"I'm really going to miss you." I tell Natalie hugging her. It's the day after my birthday and my friends are ready to go home.
"Don't be a stranger Keira when the school holidays start come over for a visit," she replies back.
"I will I promise."
"Dinny I get one." comes Ryans's voice. Turning around I throw my arms around him squeezing him.
"This was amazing thanks for having us bug guy." says lee talking to Thomas.
"No problem if you ever want to visit just let me know and I'll send the plane." declares Thomas standing on the top of the steps.
Given him, a nod lee turns and walks over to me and Natalie.
Grabbing me he pulls me in for a bear hug.
"I'll miss your bird."
"I'll miss you too." I tell him.
He pulls back and gives me a smile. He, Natalie, and Ryan walk over to the car that's taking them to the airport.
They all hop in and lee puts down the window.
"I'll phone you when we get back ." he yells to me as the car makes its way down the road
"You better." I shout hoping he can hear me.
When I don't see the glow of the lights anymore I turn around and make my way back up the steps.
"I like them." Thomas tells me still standing there.
"Yeah they're good people they were my best friends growing up." I muttered trying to hold back the emotion in my voice.
Thomas gives me a sad smile.
"It won't be forever Keira, you will see them again." he says trying to make me feel better.
I just shrug my shoulders. I know I will but how long? If he wouldn't let me see my dad's grave I highly doubt he would let me go over for a visit.
I try to move past him but he stops me.
"Will you walk with me.?" he asks.
"Why.?" I blurt out. I don't want to spend time with him. I don't care how much he thinks he's making up for what he did. I'm still angry.
"Please." he asks with a sad look on his face.
" Fine." I mutter.
"Okay, come on then."
He moves down the steps before taking a right towards the back of the house.
I take it we are going around the gardens.
I start walking catching up to Thomas and slow my pace to walk beside him.
Crossing my arms we both don't speak as we make our way around the Flower gardens.
Thomas's house is massive. Mum loved flowers and she told me Thomas surprised her one day with a garden full of her favorite flowers.
Roses, tulips, lilies sunflowers decorate the whole of the two sides of the walkway. It's really beautiful.
When we make our way more down there's a pond.
It's at the end of the walkway looking over acres of land. There's a bench that sits there right in front of the pond that gives you an amazing view.
Thomas takes a seat there and I sit down beside him.
It's an awkward silence between us.
Me and he never got on but for a while there we did. As I'm getting older I'm sick of hating people. I don't want to be at him and mum's throats all the time.
"I've never told you the story of how I and your mum met have I?" he says breaking me out my thoughts.
I shake my head for no answering his question.
"You know I was born in Scotland and I was there until I was twenty."
I nod my head.
"Well I was born on the outskirts of Glasgow. My mum and dad where very poor believe it or not and most of my young life I spent wondering the streets. I didn't go to school much and every chance I had I was on drugs and drinking. I loved the party life. I was the one making everyone laugh. The one they would call for a drink because it wasn't like I would say no" he quietly chuckles lost in his own thoughts.
"I took a bad turn one night when I was nineteen. I took to much and ended up in the hospital. I had my stomach pumped and the doctors said it was lucky I was alive. That night gave me clarity. I could stay there and let myself go down the bad path I was taking or I could leave and Change my story.
I ended up calling my dad's uncle and aunt who stayed in new york. Dad used to talk about them and we kept in contact but we weren't very close.
I told them what happened to me and said I wanted to change my life. I was shocked when the agreed. They sent me money and I got a passport. I took a plane to New York and met them here."
He clasps his hands looking down at the pond before continuing.
"My uncle run a company and when I got here he put me right to work. I started at the bottom and worked my way up. I got more accounts than anyone else at the time. I was hard-working make no mistake about it. I was there before sunrise and finished when it was dark. I was there three years when I met your mom.
I was down in the building grabbing a coffee when I spotted your mum at the front desk.
She was wearing dungarees funny enough arguing with the women at the reception." Turning his head to look at me he smiles and says.
"That's where you get it from you know.? Your mum had quite a mouth on her." he smiles.
I don't answer I have no idea why he is telling me this. Clearing his throat he keeps going.
"Anyway, I go over and help calm her down. Long story short I fell in love with your mother that day.
We dated for two years and Then one day I get the phone call that my uncle and aunt died In a car crash.
I was heartbroken. They were the only two people who I felt cared about me. They left me everything.
The company the house cars more money then I knew what to do with.
The stress became too much. Here I was a twenty-five-year-old Scottish man living in New York with all this responsibility. I'm man enough to say I took most of my anger out on your mum. We started fighting more. We didn't communicate.
I ended up cheating on her with a co-worker and got her pregnant.
One night I drank too much and when I went home I broke the news to your mother."
My eyes widen in shock I didn't know that I go to say something but he keeps talking.
"After she left me I threw myself into work. I couldn't think about her because the guilt was too much. When Lucas was born love like I only knew with your mum hit me. He was so small and fragile but I knew then I would do anything for him. I swore I would give him the life I never got.
A couple of years later his mum died. That's how Lucas came to live with me. I don't talk about his mom a lot because he can't remember her I think it upsets him when I do."
I feel tears in my eyes. I never cared enough to ask about his mum.
I realize he's still talking so I shake myself out of my thoughts and listing.
"Years later I decided enough time had passed without seeing my mom and dad so I took a holiday back to Scotland with Lucas to see them.
They still lived in the same council house and when I arrived It finally hit me I about how much I
made it.
I was there a few days when I saw your, mother, again."
His adam's apple bobs as he looks at me.
"When I saw her and it felt like my heart was ripped out my chest.
I noticed right away she was high. She and your dad were arguing in the street across from where my mom and dad lived.
It started getting heated and before I knew it I was out the door ready to make my way over.
Then, I see this little girl no more than four or five crying just down from where they were arguing. She was screaming at them to stop.
Instead of walking over to them, I went to her.
She was only wearing a small dress, no shoes no jacket in the freezing cold.
When I reach her she looks up at me with the most scared expression. I've only ever seen that look on one child before and that was me.
My heart stopped at that moment. I picked her up and eve and johnny were arguing so badly they didn't even notice. I take her into my mum and dad's house. My mum made her food and She was so hungry that she ate the lot as if she hadn't seen food in days.
Lucas was 7 at the time and he noticed her. He walked over and started making faces so she wasn't so sad. She gave a beautiful little smile at him and hugged him with everything she had in her. Lucas hugged her back and brought her into the living room to play with his toys and watch tv.
I left the two.of them alone and I go back out to see what's happening with Eve and johnny.
Eve was crying in the middle of the street and she still hadn't noticed the little girl was gone. Johnny was nowhere to be seen at that point.
I walked over to her and she looked up at me with such a hurt expression. I swore then and there that I would do everything in my power to make her eve again.
I was only supposed to be there a week but I ended up staying for two months.
During that time I helped her.
I noticed a difference and I felt I could leave and she would keep getting better.
For the next year, I took planes over at least once a month.
The last visit I did I noticed she slipped.
When I got her on her own I gave her an ultimatum. She could leave and come back with me and get sober or I was calling the social services and having her daughter took off her.
She went to johnny that night and said she was leaving. She couldn't take her child with her because she wasn't in a functional state to look out for her. She needed time to get sober and clean before she could be the mother she was supposed to.
I went to my parents and told them I would pay them every month if they looked out for that little girl.
They promised me and refused to take my money.
My dad is a proud man and he didn't have much yet he wouldn't take a penny off me.
That was the day I left with Eve.
When we returned a year later to get her daughter things didn't quite go along to plan.
She screamed, cried and pleaded with everything in her not to leave her dad. It was the most heartbreaking thing I ever had to witness.
After days of trying it was no use, she wouldn't leave.
We made a deal that she would come and stay with us as much as she could.
For the first four or five years, it worked out fine. Her and my son got along perfectly and I had hoped she would want to stay with us but she always returned home.
Then one time she came over with so much hate for all of us that I think my heart literally broke that day.
She didn't want to talk to me. She hated my boy with a passion and the same could be said for her mum but her anger was towards me.
No matter how hard we tried she couldn't see past it. She visited less and less and when she was fourteen I noticed the biggest change of all.
She was going down the same path I went and that was a hard pill to swallow.
The Little girl who cried on my shoulder when her parents were arguing was going the same way as her mum and dad.
That was my final straw. Me and your mum talked and we decided enough was enough and we needed to step in and help.
I made a decision I knew she would have hated but was necessary."
The tears are rolling down my face. He gives me a small smile and finishes his story with.
"I know you hate me Keira,I understand where your anger comes from but understand I love you like my own daughter. That look you gave me the street that day.." he doesn't finish.
I can see Thomas battling with his emotions.
I never knew that. I can't remember the argument he's talking about. I remember mum when she left me though. I never understood why but I think now I do.
Thomas stands before blowing out a breath.
"I am very sorry about how everything went, but I'm not sorry for saving you. Even if you don't see it like that." he finishes before walking away and leaving thinking about the story.