decide if I wantthislife or just my own life, and I can’t do that whilst I’m with West 24/7.
We leave the bathroom with the towels in a bag. Kara goes back downstairs and goes looking for West. I soon find him in the office. He spins on the chair and pulls me into his lap.
“I never meant to upset you, Sutton. I wish I wasn’t in the middle of all this but, unfortunately, I am.” He holds me tight around my arms as if he’s scared I’m going to run away again. “Would you prefer to talk it over with the therapist and decide later? I’m not rushing you, Sutton, but think about it. We are in a relationship, one I hope lasts forever, I may add. Mark is a big part of our family, he always has been, and you won’t be able to avoid him forever. I want this to be on your terms, not an accidental meeting that turns into something awful.”
He’s searching my eyes for an answer, but all I can do is look at his perfect kissable lips surrounded by scruff. I nod three times and then kiss him. I kiss him like my life depends on it. I have fallen so hard for this man, I think I would do anything for him, and if that means meeting my biological father to make his life easier, I will. I just hope he doesn’t expect miracles.
We break from the kiss and it’s as if he understands my innermost thoughts.
“I love you, Sutton,” he says, those four beautiful words uttered in a heartfelt way. Not in the throes of passion but from deep inside him.
“I love you too, West.” He kisses me again and then pulls his signature move. He lifts me up and carries me to the bedroom.
“I’m just going to jump in the shower,” he says. “Want to join me?” He raises his eyebrow, winks, and then smiles. How can I resist?
A whole lot of dirty later, he steps out from the shower.
“Sutton where are the towels?”
Oh, shit!
Chapter 51
