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.”
I laugh. “No, I’m much worse. I’m stronger and no longer think you are anything more than a piece of shit and a coward. I’ll keep Chastity from you, that’s her name in case you forgot. My beautiful, smart, funny girl that despite half of her parentage has turned out to be the best thing in the world.”
“Good. I appreciate it.”
“Oh,” I step closer. “I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing it for her because I never want to give you the opportunity to hurt her. Now, get the fuck out of here.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Derek
Present
Teagan has been quiet since seeing Keith last night. I stayed at her house with her, mostly because I didn’t want to leave. Our first night together should’ve gone differently. I would’ve held Teagan for hours, told her how I felt, shown her that my heart was hers.
Instead, her fucking ex that I thought would never be an issue appeared.
“You don’t have to babysit me,” she says as she stirs her coffee, which she’s been staring at for five minutes.
“I didn’t realize I was.”
“I’m saying that I’m fine. Last night was…weird, but I’m okay.”
I don’t believe her, but sure. “I’m here because Keith wasn’t the only thing that happened last night.”
She stops stirring and looks up. “No, it wasn’t.” Her voice is soft. “It was…everything.”
I reach my hand out to her and she does the same.
Sex with Teagan was everything. It was fucking incredible and worth the wait. I want to tell her how I feel and the things I hope she’ll come around to. I don’t want to scare her off. I think she’s had enough in the last twenty-four hours and Teagan overanalyzes everything. I can’t imagine what her head is doing right now.
“The good thing is that Keith will be out of this town in a few days and then I can breathe again.”
“What about the fact that Chastity’s reaching out to him?”
She sighs. “Yeah, that I don’t know what to do about. If I tell her that I know, she’ll be upset and think I snooped on her. On the other hand, she and I…we talk about everything. I thought we didn’t keep secrets.”
Their relationship is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. They’re friends to some extent more than mother/daughter. Teagan talks to Chastity about us and I’m
