Belong (Seven Year Itch #3)(9)

“He knows how hard you worked for the company, Rachel. You know he wanted you to have it when he couldn’t work there any longer. You took over what I didn’t want any part of.”

“It’s still going strong,” she added.

She didn’t have to mention it. I checked up on it as often as I could. “You’ve made a name for yourself.”

“His name will still remain though. I want everyone to know where Leviathan Agency started from.”

After she said it the room got quiet. For the life of me I couldn’t think of a single thing to talk about. My mind went to a million places, but my mouth refused to cooperate.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, the monitors above my head started going off with a red flashing alert. Soon the room filled with medicals workers and Rachel and I were shoved out until they could get everything under control.

“Did he sign a DNR?” I asked her.

She looked at me and shrugged. “I don’t know.” She seemed just as panicked as I was. “Oh God, this can’t be happening.”

We watched through a tiny glass opening, both praying this wouldn’t be his last moments alive. All I kept thinking about was how I’d promised I’d be there for him, but I was a few feet away and unable to get to him. I placed both hands on the glass and prayed for a miracle.

Then there was the sound of the machine when the lines stop receiving data. I turned toward Rachel with a pained grimace. “No. He can’t leave yet.”

Her saddened face was enough to cause me to burst into tears. I turned my head away to avoid feeling worse.

Minutes later the sounds stopped. There was no beeping. It was just silence.

He was gone. My beloved grandfather had taken his last breath while I watched from afar. When the doctor came walking towards us I turned and hauled ass out of there. I couldn’t stand to hear anyone tell me it was over. He was all I had left of my mother, of any memory I’d had since her death. It was too much to bear.

Gentle arms wrapped around my shoulders. I turned and fell into Rachel’s embrace, not even realizing what was happening. She cried, and then I matched her with my own bellows. There, in the waiting room of the intensive care unit we both cried for the man we’d loved.

Rachel was the first to let go. She backed away and straightened her clothes. I watched her gather some tissues and wipe her face. She handed me a few. “He’s not suffering anymore, Chad.”

I nodded. “I know. It’s just hard to believe.”

“He lived way past what was expected. We were blessed with extra time. Many people can’t say they have that.” When Rachel broke down again it made no sense to me. She was trying to soothe me one minute and then losing it the next. She shook her head and covered her face. “I’m sorry, Chad. I can’t do this again.”

When she walked away I was left wondering what the hell had just happened. What couldn’t she do? Had I left such a lasting impression she couldn’t be around me, even when someone we both cared about had just passed on?

It made no sense.

Once again I was left to suffer in my own despair. I had no one to comfort me, or promise life would get easier. My idol was gone, and all that remained was a broken man to carry on his legacy. It was the lowest point of my entire life.





Chapter 5


I don’t know what I expected to find when I walked into my grandfather’s dark mansion. There were no voices or lights making me feel at home. Though full of furniture, it felt empty. Before taking another step inside, I sat my phone down on the table where my grandfather had always put his. I didn't turn on a single light on the first floor. There would be too many reminders lurking that I wasn't ready for.

Instead, I made my way up the large circle staircase to head straight into my old room.? I knew once I closed the doubles doors no one could get to me; to talk to me about the great man he was, and everything he left behind. I couldn't begin to face the slew of people who would send condolences. I refused to call home because I knew the mess I'd left there. Veronica didn't even know about my grandfather's passing, and I wasn't sure she'd care, at least not about him. I knew Veronica had feelings for me, but had no idea what they involved. She was the person I needed to give me comfort. She'd promised to stay committed to me until death. Now I wondered if she'd known all along it wasn't going to last. For all I knew, Veronica hadn't been in love with me for a long time, perhaps even before Harper had been born.

I was stripped down, surrounded by wreckage. There wasn't someone to reach out to for support. The only person who could understand my pain had run away from me at the hospital. She made no sense?, and I was too broken to ask for her to explain. My soul was damaged, cursed to suffer unimaginable torture and irreparable regret.

With everything going on, my mind kept traveling back to Rachel. She'd been there when my grandfather took his last breath. She'd held me. We'd held each other. For a few short moments it was like time was stripped away, bringing her to me when I was falling apart at the seams. I never believed in fate. I'd made my own decisions to get where I was. ?I didn't feel like anything cosmic had changed my life, not until today. Perhaps it was a coincidence. Maybe she'd been visiting my grandfather before he'd fallen ill, and Gracie knew she'd want to know if something was wrong.