Comfort Side Of Heaven Page 7

  “He was a great man inside and out and we were all lucky to have had him in our lives.” I can hear the sadness in Roger’s voice.

  “Every daughter should know what a great man their dad is. That’s his legacy in life, to have family who knew the real him and will remember and honor his memory.” I look at Nick and I know the sadness this man holds inside him from the loss of his family. Maybe that’s what has bonded us, the sadness of losing someone we love. I feel the same bond with Haddie.

  “My dad met my mom when she was a groupie of the band. I know how bad it sounds when I say any of the band members could have been my father. I’m not supposed to know that fact, but I heard it in whispered conversations when I was a child. Some people threw it in my mom’s face and then others just whispered behind her back. I didn’t know why people were so mean to my mom until I realized most of the time my mom started the arguments by being vindictive towards whoever it was, or she was trying to act like she ran things around the mansion—which most of the time she did. My dad hated arguing so he would just give her whatever she wanted. I never knew until after my dad’s death that she was holding me over his head.” I look at Haddie for strength to go on. I glance at Nick and he looks deep in thought. “I never knew the lengths that my dad went to keep us all living in the same house, so I would have some semblance of a normal childhood.”

  “How did you find out? Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding your mom can clear up.” Haddie is trying to understand how a mom could be so awful and self-centered but a woman like Haddie could never understand the brand of twisted that my mom was and still is.

  “Tell them all of it Lyric. You’ve gone this far, so finish it.” I know Roger is right.

  “There’s many stories I could share to make you understand Katrina Lea Stanley-Dade. The fact she wanted me to call her by her nickname, Kat, in public should cover most of it. She may have hated the nickname, but she thought it made her sound younger. The only exception was if we were in front of the paparazzi, then she wanted to be known as Mom. The house staff raised me unless Dad was home. The rest of the time she had me signed up for extracurricular classes so I didn’t bother her and she wouldn’t need to hire additional staff to take care of me. That would have alerted my dad and Mom didn’t want that. She kept everything hidden from Dad.” I feel a lump in my throat and I swallow slowly to make it clear and give me time to collect myself. I don’t want to lose control of my emotions in front of everyone. “After the accident I wanted to be close to my mom, she was the only parent I had left and even though I was a teenager and was very aware that Mom had no kind of emotional bond with me, I needed her. The more I tried to get close, the more she pushed me away except for when a photographer was nearby. I gave up and stayed to myself except for the band members and my best friend, Zane—who is the son of one of the band members. After the services and the reading of my dad’s will my mom was furious. My dad only left her with one dollar and an allowance to live on while she was raising me which was a big cut in what she usually spent each month. First, she blamed the band, then Mr. Stanton and finally me. It was everyone’s fault but hers even though she had already moved her boyfriend into our home and her bed.”

  “You poor child.” Haddie moves closer to me and tries to take me in her arms but I resist. I can’t feel the comfort of her arms if I am going to finish this. Haddie’s face falls and I know I hurt her feelings, but I look at Nick for understanding.

  “Haddie let the girl get the entire story out and then you can mother-hen her. Can’t you tell she’s hanging on by a thread? She just needs to get it out.” I give Nick a thankful look and Haddie sits back. I will apologize when everything is done.

  “Things went from bad to worse when Mom found out that she couldn’t so much as take a family picture out of the house to sell to get her more money. Dad left me everything in his will, but I would only get a generous allowance each month to live on until I turned twenty-one. Until I snuck out and ran away my mom demanded I turn it over to her each month. I wasn’t fighting with her over money, so I had it transferred. The house had a budget to run on, so I had food to eat and money in my savings that she didn’t even know about. I also had a credit card that my dad gave me for emergencies when I turned thirteen. He trusted me with it instead of my mom and I guess that should have been a red flag to me, but I was only thirteen and I was proud of myself because my dad trusted me.” I am feeling overwhelmed, but I push through. “I stayed with my mom and her boyfriend in our home. I thought I could just avoid the two of them. Since my mom never wanted me around anyway it should have been easy. I was too busy mourning Dad to do anything but go to school every day and sometimes that was hard. It got easier for a little while when the photographers finally quit following me around as much. I didn’t understand why they didn’t just go away. I was no one. I went to school and came home. I even stopped all my after-school activities. Mom didn’t argue with me and I thought just maybe we might get along for a short minute, but I should have known better.” I look at Mr. Stanton and then I laugh to myself and remember that he wants me to call him Roger—that’s going to take some getting used to. I know I’m stalling. It’s time to tell the rest. “The last few months became very uncomfortable for me, or more uncomfortable, I should say. My mom and Greg would leave their bedroom door open at night. The house was big, and my room wasn’t close to their room, but shouldn’t my mom at least have the decency to close the door? The noises from her room became louder each night. I began keeping my earbuds in with music blasting to keep the noises away. It was disgusting. I walked in on them in the den a couple of times and then in my dad’s office. I could never bleach those images from my memory if I tried. Who wants to find any parent in a sexual situation? I let Roger know about what was happening and he spoke to Mom about it. She was livid with me. She slapped me—it was the first time—and I was so stunned I ran to my room.” Nick gets up and walks over to me and I scoot closer to Haddie, so he can sit beside me.

  “I think that’s enough for today. I can see the pain in your eyes and you need a break,” Nick tells me, but I don’t want to relive this a second time.

  “No, I need to tell you all of it because I am not doing this again. I just need to get some water,” I tell them with conviction in my voice.

  “I’ll get us all some refreshments,” Haddie volunteers but I just need a minute to get myself in check and the sooner the better.

  “No, it’ll only take me a minute, if that’s alright?” I look at three concerned faces. I know Haddie and Nick are shocked at what I have told them this far, it’s hard to miss by the look on their faces and Roger knows it all. I don’t wait for someone to say no. I get up and walk out of the parlor and up the hall into the kitchen. I get a glass out of the cabinet and quickly turn the faucet on and fill my glass. I swallow and enjoy the coolness of the water going down my parched throat. I put the cool glass up to my cheeks and then my forehead trying to cool my skin. I take another drink and pour the rest down the drain and leave the glass in the sink and turn to return to my friends. That is what I have found in Comfort, friends—friends that feel more like family than the family I have. My apprehension is gone. I have done nothing wrong. I just don’t want people to treat me any differently than they do anyone else. I have been treated differently ever since I can remember for one reason or another and now, I just want to be an ordinary person. If I want that, then it’s timeI quit hiding and come out from behind the shadows. I turn and leave the room and go back to the parlor. I hear hushed voices and I know they are discussing me, and I have given them plenty to talk over, but I need to be the one giving the answers, not Roger. I walk in and Nick has returned to his chair and I try to give everyone reassuring smiles. I don’t know if it works but I know they all smile back. I sit beside Haddie and I don’t give anyone time to say anything.

  “As I was getting to, over the next few days Greg started coming into my room at night. It was unusual for him to say anything
nice to me, so I knew something was going on. He started telling me that he was much younger than my mom and more my age and that we could party together. I didn’t know Greg’s age and I didn’t want to know, plus I didn’t party. I just wanted him out of my room and for him to stay away from me. When I told him all this, he became enraged and he grabbed me by my throat and got close to my face. I couldn’t breathe and all I could see was how wild his eyes looked and the white powder under his nostrils. I didn’t know that Greg did drugs until that moment and then I became terrified. Greg pulled me to him by my throat, he licked the side of my face and then kissed my cheek and told me it would happen soon. After that I went still, and Greg let go of my throat and turned and left. I locked my door as soon as I came to my senses and barricaded my door. I called Roger a few hours later and he calmed me down. He asked me if I had talked to my mom about the things that had been happening and how uncomfortable they made me feel. I assured him that I had tried many times, but she shut me down every time. Roger let me know he believed me, that he would be there for me and he would help with all the legal papers. I was more to him than just another client, I was family. That put part of my fears at ease.

  “I made it through a long night and then went to school the next morning as if nothing was wrong. After I got through the day, Roger picked me up and we went back to his office. I made sure that all my assets were protected because Roger advised me to and we talked about me filing for emancipation as a last resort. Roger rerouted my allowance to a different account and we made a contingency plan if I ever needed emergency money and I couldn’t contact Roger and had to get out of the house. Roger was filing a petition to become my legal guardian until I turned eighteen but that would take time. I felt a little better when I left his office and one of his drivers dropped me off at my house. I was exhausted, and no one was home, so I went to my room and packed a couple of backpacks full of clothes and things I would never leave behind. I decided it was better to be safe than sorry. I had the plan of taking them to school and putting them in my locker. I guess I fell asleep because when I woke up on my floor it was dark outside. I finished what I was doing, and my stomach was growling. I put the backpacks out of sight, made sure my door was still locked and barricaded my door again—I didn’t want any unwanted guests. I took my shower for school the next day because first light of day, I was going to be out of the house so I could avoid Mom and Greg, hoping Roger would be able to take care of all the legal paperwork quickly. I dried my hair and went and got all the cash I had hidden in my room along with the credit card Dad gave me. I grabbed all my important papers, my phone, and charger and secured them in the bottom of my backpacks. I felt a little more at ease since I had everything ready for morning, but my stomach was still growling. I knew I would need to go to the kitchen to at least make a sandwich. I didn’t hear any noises in the house. I moved everything I had in front of the door, unlocked it and went out in the hall and there was still no movement that I could hear. I felt stupid and like I was being over dramatic. The thought went through my mind that my mom would not let anything happen to me, she just wanted more money. I relaxed a little and made my way down the stairs to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich and grabbed a bottle of water. I was almost back to the stairs when I heard a noise in the study and noticed a light coming from underneath the door. I walked towards the door out of curiosity and the then I heard the muffled voices get louder. The door was cracked open and I realized Greg was talking on the phone to someone. What I was hearing made my blood turn cold and a chill run up my spine. I heard Greg say that he had my mom right where he wanted her and that soon I would be under his thumb too. He planned to seduce me into his bed and get me pregnant, so he could convince me to marry him and he would have control over what I inherited at twenty-one.”

  That shocked me. I had never dated let alone slept with a man and I was a minor. Wouldn’t that get him put in jail? “He was reassuring whoever it was on the phone that he had everything under control and he had to take his time with me because I was standoffish. I don’t know who Greg was talking to, but it didn’t seem like a friendly conversation. I was thinking I had misunderstood my mom and she didn’t have anything to do with whatever Greg was planning and that maybe I had misread the whole situation. Right before the call ended, I heard Greg tell the person that if all else failed then he would use drugs to get me under control. I didn’t know how he thought he could do that because I had never been one to even experiment with drugs or alcohol. Yes, I was known as the girl that never went against what her parents told her. I started to back away from the door when the call ended but then I heard my mom’s voice asking Greg if he, whoever was on the phone, accepted the explanation that Greg told him and if they had the extension. I didn’t know who the ‘he’ was or what any of this meant. The only thing that I was very clear on was that my mom was very much aware of what was going on. I didn’t wait to hear anymore. I made my way to the stairs and back up to my room. I locked the door and made myself sit down and eat the sandwich. My stomach rebelled but I concentrated on one bite at a time—not tasting any of it. I knew then I had to get out and I wasn’t waiting on Roger to get the paperwork done.” I had gotten it out or at least most of it. I am sure I forgot some details. I felt so tired just by going through it again. I looked up for the first time in a while and I could see the tears in Haddie’s eyes and the anger in Nick’s. I was just glad that the one thing I didn’t see was pity. That’s the one thing I hated. No one needs to pity me. I was in a tough situation and I got myself out of it. I didn’t need pity, just understanding.

  “They both should have been horse-whipped. You don’t treat family that way or anyone for that matter. Money and possessions come and go but family is what should be cherished because when it’s gone, it can’t be replaced. It leaves a damn black hole where your heart used to be.” Nick is barely containing his anger.

  “Hush it, Nick. Let’s stay calm until Sage has it all out. She’s having a hard-enough time just telling it all.” Haddie squeezes my hand for reassurance.

  “That’s about it. I snuck out of the house and went to the bus station and bought a ticket across the state line. I took my phone and left Roger a text, so he wouldn’t be worried when Mom contacted him—if she did. I thought it would take her a day or two to figure out I was even missing. I left my room in an orderly manner, so she wouldn’t be suspicious. The few things that I carried with me were not enough to be missed and I could be absent from school for two days before they would call a parent. I then used my phone to set up a hotel room for myself and checked in the way my dad showed me to do on the phone. I had done the same thing when my dad was busy and we planned little getaways for just the two of us. I listed myself as a co-occupant so all I had to do was show my identification and credit card to get the key. It was easy enough. The bus ride seemed to take forever at first but once I relaxed a little, it was peaceful. It gave me time to think about my situation. I knew I was not returning to that house with Mom and Greg still in it. I also knew that even if I was emancipated or Roger became my guardian that my mom would not leave me alone about money. The more I thought about that phone call the more convinced I was that Greg or Greg and Mom owed someone money. I know Mom had thought Dad would leave her more or at least more control over the money he left me. My mom thought she had Dad fooled before he died because he didn’t argue with her anymore, but my dad was no one’s fool. He may have overlooked things for my benefit, but he knew some of what was going with Mom.” I stop for a brief time, trying to think of a way to make Haddie and Nick understand the reasoning behind my leaving for so long. Sometimes now, I question it in my own mind. Was I just being a coward for running? It seemed like the right thing at the time but now it’s not so clear.

  “As I said, I had no problem getting into my hotel room and the first thing I did was make sure everything was locked up and then fell into bed. I slept a full eight hours before I opened my eyes again. I don’t think I wo
uld have woken up then, but my stomach was growling, and I needed to pee in the worst way. I took care of my immediate business and then checked my phone. I had four messages from Roger but no others. I unpacked a few things and then took a nice hot shower. I called Roger, who I must say was furious with me.” I look at Roger and he is nodding.

  “That I was. I was frantic with worry for you; you took ten years off my life and I don’t have them to spare young lady,” Roger says in a quiet tone with a bit of humor in his voice. He can laugh now but that day he had nothing to laugh about.

  “We discussed everything I heard the night before and I told him my reasoning for my actions. He was reluctant to agree that I might be right in leaving for a little while, so he would have time to get paperwork filed and before a judge, but he had conditions before he would help me.” I look at Roger again.

  “I did indeed. Your best interest is all I was worried about and keeping you safe was at the top of that list along with your education. Lyric and I set up certain times for her to call each week. I also made sure she went completely off the grid or as much as was possible. She was still a minor and if I was caught aiding her then I would not only have lost my license to practice but would have been facing jail time as well. The thing that worked to our benefit was that I had some unnamed leverage over Katrina. I hadn’t been the family attorney for years and not been privilege to dirt swept under the rug and Katrina had most of that dirt. Lyric and I came to an understanding and we both kept up our end of the agreement. She continued with her education online and checked in every time on time. I just didn’t know that it would take so long for the court to come to a decision on the case. I still think Katrina or someone she knew had a hand in that and by the time Lyric was emancipated, over a year had passed. She refused to come home and deal with this until she was closer to twenty-one, when she receives her inheritance. I didn’t agree with her at first, but it was her decision and after a while I came to understand her reasoning. You see Lyric hates confrontation as much as Travis did. That’s why he never divorced Katrina; he didn’t want the hassle. It was easier to keep her with him and give her money to keep her satisfied than fight her in court. Lyric only wants to face Katrina one time in court and that is all she should be forced to do. Katrina has exhausted her many avenues to contest Travis’s will. I made it ironclad with no loopholes and on Lyric’s twenty-first birthday Katrina will only be left with her personal possessions, the car in her name, and one dollar from Travis’s estate plus she must leave the home she lives in now. No one was aware that Travis and Katrina signed a private prenuptial agreement. Katrina had even forgotten and in that pre-nup it stated she agreed to abide by Travis’s will. I don’t believe she even read the paper before she signed it. She wanted an expensive ring and the ‘I do’s’, so she would have agreed to anything at the time. She never dreamed that Travis would even consider divorcing her. That brings us to now. Lyric doesn’t need her inheritance to buy the farm or to get it in operating order as I have mentioned before. Travis provided well for her and after her mom was cut off from the money Lyric has saved most of it by living frugally and working to support herself. Much of the money has been sitting in a high yielding savings account and drawing interest. Lyric also has other liquid assets in her portfolio if needed. With all that said, my main reason for wanting this talk is when the funds are transferred from Lyric to you Nick, I will be unable to hide the transaction and Katrina will know where she bought the property and from whom. I have covered it temporarily, but I am sure that Katrina is watching all of Lyric’s assets so by the time this transaction is filed Katrina will be alerted. You have a very nice community here, but it is for lack of better words, small and close-knit. Katrina will show up here with her companion in tow and everyone needs to be on guard. They will spread rumors and paint Lyric out to be the villainous person in this scenario. Katrina can be very convincing and conniving. I worry for Lyric and anyone close to her because the two of them will try to tear Lyric’s life apart and torment her until she caves and gives them money. I was going to suggest to Lyric today that in her best interest that she may want to consider coming to a settlement with Katrina. I know it’s putting a Band-aid on a bigger problem, but that way Lyric will have time to acquaint herself better with people from the community and establish herself. It may be an easier situation.” Roger has his hands in front of him with his fingers steepled in front of his face. I knew this was coming. Roger is a shark in the courtroom and when dealing with people, but he would prefer to be fully prepared for what may come up and Mom is always a wildcard.