Shaking the thought out of my head, there was no point to go there. That relationship was dead and gone. Quickly washing Xylina’s back, I handed her loofah back and left the shower.
The shower had always been an intimate place for me and Sierra. The last thing I wanted was old memories to start resurfacing.
CHAPTER 9
Xylina
Isipped my cookie butter caramel iced coffee as my eyes scanned the busy street of the café I was currently sitting outside of. A couple days had passed since the night in the shower with Yosiah and he had been acting strangely since then. When I asked if something was wrong, he proclaimed nothing was, but I noticed him leaving in his truck and with his bike a lot more often. I knew he enjoyed biking, but he normally didn’t go this many times a week, at least I didn’t think he did.
Something else strange happened this morning. I was in the middle of my typical get ready morning live when a message from my dad came through. It was the first time I’d gotten any communication from him in over a month. He wanted to meet at this café not too far from the house. Quickly, I agreed and ended the live. I still hadn’t spoken to my mom, but I was glad Daddy had finally reached out. Hopefully he could give me clarity on what the hell was going on.
I was starting to get antsy, thinking I was being stood up, when the chair across from me was pulled out and my dad plopped down. My eyes widened and I had to blink a couple times, taking him in. It had been a few months since I’d last seen him, but it looked like years had passed. Normally he kepta clean face, only a mustache, but right now he had a full beard that needed good grooming. His eyes had bags under them. He looked like he had lost some weight too. Dad adjusted the ball cap on his head and looked around before focusing on me. His mouth pinched together and his eyes seemed darker than I remembered.
“Daddy,” I started, placing the plastic cup on the glass table. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you, didn’t your assistant tell you?”
“I’ve been busy, but I’m here now,” he stated. His fingers tapped the table and he looked around again.
“Right.” I sat up straighter. “Where’s Mom? I was hoping she would be here with you.” I looked around. It was strange how on edge he was, as if he was waiting for someone to jump out of the shadows and grab him or something. Part of me wondered if he’d started using drugs and they were making him paranoid.
He grunted and his face twisted in a frown. “That whore is somewhere with one of her many lovers, I’m sure.”
My eyes bucked. My parents had never been the most affectionate couple, but I’d never heard my dad bluntly disrespect my mom either.
“Daddy, is that really called for?”
“I’ve never been one to mince words. Your motherisa whore. Has been since the day I met her. I should’ve left her in the gutters where I found her.” He muttered the last part but I still heard him.
I sat there stuck, gripping my cup tighter as I stared at the man that raised me. I was used to him being standoffish and serious about most things, but the man in front of me felt like a completely different person. His whole aura was cold and disconnected.
“I don’t understand. Are you saying you two aren’t together anymore? What lovers are you talking about?”
The look that passed on his face made me feel like I had asked if the earth was round. “Xylina, you’re not that stupid. Did you truly think all those girls trips your mother took were actually that? She’s been sleeping around since before you were born.”
My mouth dropped and my words lodged in my throat. “The only thing that saved her was the fact that she came from a family just as wealthy as mine. Her becoming pregnant and us learning I was the father is the only reason I married her. I never wanted to make her my wife in the first place, but your grandfather forced me so you wouldn’t be born a bastard.”
My stomach twisted and my skin grew tight. I wasn’t close to my mom but I didn’t enjoy hearing my dad speak about her like this either. I’d never asked how they’d met or got together, but hearing it was only her pregnancy that kept them together made something inside me clench. A baby kept them together, but it was clear it didn’t make them love each other. Was that the fate I was asking for if I got pregnant?
“Enough about that. She’s one less problem I need to worry about.” He waved his hand in front of him and leaned in. “We need to speak about why I really called you here.”
I blinked a couple times, attempting to gather myself. Although I had more questions, they would have to wait. He was right, we needed to talk about something more serious than his failed marriage.
“Is it about how you drained my trust fund and why all my accounts are frozen?”
I could tell my boldness caught him off guard. I often wasn’t as direct with my dad as I was with others.
Dad’s face fell and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking before he responded. “The money in your trust fund was mine to begin with. I needed to use it for other matters, and as for the accounts, that’s why I called you here. I’m sure by now you’ve heard thenonsense they’re trying to charge with me. I have some money in overseas accounts and that’s something I’m working on getting. For now, I need a loan, fifty thousand dollars. Once everything is cleared up, I’ll replenish your trust fund and pay you back.”
Money was the last thing I’d expected my dad to bring me here for. Foolishly I’d hoped he would inquire about my life and apologize for whatever was going on.
“Daddy, I?—”
“I need it in cash since my accounts can’t be accessed right now.”
I shook my head and brushed my finger over the precipitation forming on my cup. “I don’t understand. What’s going on? Why are your accounts frozen? Why aremyaccounts frozen? The charges against you are serious! Is any of it true?”
I came here gaining more questions than I had in the beginning.
“Of course not!” His voice heightened and he slapped the table, causing me to jump. People passing the patio area as well as others sitting outside eyed our table. Dad’s jaw clenched. “This is a witch hunt, that’s all. Once everything is cleared up, everyone involved will pay! Legal fees are adding up as well as expenses, that’s why I need a loan.”