Chapter 17
“Assumptions are the termites of relationships.” Henry Winkler
Bleak was fed up, furious, and frustrated. He couldn’t believe Adanya actually blamed him for her father’s double life. And to think that he purposely met her just to hurt her, was preposterous. He was not about to let her get away with falsely accusing him. Yeah, maybe he was supposed to turn the other cheek, but in this case before he turned it, he was going to confront her – face to face. He walked over to her flat. With every step he took he became more and more appalled that she would think he was anything like the man he once proudly called his stepfather. He was nothing like John Phillips, Kenneth Anniston, whoever he was.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
Bleak wasn’t going to stop until she answered. He couldn’t see inside her garage so maybe she wasn’t home when he talked to her. He stood outside the front of her place thinking about all the things she’d said about him.
He could understand her being upset with John, but he wasn’t John. Bleak was just as disturbed by the chain of events as the rest of them. And his mother, his poor mother was trying hard to be strong for Caitlin and Cady, while dealing with the anger and pain that John had inflicted on their lives. Maybe Adanya could care less about his mother’s feelings, but he cared about them. He cared about his family just as much, if not more, than she cared about hers. Sure, in the end, he believed that God would turn things around for their good, but right now he didn’t see how that was going to happen and wasn’t sure when it would happen. But as bad as John had hurt their family, part of him was glad that everything had come out in the open.
God had a way of bringing anything done in the dark into the full light. And he’d certainly revealed the dark secrets of his stepfather. Bleak placed both hands in his pockets and walked in tiny circles in front of Adanya’s door. He knocked again. This time he heard Snoopy barking.
She must not be in there. He turned to leave and that’s when he saw her car coming toward him. “Man, is she going to run me down?” he yelled.
Adanya drove past him and just as the garage door opened, she drove inside.
Bleak jumped in front of the garage door as it began to close. “Adanya, we need to talk. And I’m not going anywhere until we do.”
Adanya didn’t say a word. The garage door completely shut.
Bleak huddled against her front door and started knocking again. This time he knocked even harder than the previous times. Snoopy barked even louder.
“You don’t have to break my door down,” Adanya yelled when she opened the door.
“I would have if you hadn’t opened it.” He didn’t wait for an invitation to come inside. He bolted past Adanya, ignoring her cold, penetrating stare.
“No one invited you in,” she snapped.
“Why do you think I had something to do with your father’s little shenanigans?” His voice sounded harsh and his ocean colored eyes looked dark and haunting. “Answer me.”
“If the shoe fits, wear it,” she said, her temper rising again.
“You are so full of yourself. I see why you’re alone and miserable.” “How dare you?”
“How dare I what?” he shot back. “Tell the truth? Well, how dare you judge me when you don’t know anything about me. I’m not the one who hurt you, Adanya. I’m not the one who lied to you. I’m not your father.” His handsome, chiseled face twisted in anger.
“Why did you come to my table all those months ago? Why did you insist on getting to know me? You must have known something. Don’t you think it’s more than a coincidence that my father just so happens to be your stepfather, Bleak? Come on, now. Let’s be real about this.”
“Be real? You want to be real? Real is looking in the mirror, and seeing the person you really are. I wonder if you’d be happy with yourself. Or maybe, just maybe you’re more like your father than you think. Maybe you get off on seeing how much pain you can inflict on someone else.”
Adanya slapped him before she could even think about it. She scared even herself. Never before had she hit anyone, especially in anger. She’d never had a fight with anyone all while growing up and now it took Bleak Blessinger to bring out the worst in her.
“I’m sorry,” she countered as his hand flew up to his check and started rubbing it.
“See, you’re more like him than you thought, huh, Adanya?”
“Leave, Bleak. Right now,” she demanded.
“I won’t leave,” he said. “I’m not leaving until I tell you how I feel. You want to blame somebody for what your father did, well blame him. I’m not the bad guy here, Adanya. I saw you that day in the deli and it was like something, some irresistible force pulled me to you. I’d been in that deli a thousand times, and I’ve never been tempted to flirt with any female in that place. But for some reason, I looked in your direction and my eyes zeroed in on you. I thought you were the most stunning woman I’d ever seen. I had to take a chance. And so I did. You rejected me that day, but I prayed that I would see you again one day. And I did.”
Adanya looked away in shame.
“No, don’t turn away from me. Look at me, Adanya. Listen to me.” His voice had softened. He extended his hand and placed it underneath her chin, lifting her head gently up to face him. “I hate what’s happened. I don’t know how to deal with it myself. I’ve been praying and praying. Praying for my little sister who’s fighting to regain her strength, fighting to get well. I’ve been praying for my mother. It’s breaking my heart to see her so hurt, Adanya. And then, I’ve been praying for you. Everything that’s happened to you in the past with your parents, and now this. I can’t begin to know what you’re feeling or how you’re feeling. I can only guess. And then I’ve been praying for us. I don’t want what your father has done to tear us apart.”
“Bleak, we can’t be together any more. It won’t work.”
“We can get through this. Somehow we can, I know it, Adanya. And if we lean on one another, and God, we can make it. Remember what the scripture says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. Help me, Adanya. And let me help you.” His eyes had grown soft with sincerity.
Adanya felt guilty and ashamed of how she’d treated Bleak. She hadn’t thought to put herself in his shoes. Bleak was right. It had been all about her. She had been selfish and heartless. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks and traces of her resentment began to vanish.
Bleak stepped in closer. Adanya did not move. He so wanted to break through the barrier she’d so expertly woven over her heart. Her father was a jerk, but she was just the opposite; she was a jewel in his eyes.
He embraced her. She gave in to the uncontrollable, compulsive sobs that shook her. He held on to her. His body ached for her. He kissed her hair, and felt her heart beat against his.
Adanya looked up, gazing into his piercing eyes. A shuddering, brief ripple passed through her. A knot formed in her throat. She tried to speak, wanted to speak, but no words came forth. She put her arms around his neck, and Bleak covered her mouth with his in a slow, deliberate, kiss.
Adanya was shocked at her eager response and acceptance of his kiss. Her father, her deceitful, lying, cheating father had cautioned her time and time again about how men wanted nothing but to get what they wanted from a woman. She felt she had truly become wiser over the last few months. Before Bleak Blessinger, she had never thought about giving herself to any man, but as his demanding lips caressed hers, she could think of nothing else she wanted more than to give herself totally and completely to him.
“We can’t do this.” He released her. “Not until things are settled in our families.”
She suddenly felt ashamed, ashamed for her eager response to his touch, to his lips against hers. She remained quiet.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said like he could read her mind. “I want you, Adanya. I want to build something with you. I know we have a lot of drama, to say the least, going on, but if we can make it through this, I believe things can work.”
“Do you really, Bleak?”
“Yes. I do. Matter of fact, I’m banking on it.” He kissed her chin this time, and Adanya quivered at the tenderness of his lips.
I believe too.