“I had measures in place to protect you.”
“To protect me, or to protect your lies?” I spit.
His silence says it all.
“Why’s it so bad knowing who I am? Who you are?”
I start to think that he’s not going to respond with how long it takes him to formulate words.
“Things in London before we left… They were… messy.”
“Having a baby with another man’s wife? Yeah that’ll cause some mess, Dad.”
“It’s way more complicated than that, sweetheart.”
“Well, I’ve got all the time in the world right now. How about you spell it out for me?” I say, gently lowering myself back to the lounger.
“How about you come home and we’ll do it in person?”
“Wow, that’s a real cop out for someone who hasn’t seen me since I woke up.”
“I couldn’t, Stella. Trust me, it wasn’t through choice.”
“What did he do to you?”
“He’s protecting you.”
“I’m sick of men thinking I need protecting. I’m more than capable of looking after myself.” Dad’s returning silence says it all. “Yeah, well if you hadn’t lied, I wouldn’t have been running.”
“Please, Stella. Just come home.”
“I suggest you forget this number unless you have something important to say.” I hang up before he has a chance to respond and throw the cell down on the lounger.
I knew he wasn’t going to be forthcoming with the truth, but I had hoped for a little more than that.
Although, I can’t deny that I’m frustrated. Right now, I’m more curious about what Seb did to keep him away from me. He had to have pulled out the big guns… maybe literally.
My fingers curl as my need to find out begins to get the better of me. But I didn’t come here to call him on day one. My plan when I left was to never talk to him again if at all possible.