Chapter 14

Renee’s POV

Back home, I send Debbie upstairs to play and get out of her pink dress while I try to wash out the dirt.

I lock myself in the laundry room, close my eyes, and rest my head against the door. My pride got the best of me. I stubbornly agreed to a physical exam just to prove to Eric that I had nothing to hide.

But I do have something to hide. And now, all because I wanted to stand up to him everything might get exposed.

I take a deep breath in to try and calm myself, but it fails as I get a strong whiff of detergent. Exasperated, I take out my phone and call the only person who knows about my situation. Well, the only other person who knows besides Jasper.

She picks up before the first ring finishes. “Hey,” she says followed by a loud crunch. Is she eating an apple?

“I’m stressed,” I tell Emily, jumping right to the point.

“When are you not stressed?” She asks and I roll my eyes, though sadly, she has a point.

Emily and I became friends at the orphanage. We’ve basically been each other’s family.

Even when she got adopted before I did, we still managed to stay in contact as pen pals. She even tried to convince her foster family to take me in too, but I didn’t look like the rest of them. I would’ve messed up their Christmas photos.

When I decided to leave Eric and got hit by that car, Emily was the first one at the hospital. She was the one who came up with the idea that I fake my death. Without her, I may not have ever been able to leave Eric in the first place.

“Fair enough,” I agree. I spent the next ten minutes going on a rant explaining all that had happened, from Eric being my boss, to the physical exam that Debbie is now subject to. When I finish, there’s a silence on the other line.

Just as panic rises in me that maybe this situation is even too much for Emily to help with, I hear her take another bite of her apple. “Wow,” she says with her mouth full. I let my body slide down against the wall.

“What do I do?” I ask her letting myself whine.

“Let Debbie take the physical,” Emily says like it’s the obvious answer. “It’s just a health check, Debbie won’t exhibit any werewolf traits. I think you’re letting Eric get inside your head too much,” Emily tells me and she’s right.

Eric can be suspicious all he wants, but I haven’t given him anything to be suspicious about. The more I dodge his accusations or questions, the deeper I dig myself into a hole.

Unless of course, one of the questions he asks is for a paternity test. But let’s not get to that point.

Just then there’s a knock on the laundry room door followed by a small voice. “Mom?” Debbie asks sounding somewhere between confused and concerned.

“I gotta go,” I tell Emily and hang up. I open the door and see Debbie staring up at me. “Yes, sweetie?” I ask trying to make it seem like I wasn’t just overthinking on the floor locked in our dark laundry room.

“You promised we would go to the amusement park today after the interview as a celebration,” Debbie had trouble pronouncing that last word and my heart aches. Sometimes I remember just how cute she is, and how awful I am.

I do remember telling Debbie that. A celebration not just for her first interview that I knew she would crush, even if it didn’t go as we expected, but also for her birthday. I literally forgot my own daughter’s birthday.

“And we’re going,” I tell her as if I didn’t completely forget. “I was just looking for my shoes,” I say and reach back and pull out a pair of old sneakers. “Lots of walking today,” I tell her.

Debbie’s face brightens up as she jumps up and down. “Yay! I have a surprise for you too!” Debbie tells me and I laugh.

The last time Debbie said she had a surprise for me and we were at the amusement park it was that she was brave enough to go on the rollercoaster. So, maybe this surprise is that she’s brave enough to go on by herself because honestly, my life is wild enough as it is right now.

We park and walk up to the entrance. I find myself getting excited. Doing simple family things with my daughter is just what I need to pull my mind away from Eric.

We walk up the entrance, the wooden walkway creaking beneath our feet. The arch to the entrance booth is lit up with large flashing light bulbs and beyond that are layers of rides that look like colorful hills.

I can hear the laughter and ringing of gaming stands when someone wins a prize. “Cmon!” Debbie says pulling at my hand.

“I’m going!” I tell her, she’s really excited to get inside. When I look back up, I stop moving causing Debbie to nearly trip over her feet.

Eric is casually leaning up against the yellow-painted gate. He’s not dressed in an expensive suit, or in a specially tailored sports jacket. He’s in light blue jeans and a soft red crew neck. He looks like a dad.

I didn’t even know he owned such clothing. I have to look away, not just because I need a minute to compose myself, but also to give my heart a break.

“Surprise!” Debbie shouts when she sees that I’ve noticed Eric. “I asked him to come while you were talking with the principal,” she explains. I note to never let her out of my sight. Ever.

Eric begins to walk up to us and I soon conclude that there’s no way we can just pretend we weren’t heading inside. Eric squats down and greets Debbie by ruffling her hair. Seeing him dressed like that, and interacting with Debbie like this, I can’t- I can’t do it.

When Eric rises back up he gives me a complex look that I can’t quite figure out. “Oh wow! Seeing you here just reminded me of a work emergency,” I blurt out hoping it sounds somewhat authentic.

Eric scrunches his nose, “As your boss, I’m not aware of any work emergency,” he says and before I can attempt to further legitimize my excuse to leave, he wraps his arm around Debbie and leads her inside saying he already paid for the tickets. Damn.

I watch them walk away and have no choice but to follow. Once we’re inside, I try to put all my attention on Debbie who walks in the middle of me and Eric. She holds both our hands and can’t seem to focus on one place at a time.

As soon as her eyes settle on one ride she points at another. At least one of us is excited to be here. While Debbie is focused on the rides and games, Eric is focused on all the people we pass by, and I find myself spending too much time looking at Eric instead of Debbie.

I didn’t notice it at first, but people are staring. I know where they’re thinking, that we look like a beautiful family, and that I’m so lucky to have such a handsome husband. It’s the same thing people think when they see Eric with Mia.

“What do you like, Eric?” Debbie asks, skipping right up next to him. I pretend to be disinterested, but when Eric doesn’t respond, I look over at offended that he isn’t answering his daughter, I mean my daughter.

Instead, Eric is eyeing up a big family that is making no effort to hide their obvious conversation about us.

“Sausages!” Debbie squeals, spinning on her heels. “Can I get one please?” Debbie looks between Eric and me seeming to ask us both. Eric and I answer at the same time except we give two different answers.

I shoot Eric a confused look, since when can he tell my daughter what she can and can’t eat? “The food here doesn’t look,” he pauses trying to find the right word, “clean.” he settles on. I raised my eyebrows. He may be dressed like a dad, but he still acts like an elite.

Ignoring him, I go up to the stand and order two sausages smothered in orange cheese that look like they’re about to burst out of their casing. I know this food is crap for you, but it tastes so good.

“You know,” I say side-eyeing Eric, “Not everyone can eat five-star cuisine all the time,” I open my mouth about to take a bite only to have the sausage pulled out of my hand.

Eric takes a huge bite out of the grease-dripping sandwich.

We keep walking until Debbie sees something that catches her eye. She runs up to a gated arena with a neon flashing sign that spells out the word ‘Soccer’ “Let’s play!” Debbie insists, the excitement radiating off of her and unfortunately, it’s about to be crushed.

“That’s for fathers and children only, sweetie,” I tell her gently pointing to the fine print. My heart breaks alongside hers and I know this is only going to further spark her drive to try and find herself a dad.

I frantically search around for another game that I can play with her, then I notice Eric moving out of the corner of my eye.

“Let’s go,” he says blatantly disregarding the fine print and the issue at hand. He ushers her inside the arena and looks back at me nonchalantly. “I am her father, correct?”