The Following Morning…
Jason Adler…
Being locked up behind bars for a whole night was not exactly the most, ideal situation to find myself in. However, it did give me plenty of time to think.
My thoughts ping-ponged from one subject to another as I tried to make some sort of sense of the past 24 hours or so. I mean, even just one of the issues I was bombarded with would be enough to push anyone over the edge but the rapid fire of those issues hitting me had me stumbling and losing my mind slightly.
First my daughter had run away from me, from us. Picking up in the middle of the night, after clearly planning her escape to the point where I feared that we were never going to find her. The hardest part for me to accept is that I had seen she was struggling with something. I had caught the way she seemed to withdraw from almost everything. Every time her phone vibrated, she would get this look that, at the time, I thought looked like irritation, but now I can see that it was fear, fear of what was waiting for her on the screen. I had been so lost in my connection with her best friend to pay close attention to my daughter and that is not something that I will ever forgive myself for. I feel like I am no better than Anna in the parent-stakes.
Then I learnt that my best friend, Jeremy, had been sleeping with my daughter. How had I not seen that? Because I had trusted him. I trusted that he was a decent man and wouldn't betray me in such a brutal manner.
What could they possibly have in common? He is twice her age and divorced. That is not the type of man that I want for my little girl. That is not the type of baggage that I wanted my daughter to have to deal with. Yet, it feels very much like there is nothing that I can do about it because they claim they are in love. I can't possibly come in between that, can I? I know that forbidding her from having anything to do with my best friend will only create a vacuum attraction - you know the type I mean, tell someone they can't have something, it becomes like a vacuum, it draws their desire even more.
Then I find out about Stuart and the things that he sent my little girl. They were so vile and lecherous that it made my blood both boil and freeze in my veins. Yeah, that was a new one for me too. I never knew that I could feel such rage. I actually felt homicidal at one point. It was when I looked into his eyes and could see every single malicious and degrading intent he had towards my daughter. I saw him as a real threat in that moment and my paternal instincts kicked in - eliminate the danger. Make it safe for my daughter to come home.
Then came the news of the blackmail. How could a mother blackmail her own daughter? It was beyond me and only reaffirmed the things that Dakota had told me about Anna's mental-state. Seeing it for myself, I just felt complete and utter loathing for the woman who had given me my daughter. I never thought that I would ever think that way about the mother of my child but seeing the damage she had done to my kid, there was no Hell hot enough for the burning she deserved.
And finally, the confession, from the woman I am in love with, that she knew about my daughter and Jeremy sleeping together. That one had hurt like a blade to my heart and while a part of me is mad that she didn't come to me and tell me, I understood why she didn't. My woman was far more mature and switched on than I was - if our relationship was to survive, I have to learn to accept the fact that there will be secrets between us regarding my daughter. I have to accept that. I have to find a way to make peace with it because if I don't, Charleigh and I won't make it. And that is the very last thing that I want to happen. I am going to apologise to her the minute I get home. Which thankfully, has turned out to be far quicker than I envisioned.
"I can't thank you enough, Lauren!" I exclaimed as we finally left the confines of the police station where they had been intent on holding me all weekend.
Knowing that Jeremy had bit the bullet and went to his ex-wife for help, that was huge. And I can't imagine the sight of her round belly made his decision any easier. Considering that was the very reason they split up in the first place - Lauren claimed to never want kids and now she looked to be around maybe 5 months pregnant.
"No need for thanks Jay, it was the right thing to do!" She explained, "after I showed the prosecutor the text messages, and the statements from the other hotel guests, they were more than happy to drop all the charges,"
"I am just grateful for that. I know I shouldn't have lost my temper that way-"
"Hey, that was your daughter being targeted. I think that any good parent would have reacted the same way. In my opinion, you should be rewarded for your restraint," she informed me passionately. This was a far cry from the woman who claimed that she wasn't even sure if she liked kids.
"When you due?" I nodded to her belly.
"Four months," she smiled as her hand curled around the bump in a protective manner that I have to admit all women who are pregnant seem to do, "it was a bit of a shock for Remy-"
"I bet," I nodded, I had hated Lauren for what she did to my best friend. I mean that was my job, to show him that she simply wasn't good enough for him and at the time I truly believed that. Hell, in a way I still believe that but at the same time I just think that they weren't right for one another.
Did that mean he was right for my daughter though?
"Do you need a ride home?" She asked me.
"Would you mind?"
"Not at all!" She led the way to the car, "so, your daughter and my ex-husband -" she addressed the elephant in the room once we were safely seated in her Audi.
"Yeah-" scratching my face, the sharp bristles of my five o'clock shadow scratched my fingers.
"That must have been a shock!"
"To say the least,"
"Got any idea of how you are gonna deal with that?" She asked me, turning the key in the ignition and pulling out of the parking lot at the side of the police station where I had just spent the night.
"Well, it's funny you should ask," I began, "when 'Kota came home, she brought her friend with her-"
"Charleigh?"
"You met her?"
"Yes, she was with Remy when he came by yesterday,"
"Of course," I had told Jeremy to keep his eye on her after the altercation yesterday, "well, she and I started to spend a lot of time together. We started seeing one another romantically, but I couldn't bring myself to tell my daughter-"
"Understandable,"
"I thought so. But it turns out that Charleigh had already told her. The girls are as close as sisters and Charleigh expressed to 'Kota that there was no way she could ever have let anything happen with me without her consent,"
"Smart girl!"
"They both are because in her letter to me 'Kota gave me her full blessing, at 20 years old my daughter has more compassion and acceptance in her than I have managed to maintain in my 35 years," I admitted out loud, this was exactly what I had been thinking of all night, "so I kind of got to thinking, if she can accept me being with her friend, why can't I accept her being with mine?"
"Sounds like you had an epiphany!"
"I really did," I chuckled, "I mean it's not like I don't know Remy, he is a good man, and he loves with all his heart, he will go to bat for his loved ones, and he had the patience of a fucking saint at times,"
"You don't have to sell him to me, I was married to him, remember?"
"Right of course," I chuckled again, "my point is - I know that there is no one better for my daughter than Remy. I know that she will want for nothing with him,"
"So, you are going to give them your blessing?"
"I am although, I don't know how much, good it will do now, with 'Kota being gone and all,"
Nodding her head, she turned her attention to the road. I guess in some ways she wasn't ready to talk about her and Jeremy. Or the fact that Jeremy has finally moved on. I got it. They had been married for a while. They didn't split up because they fell out of love, they split up because at the time they both wanted different things.
All I wanted right now was to have my daughter back home where she belonged. Even if it meant me having to find a way to accept the man she claimed to be in love with. I mean, it really shouldn't be so hard, should it?
Jeremy was my best friend for almost my entire life for a reason. And honestly, I don't think that he was even half as happy with Lauren as he has been with Dakota this past few weeks. I can't possibly stand in the middle of that. I won't. Because all I want is for them to both be happy.
Charleigh Smith…
It has been a long night. My nerves feel raw and exposed as I think about Jason behind bars. Somehow it feels like there was a huge miscarriage of justice.
Stuart should be the one behind bars.
Anna should be the one behind bars.
I am still trying to process everything that happened in the past 24 hours and the usual person that I turn to isn't here. I miss Dakota. We always supported one another through the tough times and fuck this was one of the toughest times I have ever had. The man I am in love with has been locked up for defending his daughter against a predator and that just feels so wrong that I can't make sense of it at all.
God, if Anna was in front of me right now - I would show her just how unafraid I am of her. How could she let this happen?
How could she blackmail her own daughter?
Why would she want to hurt Dakota?
Jeremy has a theory, one that I have to admit has some merit. While we waited all night, we sat talking and drinking coffee and he confessed to me what Anna had apparently told Dakota about being in love with Jeremy, and he believed that if that were true then, he has concluded that Anna is jealous of Dakota. Jealous that there is no planet in which he would ever go near Anna even if he wasn't with Dakota. Anna had simply fooled herself into believing that the reason was simply because of his friendship with Jason but seeing that Jeremy has risked that friendship by falling in love with Dakota, she lashed out.
Is that what this has all been about? A mentally unstable woman who cannot accept that a man just doesn't want her. If that is the case, it is kind of pathetic, isn't it?
I can't help but wonder where Dakota is. I can only hope that wherever she decided to go, she is safe and taking care of herself.
Jeremy explained what happened at the hotel - how he and Jason agreed that it was important not to let on that Dakota had taken off. I have to agree that was the best course of action. This way Anna and Stuart believe that she is here and won't continue hunting her down. I can see it in Jeremy - he is frantic. He wants to know where she is. He wants to know that she is safe. And he wants her back. I can't say he is the only one. I need her back too. Jason needs her back.
The rumble of a car engine drew my attention from my thoughts, and I raced to the front door, practically ripping it off the hinges in my eager attempt to get to my man. Lauren had called ahead to let us know that the prosecutor had reviewed all of the evidence and agreed to drop the charges against my man. I should, fucking think so. The thought of him being convicted for protecting his daughter just didn't feel right.
I was down the driveway before he even opened the car door. The moment he stepped out, I was in his arms, clinging to him with relief surging through my body.
I had to admit that Jeremy really went to bat for Jason - during the night; he explained about his history with his ex-wife and how asking for her help went against every fibre of his being but it was Jason and there was no way that he was going to leave his best friend to rot in a cell if there was even the remotest chance that he could help. I had seen the way he reacted to her being pregnant and once he explained the history, I felt my heart break for him. It wasn't that he wanted the woman back because he was so besotted with 'Kota that no other woman even existed for him. It was more a case of her having the one thing that she claimed she didn't want and he was still waiting. I kind of hated her a little bit for that. But I was also more than grateful for how she really stood up for Jason and got him out of that cell.
"Hey beautiful," he chuckled, allowing his arms to encircle me, "miss me!?"
"You know it!" My face buried into the sweet spot between his neck and shoulders, breathing in his musky scent and feeling my world shift back into place. There was no-one and nowhere else I would rather be in this moment, "thank you, Lauren!" I finally leant down and looked at the woman who simply smiled and nodded her head.
"You're welcome. I really hope that you find Dakota,"
"Thanks Lauren," Jason nodded and we both bid her goodbye, closing the passenger door and stood to the side as she reversed out of the driveway, "is Remy still here?"
"Yeah, he said you wanted him to keep an eye on me,"
"That's true. I would never have been able to live with myself had anything happened to you,"
"I'm fine," I moved until I was stood in front of him, my arms looped around his neck like a lasso around a horse's neck, "I was so worried about you,"
"Awe sweetheart, you never have to worry about me. I actually had a lot of time to think in the drunk-tank-"
"You did?"
"I did. And one conclusion that I came to was that - life is short and there are some things that should never be put off -"
"You've lost me-"
"I love you, Char'. I know that is prob-"
"I love you too!" I exclaimed excitedly because the truth was, I did love him. I think that I loved him from the moment my eyes rested on him in that airport.
"You do?"
"I really do!"
"God, you have no idea how much I love hearing that, and I love you so much, sweetheart," he expressed, his lips pressing into mine. And for a few precious moments we sank into the kiss - feeling our connection to one another strengthening until there was a cough rumbling behind us, "subtle man!" Jason dropped his forehead against mine and sighed.
"Sorry. I just wanted to let you know I am heading out now that you are back," Jeremy stated.
Jason slowly turned and looked at his best friend - the secret that Jeremy held had nearly torn the two of them apart, but I could see it in my man - he was ready to try and accept that this was real. That his best friend was in love with his daughter.
"Can we have a chat before you head out?" Jason asked.
"Uhm-"
"Please. I am willing to listen, I am willing to try and understand this-"
"Yeah?" Jeremy's eyes snapped up to his best friend who simply nodded his head.
So, the three of us headed back into the house and while the men sat down in the front room, I busied myself with making coffee because I knew the details, so I didn't need to be present for Jeremy's account of things, but I was close enough to hear it and keep an eye on things on the off chance that Jason reacted badly.
"I just - why didn't you just come to me?" He asked eventually once Jeremy had gotten it all out.
"Because we didn't want to blow up everyone's lives on the off-chance that it might be something that would fizzle out after a couple of weeks-" Jeremy explained, "we wanted to be sure that it was something real and solid before we ruined everything-"
"You really love her?"
"More than I have ever loved anyone. In fact, I would go as far as saying that I don't think that I have ever really been in love before 'Kota!" The conviction in Jeremy's words filled the air and I could see that it had the desired effect on Jason.
Hopefully this meant that things were going to work out after all.
Now, all we had to do was figure out where the fuck Dakota had run off too and bring her home.