Page 85 of Ravaged By the Dark (The Righteous 2)
“The name’s Kyle, and thank you, thank you for contacting me.”
“Dad, just stop for a minute. I only learned now where I was going. I didn’t even know you were alive or if you ever wanted to see me. I mean, you took off and never came back.”
“What?” Her dad’s face fell as he looked between Arek and her. “I didn’t walk out. I was forced to leave.”
Renee pulled her hand from her father’s and stared up at the house.
“Even with all this money, you couldn’t find a way to get Cody and me out of there?”
“Pumpkin…”
She held up her hand.
“No, don’t call me that. You haven’t earned the right. You were my dad, my hero, and you left. Even if mom somehow forced you to leave, how could you not fight for us?”
Her dad sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.
“I did fight. I fought as hard as I could, but your mother can be very vindictive when she sets her mind to it,” her dad bit out—each word coated in disdain.
“Mom’s dead.”
Silence hung in the air between them.
“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t know. How did she die?”
“It doesn’t matter. Tell me what you meant.” Renee purposely leaned a little into Arek, needing his support to hear this answer.
“I fought for custody for you and Cody, but your mom decided to press charges. She managed to convince a judge that I had been abusive and that I was a threat to you and your brother.”
It was like the blinders slowly being lifted to reveal her memories. Little glimpses of hushed phone conversations, and her mother was coming home with bruises on her face.
“How did she do that?”
“Lot’s of ways. I didn’t help myself either. I would come over to the house and pound on the door, demanding she let me see my kids until the cops would show up. She produced bruises on her body and text messages of me saying that I would do whatever I had to to get my kids. I didn’t see it as anything, but she sat up on the stand and testified that I had beaten her many times and that I’d scared my children to the point that they never wanted to see me. The court sentenced me to two years in prison and another year of house arrest.”
Renee’s hands covered her mouth. As awful and unbelievable as this was, she believed every word.
“When I got out, there was a court order in place that I wasn’t to go near the house or any of you unless you chose to get in touch with me. I moved back home and prayed that the phone would ring and it would somehow be you on the other end.”
“I…I can’t believe this.” Her knees felt weak, and Arek wrapped his arm around her waist. “So you didn’t leave because we were poor, you didn’t leave because your parents demanded that you leave because mom was black?”
Her dad placed his hands on his hips, the anger evident in his eyes.
“Is that what she told you? Is that what you’ve believed all this time?”
Renee nodded as her father swore.
“Pumpkin, my parents never cared what color Rosalind’s skin was, and we were just as poor. None of us had any money. I’d finished school and was in the middle of a tech company start-up. Every cent we owned went into it, and it was just starting to take off when your mother and I began to fight about her drug use. I luckily had a partner that was understanding and kept things going until I got out of prison.” Her father pointed to the massive home behind him. “I bought this house with the money I used to sell the company, and since then, I have built two more companies from the ground up. I was never given anything, and I certainly didn’t choose to leave because our family was poor.”
“I think mom twisted a lot of history in her mind because I would hate to think she would stoop so low.”
Her dad reached out and laid his hands on her shoulders.
“Pumpkin, I want to tell you everything. I will show you anything you want to see, but please give me a chance to prove how much I have always loved you? How much your grandparents and I have always loved you, and I want you to meet your siblings.”
He pointed to the group that hadn’t moved off the large covered opening to the front of the house. She looked up to Arek, and he smiled, kissing her forehead.
“Okay, I need to know the truth. I’m done with the lies and manipulation.”
Arek followed behind as she walked forward with her dad for introductions when Renee looked up to the sky and smiled.
Maybe there really was someone up there listening.
