All I Ask(75)

“Yes, we did.” He wraps his arm around me, holding my hip. “It’s good to see you, Keith. What brings you around here?”

My father sits in the room, watching this transpire, and I see the distrust in his eyes. My father is a stoic man, but when it comes to Chastity, he’s not able to hold back. He is the one person in this town who despises Keith. To Daddy, he’s the worst kind of man. To leave me and Chastity is abhorrent to him, not just because he’s my father, but also because he is a father.

“Yes, Keith, what brings you here after all this time?” Daddy asks from the chair.

Mom comes in the room and freezes. The room is cold with all the testosterone and hatred flowing in the air. She looks to me and I’m still, trying to keep a hold on my emotions. I still have yet to find my voice. What is it about this man that makes me like this?

She clears her throat. “Yes, Keith, you haven’t been here in so long, I’m curious what made you come now?”

My mother’s eyes soften when they meet mine and I could hug her.

Keith faces my father. “My father passed away two days ago in Florida. I had to come to the house ahead of my mother, and I thought if I was back in town it would be best to see Teagan.”

I step out of Derek’s hold and find the courage I know I have to say something. “I’m sorry to hear about your father, but there’s no need to see me. I’m just fine.”

He turns back toward me. “It’s been a long time.”

“Yes, I’m aware of exactly how long.” I turn to my dad, wanting to get him and my mother out of the room. “Daddy…”

Now that I’ve spoken, I feel like the words won’t be an issue. I’m not the same girl I once was and Keith doesn’t belong here.

Dad gets to his feet and walks over to my mother. “Meredith, let’s give them some time to talk.”

I nod once to my mother, hoping she knows I’m okay.

Once they’re out of the room I stand with my arms over my chest. “Why are you here?”

“I told you.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, but according to you, I was to consider you dead. You look alive and in my parents’ living room, so what do you want?”

Keith shakes his head with a smirk. “I don’t want anything. I didn’t want to see you on the street. I figured you would rather this.”

“I would rather not see you ever again, but thank you for considering me for the first time ever.”

He takes a step closer and I feel Derek move at the same time. “So are the two of you together and raising our daughter like a happy little family?”

“You don’t have a daughter,” I remind him.

His eyes flash to mine. “You know she messages me on Instagram?”

My stomach drops. “What?”

“I get messages from her or someone claiming they’re her and in the last few weeks, they’ve been more frequent.”

The words I thought I had are gone. Chastity is messaging him? Why? She has never had any interest in him. She’s always said she didn’t want to know someone who never cared for her.

“I’m going to assume by the look on your face you didn’t know. Don’t worry, I don’t respond.”

I push the air from my chest and shake my head. “Like that’s better? She is reaching out and you ignore her? How cruel can you be?”

“I’m doing what we agreed on and I don’t actually know it’s her.”

Bullshit. He knows. He had to in some way or he wouldn’t have brought it up.

“No, you’re here, that’s not what we agreed on. You must want something because you always want something.” Derek’s hand rests on my shoulder as my anger grows.

“I’m here for my father’s funeral, not for any other reason. I figured you might want to be aware, and that regarding our kid, maybe you could…”

“What? Keep her away?”

“Yes, actually,” he says with a hint of amusement.

He’s disgusting. More so than I ever thought. “How can you live with yourself? You had a daughter. One that apparently wants to know you and you come here to make sure that what? I protect you from her?”

I ball my fist and wonder if he would press charges if I punch him. Stupid asshole. He didn’t want her and I understand that, but he will never understand what his rejection probably does to her. To reach out to a man who knows you exist and be shunned must break her. Then, she goes to school and is ostracized even more.

My heart is breaking for her. All I want to do is go get her, wrap my arms around my little girl, and love her enough for all of eternity.

“I’m not her father, and I don’t need any issues with the press either, Teagan. I’m doing my best to clean up my image and some illegitimate child from college would ruin that. I’ve worked hard to keep this all behind me.”

I gasp.

What a fucking asshole.

“Keith, maybe it’s best you leave,” Derek suggests.

My throat is tight but I manage to speak through gritted teeth. “Yes, maybe you should go back to hell too, I’m sure the demons miss their leader.” I stand tall, refusing to cower to him.

Keith grips the bridge of his nose. “You are the same as you always were.”