tell Lance, she didn’t give me the chance to.
“She thought I deserved to know what was going on. And she’s worried about you. And frankly, so am I. How could you do that? How could you bring him here? How could you risk your safety and Ellie’s?”
“I’m not risking anyone’s safety. Jace isn’t dangerous,” I argue. “And you don’t understand.”
“Oh, I understand all right. And I get why you felt compelled to help him. Keira told me about his brother. And I feel for the guy, I do. But really, you can’t possibly think this is a good idea. He’s an addict, Oakley. A drug addict.”
“He’s clean. I drug tested him before I brought him here.”
“So he was clean when you brought him here. How long do you think that’s gonna last?”
“Don’t pretend like you know anything about him.”
“Only I do. I know he almost killed you. I know he’s been in and out of rehab a few times and it’s never stuck. And I know he’s not the kind of person you should want around your daughter.”
“He’s not around my daughter.” My temper flares. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Not my business?” he balks. “Not my business? Not my business that my girlfriend just moved a drug addict in, and that said drug addict could hurt her and her little girl, both of which I love.”
“He’s a recovering addict,” I correct him, not sure why I feel the need to defend Jace. It’s not like Lance is saying anything I haven’t already said to myself. But I don’t know, something about hearing him say it really makes me mad. He doesn’t know Jace and therefore he doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about.
“And what about Ellie?”
“What about Ellie?”
“He’s her father.”
“And?”
“And, what if he puts it together? What if he sees her and pieces it together? What then?”
“He won’t. He’s only going to be here a couple of days and he’s not allowed to come to the house.”
“Doesn’t mean he won’t. Or that he won’t see her when you leave to take her to Keira’s tonight. Or when you bring her home in the morning. Are you really willing to risk him finding out the truth?”
“It wouldn’t change anything if he did.”
“Wouldn’t change anything?” He draws back. “Oakley, he is her father. Do you really think if he finds out that you’ve been keeping his daughter from him for nearly three and a half years that it won’t change anything? What if he tries to take her from you? What if he fights you for parental rights?”
“He won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I know him. Ellie is better off with me. I know he’ll see it that way too.”
“You knew him, Oakley. As in past tense. It’s been what, four years since you were together. People change. A lot can happen in four years, especially when you live the type of lifestyle he’s accustomed to.” He blows out a frustrated breath. “You have to let go of this idea you have of him and face reality. The guy you loved is long gone.”
“You think I don’t know that?” My voice goes up an octave. “You think I don’t see him for who he is? I do. But I also know him at his core. And while he’s made some very bad choices over the years, I don’t believe he’s past the point of redemption. People get clean every single day. People stay clean for decades.”
“And yet isn’t that why you left him? Why you hid his daughter from him? Because you didn’t believe he was capable of getting sober?”
“At the time I didn’t. But now, I don’t know. Something’s different this time.”
“How do you know? How do you know it’s different? You left him before he ever stepped foot in rehab. How do you know it wasn’t like this every time he got out?”
“I don’t.” My voice echoes off the walls around us. I quickly move to lower it, not wanting to alert Ellie.
“Exactly. You don’t. So why, why are you doing this to yourself? You left that life behind for a reason, remember? Now here you are, years later, opening yourself back up to a cancer that could potentially destroy everything.”
Angry tears well behind my eyes. I’m just not sure who I’m angrier with – Lance or myself. He’s right. Everything he’s saying is completely true. And yet for some reason I can’t shake the feeling that things are different now.
Before I left, before the accident,