My phone buzzed, and I took it out. When I read what Eric texted, I gasped, “Oh, no...”
Lydia looked up from admiring her new necklace. “What’s wrong?”
“Eric’s about to do something really stupid, and it involves my daughter.”
Chapter 21
Jenner
“Why are we in front of this rundown shack?” Hamish asked. “Do you know this person?”
I patted my jacket pocket to make sure the piece of paper was still there. I lifted my fist but hesitated before knocking on the front door.
“It’s not a shack; it’s a house. Most middle-class people live in homes just like this.”
Hamish’s eyes widened. “Really? But it’s so... small.” He glanced over at the neighbor’s home. “And there’s almost no land. I bet the neighbor can look right into this person’s bedroom and see what they’re doing.” Then his face shifted to utter fear. “I’d hate for my neighbors to see what I got up to in my bedroom.”
“Enough about you. This is about my daughter.”
“Explain to me again why you are walking away from her and Lola? Because it sounds really stupid. Or maybe just the way you said it sounded dumb.”
Hamish may not have been the nicest friend I had, but at least I knew he’d be honest with me.
“It’s complicated. Basically, when I went to their penthouse in New York a decade ago to ask for help with burying my mother, Lola was the one I spoke to.”
“Yeah, I got that part. You told me she doesn’t seem to remember meeting you back then, and you never talked to her about it. I believe you said you’d hoped she forgot.”
I nodded. “Well, she was her usual sweet self, only she was a teenager. She wore braces and was gangly, all legs and arms. I thought she was pretty, but my nerves kept me from noticing anything else.”
“Right. Don’t want to ruin your chances of getting help by hitting on the teenage daughter.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “No, that’s not what I was thinking back then. What I meant was, I thought she was pretty, but I was more focused on getting the money. When you have nothing, Hamish, nothing else matters but money or food or putting a roof over your head. You live to survive. In my case, it was burying my mom.”
As much as I loved my friend, he couldn’t possibly understand what it was like to struggle. He may have been through some ordeals in his life, but he never worried about poverty.
“So, she turned you down? Didn’t want to give you money.”
The door flew open. There stood Eric with Jenni in his arms. “No, she didn’t turn you down; I did,” Eric said, much to my surprise.
As I watched Eric, I had the strangest feeling something wasn’t right about him. The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I watched my daughter. She seemed fine, thankfully, but Eric looked bad.
“Where’s Lola?” I asked, trying to gaze behind Eric and into the house.
“She’s at the estate. Funny thing is, she won’t give it to me. So, we switched places. I live in this place, and she lives in the grand estate. Maybe I should run away and have a baby, then my life will turn around.” Eric laughed a little too loud and way too long.
“My god, man, you look like shit.” Hamish frowned.
“Goddamn it, Hamish. Don’t cuss in front of Jenni.” Eric’s smile quickly turned cold.
As I looked at his bloodshot eyes, I realized something terrible.
He had fallen off the wagon.
“Have you taken any pills, Eric?” I tried to act casual, but my voice cracked on his name.
“What the fuck business is it of yours, Jenner? You don’t even want anything to do with my niece, so maybe you should just go away.”
Shit. I had to get Jenni away from Eric. I wanted to punch him for putting my daughter at risk, but that would be too dangerous.