I hugged Jon hard, wishing that he would stay and knowing that he couldn’t. “Call us when you land,” I begged. “Okay?”
Jon hugged me tighter and hummed softly into my hair. “I will,” he promised. “Be a brat while I’m gone, really piss off Patrick for me.”
“Don’t encourage her.”
I laughed and buried my face in Jon’s jacket. I didn’t want him to go, but I couldn’t keep him here and away from his responsibilities. Patrick stood a bit behind me and when I finally released Jon I stepped back so they could say goodbye. A slow smirk spread across the older man’s face and he held out his arms, waiting for a hug.
“I’m not hugging you,” Pat said flatly. “Don’t make this weird.”
“Oh, come on, I won’t bite.”
I gave Pat a light push and he groaned before letting Jon pull him in for a hug. He was like a kid when they don’t want to hug someone; his arms at his side and a bored look on his face.
“Be a good little boy while I’m gone,” Jon teased as he pulled away, ruffling Pat’s hair.
“You two are awful,” I complained, immediately pulling Pat to my side to keep him from retaliating. “We’ll see you soon, say ‘hi’ to Mari for me.”
“I will,” he promised again.
An announcement came over the loudspeaker and Jon waved while heading off to the gates. I leaned into Patrick’s side as he rubbed my arm and waited until Jon had disappeared into the crowd. Eventually we had to leave and I knew Pat was getting anxious to see his dad, especially since I was coming with him.
“What was that about?” I asked as we slid into the backseat of the car. “With Jon, I mean.”
Patrick shrugged and used his translation app to give the driver some instructions. This was Jon’s gift to us this morning so we could stop fucking around with cabs; a hired driver and a private car that would take us anywhere for the rest of the weekend. I wished Pat had done it sooner but honestly I don’t think he had thought we could get one, which I hadn’t either.
“His moods drive me crazy,” he replied once the car was heading away from the airport. “Everything is his way and he wanted to wait about telling you but now that it’s out he’s all affectionate and acts like he always wanted this… It bothers me sometimes.”
I took his hand in mine and kissed his ring. “We’re all going through a lot, try to give him a little extra patience.”
Patrick let out a long sigh and rolled his head from shoulder to shoulder. “You need the patience of a saint to spend any amount of extended time with him.” He cocked an eyebrow at me and leaned in to whisper, “That’s why Christine went crazy.”
“You’re so bad!” I cried, shoving him while he laughed. “Ohmigod, you’re awful. And she’s not crazy, I’m sure she’s going through a lot too.”
He shook his head and relaxed into his seat with his arm against the window. “Watch her turn into Betty Broderick,” he said quietly.
I smacked his arm and could see him smirking at his reflection. “Don’t even, you know about as much about their relationship as I do and neither of us has any idea what’s gone on behind closed doors.”
“You know, sometimes it’s as simple as a woman scorned. It doesn’t have to be deep and meaningful.”
“You know, sometimes you can be a sexist jerk.”
Patrick reached out and pulled me to his side despite my protests. “I’m trying to get you going, don’t crucify me yet.”
I huffed and cast him a harsh glare, Pat just chuckled and kissed the top of my head despite the irritation radiating off of me. Give him some leeway, this trip hasn’t been easy for anyone. It wasn’t like Patrick had sexist behaviour as a regular thing, it wasn’t even what I was annoyed about; it was his attitude about Christine. I didn’t have good feelings about her, but that was Jon’s family, the mother of his only child, and a woman he’d been married to longer than I was alive. It wasn’t fair to chalk it up to her just being a ‘woman scorned’ or ‘crazy’. I mean, Morgan had done way more against all three of us to harm our relationships than Christine ever could, and Patrick had barely said anything about or against him.
“Dia?”
I jerked in surprise, realizing that I had been zoning out. “Sorry?”
“You just looked worried, that’s all.”
“Oh, yeah…” I glanced down at the bands of platinum around my wrists and mulled over my sudden concern. “What happened to Morgan?”
Silence filled the car and a pit formed in my stomach; I should have asked this question sooner. Patrick cleared his throat before explaining, “He’s banned from Plaisir, but that’s about it.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s working with the office, Charles said he’s being offered the COO position.” He sounded apologetic when he said it, but that didn’t change how angry it made me to hear it.
“You’re kidding me, right? You can’t tell me that he’s just working there with no other repercussions.” I was trying to keep myself calm but this conversation wasn’t making it easy.
“Lydia, I know how you feel, trust me, I do, but we don’t have any real proof outside of our speculation and knowing he accessed the camera’s at Plaisir. That doesn’t mean he’s the one who sold the story, and without that I can’t get him blacklisted.”
“You have more money than god,” I snapped. “Your family has connections everywhere, and you want me to believe that you can’t make a few calls?”
His mouth went into a hard line and he removed his arm from my waist. “It’s a bit difficult to use connections like that when I’m being ridiculed for fucking an intern and people don’t even want to be seen with me.”
Ouch. I looked away and folded my hands into my lap. “Being rude to me about our relationship doesn’t help anyone,” I told him quietly.
“Neither does berating me about not doing more to destroy someone else’s career.”
I sighed and fidgeted with my rings; twisting them and moving them across my fingers and back again. “Do you think we’ve had too much togetherness?” I teased, trying to lighten the mood.
Pat let out a breathy laugh and rubbed his forehead. “I think so…” He sighed and lolled his head back against the seat as he watched me. “We’re going to have to get over that when you move in.”
My stomach fluttered and a wave of excitement washed over me. Moving in. I’d never lived with a boyfriend before, I guess I’d half-assed lived with Pat and Jon now but that was a week or so at a time, not permanent. I gasped loudly and Patrick jumped in his spot. “Ohmigod, can we redecorate together?”
He groaned. “You want to torture me, don’t you?”
“Not like, everywhere in the apartment, but some of your furniture is hideous,” I continued. “We could redo the living room and maybe the master bedroom—”
“Or I could hand you the credit card and all it a day.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a baby.”
Patrick snickered and a little while later we were pulling up a gravel driveway. I glanced out the window and my jaw just about hit the floor; it was a castle. A literal, actual castle, a small version granted but still.
Several towers shot into the blue-grey sky, flanking either side was lush greenery – mostly forest – and ivy crawled from the garden up the front walls and windows. The double doors were more evocative of a church than of a mansion or any kind of home, and several windows on the towers were stained-glass. I didn’t even notice that I had still been gawking at the home until Patrick came around my side of the car and opened the door.
“Your highness,” he said, offering his hand.
I took it and he pulled me out of the car to my feet. “Are we in a historical romance now? Are you the Duke that I, the lowly chambermaid, fell in love with?”
“I’m not the king in this scenario?” he asked, trying to look offended.
I smiled and tossed my hair over my shoulder. “No, that’s Jon.”
Patrick grabbed me from behind making me squeal while he whispered in my ear that he would show me who was really the boss later. I giggled and looped my arms up around his neck as he tried to tickle my sides. My laughter turned to gasps and yelping when he actually did find the ticklish spots, I doubled over and tried to break away but he just held me to him and refused to let go.
“Patryk?”
We were caught off guard and quickly straightened up, my face burned and I adjusted my shirt before meeting the gaze of the man now standing in the doorway. He looked like Pat, but not; this man was clearly older, his hair was darker, and there was just something about him that seemed off. I had to assume this was his brother, but I mean, who else would it be?
“A.J.,” Patrick greeted as he casually swept his hair back. “I didn’t think you were talking to me.”
A.J. pursed his lips but didn’t say anything, instead, he just held open the door and waited for us to climb the steps. As he shut it Patrick slipped his hand into mine and smiled warmly at me.
“A.J. this is Lydia, my girlfriend.”
“Cześć, Lydia,” he greeted, shaking my free hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you, it’s nice to actually meet you.”
You have? “Cześć, it’s nice to meet you too.” I looked to Patrick questioningly and he rubbed the back of his neck before clearing his throat.
“Is Aleksy upstairs?” he asked, just pretending I wasn’t looking at him.
“Tak, he said he was expecting you…” he trailed off and glanced anxiously upstairs. “Patryk, just… he’s not looking very good today. Be easy on him.”
My stomach went into a free fall but I forced myself to keep my face blank, not wanting to worry Patrick or make it obvious to A.J. that I didn’t have high hopes considering everything I already knew. Taking Patrick by the arm I guided us further into the house and let him lead us up the stairs. I wasn’t going to let him dwell and freak himself out. He seemed to move almost robotically towards the door at the end of the hall, the one next to the beautiful stained-glass window made to look like a rose. Footsteps behind me told me that A.J. was following us, probably to lend something like moral support in case Aleksy’s condition was worse than we expected.
Patrick pushed the door open and we stepped inside. My eyes struggled to readjust to the much darker room; I could hear the beeping of machines and I zeroed in on the mutli-coloured lights coming from them, there was enough muted sunlight coming in from behind the curtains that I could see a man stretched out on the bed beside the machines. Aleksy looked frail from what I could see; thin, hair stringy, and he could barely sit up when we came into the room.
“Aleksy,” Patrick greeted softly. “I brought Lydia with me today.” He gestured to me and the smile he had made my heart flutter in return.
“Lydia,” he murmured, reaching out. “Oh, I can already see why he had trouble staying away from you.”
His comment caught me off-guard and I laughed, to which he just smiled and patted the side of the bed for me to sit down. The mattress shifted under my weight and Patrick helped the man into more of a sitting position.
“It’s good to finally meet you,” I said after he had gotten comfortable. “Patrick talks about you a lot, but I still don’t feel like I know anything about you or your family.”
“Does he?” Aleksy asked, cocking his eyebrow. “I can’t imagine what’s so fascinating about me when he has you around.”
My face burned and laughed sheepishly, shifting in my spot. Now I knew where Patrick got his charm from. “Does the charm start when your feet hit the floor or did you turn it on just for me?” I teased, trying not to focus on my heated cheeks.
“Just for you,” he promised with a wink that reminded me so much of Patrick I felt like I was looking into the future. “I’m glad he brought you, I asked him too but I didn’t know how you would feel about meeting me given the circumstances.”
“I didn’t really ask,” Patrick admitted with a shrug. “I just told her to come.”
I cast Pat a sidelong glare that he paled under. “You suggested I could come,” I corrected him. “Let’s not get into the territory of telling me what to do, because you’re not going to like what happens next.”
Patrick’s father chuckled weakly and patted my knee. “I’m glad you came either way, I just wanted to meet the woman that’s taking care of my youngest for me.”
Woman. There was no second guessing when he said it and that made me thrilled that this man didn’t immediately refer to me as a girl or a child and he clearly saw me as an adult, despite what so many others wanted to say.
“I think I’m greying him more than I am taking care of him,” I replied, reaching up to stroke Pat’s hair affectionately.
He snorted and pulled me close enough to kiss my cheek. “I’ll be greyer than Jon is by the time we get back to New York.”
“Ah, and you’re still in the honeymoon phase,” Aleksy said with a longing sigh. “Make it last while you can, everything that comes later will be easy compared to now.”
I giggled and Patrick just held me to him with his nose in my hair, breathing me in while Aleksy watched with growing amusement.
“Patrick told me there’s another man?” Aleksy asked more than said, looking at me expectantly.
My face burned again and this time hotter than before. “Y-yeah, um, Jon. He’s gone back home to be with his daughter right now.”
“You’ll still take care of my son though, won’t you? I just want to know that all of my children will be alright once I’m gone.”
I looked back at Patrick, holding his gaze as he stared back at me. Reaching up, I stroked his cheek and smiled softly. “Of course, I will.”
He smiled back and laid his hand over mine for a moment. “She says that, but she already plans on torturing me with furniture shopping.”
I groaned in response and shoved him lightly, making him grin.
Aleksy started to laugh and drew our attention, it made me smirk in return until he started to cough and the machines went crazy. A woman in maroon scrubs came running into the room and immediately rushed to help Aleksy. I moved off the bed at Patrick’s urging, having been rooted to the spot in surprise. He held me to him, his grip tightening painfully on my upper arm as we watched her with the man.
Fear gripped me in a vice and all I could do was press myself up against Pat. The machines weren’t quieting down and my heart was starting to race; I was back in the hospital with my dad, being held back by my mom while the nurses tried to start his heart again. Don’t make me see this again. Please. Tears ran down my face in a constant stream and I was vaguely aware that I needed to leave, it wasn’t good to show someone in a delicate state that you were scared or upset because it could scare them too.
“I’m sorry, I need a minute,” I whispered hoarsely, detaching myself from Patrick.
I was gasping for air when I got into the hallway and the door shut behind me. I covered my mouth with my hands and sniffled quietly, trying just to calm myself down. In my head, I could hear Danielle crying, nurses whispering, and I could still feel the cold of the hospital hallway. Patrick, I’m sorry. I wanted to be in there with him, there for comfort and love and not letting him be alone for this.
Patrick came out after a minute and glanced briefly at me before rushing down the hall. I watched him go and a minute or so return with A.J. and a woman around the same age with light brown hair and an equally worried look about her. Pressing myself against the wall, I wrapped my arms around my waist and watched the door as the hallway seemed to close around me. I don’t know how long I stood there, just watching and waiting but the light coming in through the window beside me faded and the vibrant stained-glass rose slowly disappeared into a flat black reflective surface.
Eventually I started pacing, needing to focus on something instead of the eerie silence that surrounded me. I stared down at the purple and crème carpet, waiting for the swirling pattern to suddenly change and for me to wake up out of this weird dream. The door suddenly opened, creaking as it did and I turned on my heel to see Patrick coming toward me and enveloping me into his embrace without pause.
“Pat,” I whispered. “I’m here…”
“He’s gone,” he choked out. “I don’t want to be here when they come for his body, I need to go.”
“Alright.”
We left without a word to anyone and as our car pulled back down the drive way another two cars pulled in; large black vehicles that I craned my neck around to see. As I turned, I noticed Patrick’s shoulder shake and I froze. He was crying. I reached for him and held his head to my chest, his arms looped around me and I heard him sniffle quietly.
“I didn’t think it would be like this,” he told me after a minute.
“I know,” I soothed, petting his hair. “I’m here for you, for anything you need to talk about.”
“You know what the worst part is?”
“What?”
“I wish Jon hadn’t left after all.”