Chapter 3.20
Warning: Emotional ending.
Siobhan
Moving to Aunt Dakota's house was the best idea Granddad ever had. I loved her loft which was nestled in between some old apartment houses in the art's district. She was an upwardly mobile fashion designer, working under my Great Aunt Bri's label at first and now was branching out on her own. She even had a photo/modeling studio next to her bedroom in this three story building.
The wide open space, along with the sheer brightness of the floor to ceiling windows just warmed me up inside.
Moving to Aunt Dakota's house was the best idea Granddad ever had. I loved her loft which was nestled in between some old apartment houses in the art's district. She was an upwardly mobile fashion designer, working under my Great Aunt Bri's label at first and now was branching out on her own. She even had a photo/modeling studio next to her bedroom in this three story building.
The wide open space, along with the sheer brightness of the floor to ceiling windows just warmed me up inside.
It was fun playing the piano for my aunt and her boyfriend, Adrien Vanzant. He was a designer, too. I loved his metro vibe.
My fingers tumbled over the keys with ease as I tried to stay the butterflies in my stomach. Today was my birthday and Julien said he was going to give me a surprise. I wondered what it could be.
After I was done playing, I went to my room to mess around on the computer. I never got tired of being in my loft room. One, I didn't have to share with a crazy beeotch who liked to destroy my stuff. And I designed the space. Not Mother. She would have hated all the red and purple. I got a new Byron poster, too. It was like the cherry on top of my strawberry and grape swirly shake.
I felt a buzz in my pocket. My Granddad!
"Hey! What's up? How's Daddy today?"
"I've got some great news, sweetheart. The doctors believe your dad is going to come out of the coma any day now. He's showing signs of much improved brain activity, and he moved one of his fingers today."
"Really? Oh my God! That's the best birthday present anyone could ever give me!"
"I know, honey. I hope you have a special birthday today. Don't worry about visiting tonight, though. I know you'll be busy."
I shook my head even though he couldn't see it. "Julien promised to take me over to the hospital anyway after our date. I want to see him! Okay?"
"Sure, sweetheart. See you then."
I jumped around my room like an out of control firecracker! I knew Daddy would be okay. I just knew it!
I'd been dreaming about the day when he'd open his eyes and smile up at me. We'd all be there. Grandpops, Granddad, Dakota and me. One sweet, happy family.
I could almost feel Daddy squeezing my hand as Grandpops held me. All of us beaming at him.
And I'd stay right by his side until he recovered enough to go to rehab. My grandparents already prepared me that I wouldn't be able to visit him in there. He'd have to go for a while to make sure he was better with his depression and wouldn't spiral out of control like that again. I didn't know what I'd do if we had to go through this nightmare a second time.
I could picture us walking by the nurses desk, so proud that I could take care of him.
Words for a song suddenly spilled out of me, and I rushed to tap them out on the computer.
Already today was amazing, and it was only four in the afternoon!
About an hour later, my aunt called up to me, "Siobhan! Someone is here to see you!"
I glanced at my watch. It was only 5. Julien was supposed to pick me up at 7. I wasn't even ready yet. Oh well, I thought. He could watch tv while he waited on me and then we could snuggle until it was time for our dinner reservation.
But when I got to the door, I wasn't sure if I was in some kind of dream.
"Hello...," said a gorgeous man in a smooth British accent, "are you Siobhan Day?"
And then it hit me who he was. He'd been hanging out on the wall in my former bedroom for a few months until Crystal the witch threw him away!
My eyes fluttered as my lips flapped. "Y-Y...Y-You're....S-Sean Hyatt...I mean...Sean Roberts. The actor on Fine Lines?"
"That is correct. I'm here to..."
I squealed, cutting him off, "I can't believe this! Why are you here? Who sent you? What are you doing in San Myshuno in my house, smiling at me like some Greek god? Oh MY FREAKING GOD! I think I'm going to be sick. You better move out of the way. I'd hate to ruin your pretty shoes!"
Calmly staring at me with those yummy blue eyes, he said, "Well then, we wouldn't want to mess up the pristine floor now would we? Why don't you get dressed for a night on the town then meet me outside. I have something for you."
After I quickly changed, he led me over to a shiny new corvette. Oh...it matched him perfectly. But he still hadn't answered my questions. "Are you going to tell me why you're here?" I asked.
He put a finger over his mouth and said, "It's a bit of a surprise, really. The person who asked me to do this isn't here. I did this as a favor to him. Can you guess who that is?"
Julien? Was my first thought. But he didn't know any celebrities. The only person it could be was...
"Daddy?" I whispered.
"That's correct! Your dad put me up to this, ringing me about three months ago. Had it all planned."
He went on, "I'm happy I could still do this for him. And this car is yours. A gift from your dad. Your grandparents had it hidden from you at their place."
"You're kidding."
"No, I'm not. Happy birthday, Siobhan!"
My daddy. And he'd planned all this even before that awful trial. Oh how I wished he'd wake up so I could tell him how much I loved him. But he would any day now. I knew that in my heart, and I couldn't wait. What a wonderful birthday!
Seth
Well, well, well...I couldn't believe who sauntered up in front of me.
Siobhan Day.
I hadn't seen her since that night she'd tagged the club's wall. She was so fiery then. It was a blast to watch her in action. She'd weasled her way out of trouble by dangling her father's penthouse to E as bait. And he took it like a dog lapping at a bone. But tonight, she definitely wasn't in the painting mood with that outfit.
Damn she looked hot.
But who was she pawing? It wasn't that shrimpy Brit she'd been with the other night.
I tried to figure it out. He was definitely a model of some sort. God. He looked twice her age, too. That scoundrel. I wanted to punch him for taking advantage of a teenager. What a fucking douche. And he was kissing her fingers.
I watched to make sure he didn't do anything else, or I'd come between them. I wasn't about to let this perv into the club
As luck would have it, he left her standing there. And now she was about to come inside to her party. I couldn't wait to mess with her. This should be fun.
"So, look what's stumbling at my doorstep. You've got a lot of nerve coming here after you left me with a huge mess on my hands. Do you know how long it took me to clean that shit up?"
Her gorgeous eyes flashed blue fire. God, she was so pretty. I was happy those eyes couldn't kill me because it looked like they wanted to. She snarled, "I know for a fact you didn't clean anything up. I paid to have it removed, jerk."
I could have stared into her beautiful face all day. "Well, just make sure you stay away from any fires tonight. I hear spray paint is flammable. Wouldn't want that slinky dress to burn off."
She just stood there fuming. This was my night. With a flourish of my hand, I opened the door for her. "What are you waiting for? You're the guest of honor, after all." I winked.
Glaring at me as she walked inside, she hissed, "Jackass."
Siobhan
Wow. I couldn't believe it! All my friends were here at the trendiest club in town! The Gothic Vamp. I'd always wanted to see what it was like inside, but felt funny since I'd gotten in trouble the last time I was here. Meeting up with that jerk bouncer was a glitch in the night, but I wouldn't give him the privilege of another thought.
When I got inside, I laughed. There was Kailyn attacking Matthew. Some things just never changed.
After she came up for air, she noticed me. "Well if it isn't the birthday girl! Surprise!"
"Yeah...it looked like you were waiting on the edge of your seat for me, giving Matthew a hickey."
She raised her eyebrow. "Well, a girl's got priorities."
"Right?" I agreed and we high fived. I loved Kailyn. She always made me laugh.
Looking around the room, I spied Naomi and her boyfriend, Milo Radas kissing, Abby Lincoln and her guy, Matt Burt dancing, Ceriza Cassidy and her girlfriend, Delaney Connors at the fuseball table, but where was my boyfriend?
Rushing over to me, Julien threaded his fingers through mine and said, "Sorry I missed you at the door, darling." He gave me a quick kiss. "Are you okay? It rots your dad can't be here."
Pulling his face close to mine, I said, "I've got good news. The doctors say he's going to wake up soon. He even moved one of his fingers today. Isn't that great?"
"That's splendid, darling. See? I told you he would be good as new in no time."
I smiled, rubbing the clean shaven skin of his cheek. "You did. What would I do without you, Julien?"
"Happy Birthday, love," he whispered.
I was the luckiest girl in the world.
After we ate, danced and ate and danced some more, we all settled down as Naomi's boyfriend lit it up on the mic. Who knew Milo could sing?
It was a slow ballad and everyone stopped to watch and listen. I was having such a great time.
*****
Seth
Being a bouncer had its perks. You could act like you were going to kick ass all the time so no one messed with you. You got free drinks and free food after work. And the chicks dug a man in charge. Sometimes I'd get a phone number or two. But the worst part was I'd have to hold going to the bathroom for hours. Finally, I got some relief to take a break, and I high tailed it up the stairs next to the club's bowling alley. That was where all the restrooms were.
As I was about to go through the door, I noticed Siobhan Day listening to something on her phone, then she dropped it and stumbled, nearly falling.
"Whoa there," I said, catching her. "Are you okay?"
She just stood there trembling, saying, "No...no...this can't be happening. This did not happen. No...God no, please..."
She was in pain. Her eyes flooded with tears and she kept whispering over and over, "It didn't happen. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Daddy was getting better...he was."
The poor girl wasn't making any sense, just mumbling nonsense over and over. She seemed to not be stable and she wobbled into me. "Easy now. Can I get you something? Do you need a drink?"
But it was as if she didn't know I was there. She said, "He can't be dead. He's not dead. They didn't say that...this can't be hap..."
Suddenly, her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out. I eased my arms under her, holding her up as well as I could.
And then my mind caught up to all the things she was saying. Her dad had been hospitalized a few months back because he'd OD'd. It was all over the news and social media. But then nothing, so I thought he must have gotten better.
But...
Oh, fuck.
Jackson Day was dead.