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Zach
“They aren’t so bad, if you ask me,” I said as I set two smoothies down on the table. There was a large bowl of fruit in the center of the table with a second plate of eggs next to it. I was learning I had better luck getting Vanessa to eat when I was there to eat with her.
I didn’t fully trust that she would eat anything if I was only eating my meals at work, so I made her promise to eat regularly as long as I was there with her. Of course, she still wasn’t eating as much as I wanted. Her plates looked like they were meant to serve a child, not an adult woman, but I was learning to pick my battles.
If she was eating anything at all, she was way ahead of the four days when she really had been on her own. I didn’t want her to relapse into that, so I just let her be. As long as I saw for myself her eating some solids and she drank the smoothies I’d been making for her, I was happy.
I found several recovery smoothie recipes online. They were crammed full of fruits and vegetables, so when I threw in the additional protein powder to make them almost worthy of being a meal themselves, I was happy to hand them over to her.
“Strawberry! I like that one better than the blueberry,” she said cheerfully as she grabbed the glass off the table.
“I like them mixed, but strawberry’s fine with me, too,” I said. I didn’t want her to start feeling as though I was merely copying everything she said she liked to get on her good side. I wanted her to work through this on her own, with my support.
“My therapist said that he thought these smoothies were fine for now. He doesn’t want me to stick with them long term, but he said if that’s what I can manage in the early stages, he’s not seeing any sort of problem with that,” Vanessa said.
She’d had her first rehab appointment the day before, and I was glad to hear that it had gone well.
“Good. I’ll see what I can do to mix it up for you. I’m sure the last thing you want is to get bored with flavors right now,” I said.
“The blueberry and strawberry are doing fine for now,” she said with a smile. “Really.”
“It’s a start, that’s for sure,” I admitted. “But I don’t want it to be where you stop.”
“It won’t be,” she promised. I believed her. She had driven the four hour round trip to get to her appointment the day before, and that in itself told me she was dedicated. However, I knew this was also something we needed to talk about. We hadn’t discussed what it was we were doing together.
She just sort of started staying with me, and I loved it.
But, if she was going to make this a permanent decision, I fully believed that she was going to have to switch her rehab to being local. And, a job would do her a world of good. I didn’t want her to sit around and worry about what her father was doing.
Being busy was a great way to start healing, we both knew it. But, neither of us had talked about it. I told her only briefly what had happened with Nathan, and she told me something about her brother confronting her in the driveway in front of her apartment.
It was clear to me neither of us wanted to talk about the situation, but at the same time, it was something we were going to have to address one of these days. As much as I wanted to just do my own thing and forget about my dad, I wasn’t going to disappear.
If he didn’t want me in the MC anymore, then I would formally be stripped of being a member. That was fine with me, but I was going to force him to actually do it. He was always telling me to be a man, I’d force him to also be a man and look me in the eye as he told me he no longer wanted me in the club.
It wouldn’t be easy to hear, but at least then I would have my closure, and be free to do what I wanted with Vanessa.
My phone’s alarm went off, and I sighed. “Better get this day over with.”
“I wish you could just stay here with me all day,” Vanessa said as she popped a grape in her mouth. “I miss you when you’re at work.”
“Maybe one of these days, you’ll be able to come to the diner,” I said hopefully. “You never know.”
“I’m not going to get my hopes up,” she said. She stayed at the kitchen table and ate her fruit while I went to the bathroom and got ready. I didn’t want to leave her, she was right. It was hard. It was even harder since I’d been all but exiled myself.
Whether I told her or not, it was true. Nathan hadn’t been back in to talk to me after yelling at me that day, and though I still got a text from Aaron frequently, he hadn’t come around, either. I was trying to be understanding about the situation, but it was difficult.
I headed back out into the kitchen where Vanessa was taking care of the dishes from breakfast, but she stopped to walk me to the door. I opened it then leaned down to kiss her goodbye, but before our lips met, I suddenly saw them.
Standing on the lawn outside my door were both our fathers and another man I assumed to be her twin. They certainly looked enough alike. I wanted to yank her back inside and slam the door, but I knew it was time that we got this over with.
“I can handle this,” I said.
She grabbed my hand. “No, I’m going with you.”
Together, we stepped outside. My heart raced as we walked side-by-side toward the three. It was surprising enough to see them all standing together against us. But, I knew they were just as likely to turn on each other as they were to be pissed with our situation. As long as I stood with Vanessa, things would be okay.
My father looked like he was ready to tear into me, but I beat him to the punch. I wasn’t going to let him scream at me the way Nathan had. I was ready to stand up to him, finally.
“Dad, I know what you’re going to say, and quite frankly, I don’t want to hear it. I’m an adult, and I love this woman. I’m going to continue to see her, and I’m sorry if you can’t accept that, but that’s just the way it is,” I said.
He turned red in the face. “You will not! I’m going to make sure of that! I want the three of you out off my turf right now!”
He pointed to Vanessa and her brother and dad, but I stepped in once more. “Do you remember what happened when I got home? Does the name Fatima remind you of anything? Do you really want me to end up as depressed as I was back then all over again? That’s going to happen if you do this!”
I could feel Vanessa stiffen behind me, and I winced internally. It was high time that I tell her the truth. But that could wait until after we’d finished here. My dad sputtered then turned on his heel. He paused and glanced toward Marcus and Vance. “Get out.”
“With pleasure – and we’re taking Vanessa with us,” Marcus said. He took a step forward and I prepared to lay him on the ground. I wasn’t going to let him drag her away. But, Vanessa suddenly took a step forward.
“No, Dad!” he stopped. “I’m not going with you! Like Zach said, we are adults, and we want to continue to see each other. I’m sick and tired of you thinking that you can control my life. You can’t, and I’m not going to put up with the stress you put me under any longer. You already lost Mom – do you really want to lose me, too?”
I swelled with pride. It felt good hearing her tell her father off like that, but it didn’t have the same effect on her father that my words had had on mine. Marcus held his ground for a moment, clearly shocked that his daughter was finally willing to tell him off in front of his biggest rival. It had to be embarrassing for him, and he clearly wasn’t going to put up with it.
He squared his shoulders and set his jaw, taking another step forward. I once again prepared myself for the fight I knew was bound to happen, but before he got even two steps closer, Vance had him by the arm.
“Let her go, Dad. This is her mistake, and she’s going to regret it. Like you’ve always told us, pick your battles,” he said. Marcus hesitated, clearly uncertain now what to do. My heart raced in my chest, and I hoped it wasn’t going to come to an actual fist fight.
I knew I could take the man; he was old enough to lack the same strength I had. Not to mention, I could draw on my military training, and to my knowledge, he had none. But, I still didn’t want to get in a fight with my girlfriend’s father right in front of her.
And, I didn’t know what my own father would do if it did come to that.
Marcus shook his head. He clearly didn’t want to get into a physical fight with me, either, but it was hard for him to walk away. But, in the end, Vance’s opinion won out. They both turned and strode back to their bikes and the three of them rode off.
My father turned to the left, and they turned to the right, heading back in the direction of the freeway. Vanessa and I turned to each other. It had been rough, but it had gone so much better than I thought it ever could. She threw her arms around my neck and I lifted her from the ground, twirling her in the air before setting her down and kissing her deeply right there in front of my apartment.
“Come on, let’s get back inside,” I said. I put my arm around her and we headed back through the door. I kicked off my shoes and pulled off my jacket as she shook her head.
“What about you going to work?” she asked.
I shrugged. “It’s just flipping burgers. Someone can cover my shift.”
She smiled as I took her in my arms once more. I didn’t care what happened with the diner. I felt on top of the world, thrilled that I finally had Vanessa in my arms. My father wasn’t happy about it, but I wasn’t hiding it from him anymore, either.
We could have each other. As long as we did, we’d be okay.
I knew now without a doubt, we’d be okay.