SEVEN

Frazier’s POV

THE SECOND I GOT INTO MY CAR I called Isobel. As usual, she didn’t pick up her phone and her voicemail told me that she was busy and that I should schedule a phone call with her assistant Nancy Preston. I’d texted Nancy asking her to inform Isobel that she and I needed to talk.

I put my phone aside and started the engine. Corbin had texted me saying that Dad and Clìodhna would be home for lunch and I should come to visit to prove to them that Corbin hadn’t lost his mind. I chuckled at that last bit. I knew he would have a problem convincing them that I was alive and that Isobel was lying.

Like Autumn had said, it was hard to believe that a mother would lie about something like that.

When I finally pulled my car into the driveway at one-thirty, Corbin was out the door before I put the vehicle in park. He had his hands inside his pocket but I could tell that he was annoyed.

“Dude, be quick,” he muttered once I got out of the car. “Dad has a breakdown and Mom blamed me for bringing it up. They thought I was making shit up.”

Sensing the urgency in his voice, I stretched my legs and walked as fast as I could. “Where are they?” I asked once we got inside.

Corbin jutted his chin. “In the kitchen.”

I rushed through the living room all the way to the back of the house and came to a halt as the view of my dad crying struck me. All of my life, I’d never seen Darragh Ronan shed a tear yet here he was, red teary eyes and wet cheeks.

“Dad?” I greeted softly, afraid that I might startle him.

His slumped body jerked upwards as he heard my voice and then slowly, he turned to the left, and his gaze locked with mine. His lips started to tremble and tears streamed down like a river down his face. “Frazier?”

“Yeah, it’s me, Dad.”

Everything was blurry. One second he was sitting there mimicking a status and the next he was on his feet and hugging me tightly as if he’d never wish to let go. It went emotional very quickly. My eyes stung and I took a deep breath as I wrapped my arms around him. Darragh was not a hugger, he hardly showed his emotion. He was that type of man who would not cry unless he was in the company of his own. When I was a kid, he always told me that a man never cries yet here he was, seemingly uncared about his life principle.

“I can’t believe you’re really alive, son. Izzie—Isobel said—”

“Isobel is a lying—” I stopped myself before cursing the name in front of my dad. Whether he admitted it or not, I knew he truly loved her. In this whole wide world, I believed he was the only person who could see her past all of her flaws and complexities and loved her nonetheless but Mum always took him for granted. I was glad he had met Clìodhna. He deserved someone who loved and cared for him. “—witch.”

I heard someone gasping, a feminine sound, and turned around. Clìodhna was standing there, her eyes widened in shock and disbelief. “Oh my God! Is that really you?”

Dad took a step back and turned to his wife. He was nodding frantically. “You see him too, do you? I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“Hey, Clìodhna.”

Clìodhna rushed forward and pulled me into a hug. Her hand caressed my head as she was sobbing on my shoulder. I was taken aback. We had never been close. I always thought she didn’t care for me. I even thought that she might think I came to New York to ruin the perfect family she had with Dad and Corbin.

“Praise the Lord! You are truly alive!”

“Yes, Mom, so you need to stop telling me that you’ll have me quartered,” said Corbin from behind her.

Dad threw his arms around both of us. The affection that shone in his eyes broke my heart.

“Okay. Group hug without inviting me.” Corbin shook his head. “Rude.”

“Oh, come here!” Clìodhna pulled back slightly to grab Corbin’s arm and dragged him.

All I could think about was that it was how it felt to have a family.

* * *

“So, Dad,” I looked up from my plate and found everyone’s eyes were on me. It seemed that everyone still couldn’t believe I was alive and kicking. “Can I use the guest house again?”

“Of course, son, of course.”

I was pretty sure if I asked for his kidney, he would say yes. His eyes were gleaming with happiness. I simply bobbed my head, then carried on with the filet mignon. When I looked up again, everyone’s eyes were still on me. Everyone except Corbin. He was busy with his own food. Both Dad and Clìodhna had their cutleries midair.

“You both need to stop staring.” I shook my head, smiling. It was a relief to know that everyone cared for me. Four years ago when no one came to visit, I’d thought that no one did.

“You can’t blame them.” Corbin chewed and swallowed as if giving it some thought. “Honestly, when I woke up this morning with a hangover I couldn’t believe last night was real. If you weren’t texting me this morning, I would’ve thought it was just another dream.”

I grinned at his slip-up and by the way, he closed his eyes and cursed under his breath, I knew he realized it too. “So you’ve been dreaming about me?”

“Oh, piss off,” grumbled Corbin.

I laughed. And when I looked at Dad, he had that big smile on his face and his gray eyes sparkled with joy.

* * *

I received a phone call from Doctor Albright informing me that they needed to run the tests. He’d emailed me the letter that I should give to the laboratory. After I printed it out, I went to drive back to town.

He recommended a specific hospital in his email, saying that one of his acquaintances was working there and he could notify her. It sounded reasonable so that was where I was heading. The traffic was heavy as usual. A typical issue in every metropolitan city but I had grown to it. It took about thirty minutes to get there and as I went up to the lobby, I met a familiar face.

“You!” I was hardly able to suppress my anger as I took long decisive strides to reach Tyler. “How could you leave Autumn for Oxford?”

Tyler gave me an incredulous look then let his eyes drift from me before they finally acknowledged my presence. Grimacing, he replied with a blank stare. “It’s really none of your goddamn business.”

“Oh, really? You’re lucky I don’t blame you for not taking care of her well enough that she ended up with a baby and the whole school on her back talking shite.”

“Seriously?” That incredulous, gaping look never left his face. “Are you being serious right now?”

“You know me,” I tilted my head to one side, “I don’t joke. Not with you.”

“And apparently you don’t have brain cells either,” Ty muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

“What?” I growled.

“Mate,” he mocked me using a bad English accent, placing his hand on his hips. “I’m always pissed whenever I look at your stupid face. You’re the one who broke her when you abruptly left.” He shook his head, eyes narrowed. “You don’t have the right to blame anyone but yourself. I was there to pick her up when she crashed down. I was there by her side every time her kid got cold or fever or couldn’t sleep at night. I was there when she needed someone to look after her baby.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest, giving me a patronizing look that I hated so much. “The question is, where were you, huh?”

When I didn’t say anything, Ty shrugged and gave me a pointed look. “That’s right. You weren’t there. You ran like a fucking ballerina who made a silly mistake with her steps. You fucking ran away and left her. Stay the fuck out of my face before I punch your stupid face. And if you even care for her, you stay the fuck out of her life too. You’ve given her nothing but pain and trouble.”

That was when I lost it. I lunged forward like a kid who had spent hours blaming himself that he didn't need anyone to point out how stupid his action was. Tyler was fast, maybe he was secretly a street fighter. He ducked away and I nearly lost my footing if it wasn't for my hand swift instinct holding the side of the table next to us.

Tyler kicked my back until my back was laid on the ground. I was panting hard. They said the chemotherapy had side effects. They never blatantly said that being weak and having to watch my ass being handed to me was one of them.

Ty bent forward, his hazel eyes locked with mine as he spat his words. “Everything wrong, all the terrible things that Autumn had endured for the last four years were because of you.”

“What?”

Ty scoffed, his lips curled into an unfriendly smirk. “Do you wanna know who was the lame fucker who banged her and then left her to deal with the mess on her own?” His smirk turned devilish as he leaned in, face only inches away from mine. “It was you!”