Rise - Part Two (Rise #2)(9)

"The police think he hurt someone. They think he may have been involved in the disappearance of a woman."

I don't need to hear more. This is beyond anything I could have imagined when I was trying to decipher what Landon meant when he told me his father had made mistakes. It's a world I'm not familiar with and judging by the expression on Landon's face, it's a world he wants no part of either.

***

"What's going to happen now?" I ask quietly as he walks back towards the sofa.

He'd taken another call from his mother. He'd urged her to get on a flight tonight but had reluctantly agreed to meet her at the airport tomorrow morning. He reassured her again that he was fine and that he'd explain everything as soon as he saw her. I watched as the muscles in his bare shoulders tensed as he told her he loved her and couldn't wait to see her.

"I have to tell my mother." His voice breaks slightly. "I need to tell my brother too."

"Is he still in Paris?"

He exhales harshly. "He is. I left him three messages today. I need him back here. I want him to hear what's happening from me. I can't stand the thought of him reading about our father in the papers."

It's the expected words of an older brother who cares deeply for his sibling. I have sensed a bond between the two but when he told me they had lost touch, I hadn't pressed. I know, from my own experiences with my siblings, that life has a way of straining those connections.

"You have so much to deal with," I say honestly. "If I can help you with anything, I want to."

It's a meager gesture that doesn't hold any roots in reality. My relationship with Landon is new and fresh. The circumstances he's been thrust into with his family are old and etched with a pain that's been held beneath the surface for more than a decade. I can't help this man. I know that. I sense he feels that too.

"I know it's a lot to deal with." He turns to face me. "If it gets to be too much, I need you to tell me. I want you to take a step back if you have to."

The words disappoint me even if my expression doesn't show it. I nod slowly, trying to shield my eyes from him. "I'll tell you if it's too much."

"There are going to be people who won't understand why I worked with the police to have my father arrested." He taps his foot on the floor. "I saw the pain in the faces of the people he f*cked over. He has to pay for that."

I know instinctively that the people he's referring to are his mother and brother. It may have been difficult for him to notify the police when he first thought his father was alive, but the conversations he's going to have with his family, will be angst filled. I can sense the trepidation he's already feeling in his stance.

"For what it's worth," I begin as I pull myself to my feet. "I think you did the right thing."

"That's worth everything to me." He reaches to cup my face in his hands. "Your opinion matters more to me than anyone else."





Chapter 8


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I try to adjust my eyes to the darkness to make out the dim numbers on the clock that sits on the bedside table. It's just after midnight.

After Landon had cut up some fruit for the two of us to eat in place of dinner, he'd taken me to the bed to lie next to him. I knew that his touch wouldn't shift to anything more than an arm circling my clothed waist.

He wanted to rest for a few minutes and he asked me to stay with him while he did that. His breathing leveled within moments and as I felt the gentle rise and fall of his chest against my back, I'd fallen asleep as well.

It's only a few hours later now and I know that I shouldn't sneak off into the darkness without waking him to say goodbye.

I stare down at his face. He looks so peaceful. Anyone seeing him like this wouldn't know the demons that are haunting him. He has to tell the two most important people in his life that the reality that they thought existed for more than a decade has been an absolute lie.

He's been pushed into the position of being the bearer of bad news. He didn’t ask for it yet he has to tell his mother in the morning that the man she never stopped loving betrayed her. He'll sit with his younger brother to explain that the years he spent grieving the loss of his father were time wasted.

All the thoughts swirling in my head about Landon's dad jolt me into the realization that I haven't spoken to mine all day. I had noticed two missed calls from him before I left my office, but my dad can sense if anything isn't right in my world just from the sound of my voice.

I don't know how I can explain any of this to him given the fact that he slips into a mild panic attack whenever I catch a cold or the flu. I know, without any doubt, that if I tell him about Landon's father, that he'll make me promise that I won't see him again. I can't do that. I won't.

I slide off the bed while holding my breath. I walk silently across the hardwood floors, grateful that I kicked my heels off shortly after I got to his apartment.

I retrieve my phone from where I left it on the coffee table. There are two more missed calls from my father in addition to three voicemails. He texted me as well, which speaks volumes about his concern. He's not technical and the auto correct feature on his phone has to work overtime when he is composing a message to me.