"Maybe," he conceded. "I'm still learning how to do this. None of your books tell me how, do they?"
"No, but can I give you a bit of advice?" I asked.
"Go for it."
"Stop trying to do everything yourself," I said simply. "I know that you're Superman and everything, but it just isn't necessary. You have a whole support system available to you. If you would stop pushing me away, you know I'm here for you. Your dad is probably there for you. And let's not forget Kayla. She isn't there for you, but she has her own support system. She has her own friends, her own family—she is not your responsibility, Derek."
He sighed. "We're not going to start fighting about her again, are we?"
"Not unless you get defensive when I'm just trying to talk to you," I returned evenly.
Acknowledging that I was right, he bowed his head sheepishly. "I'm not there for Kayla, Nikki. You know that you're the one I care about."
After a brief hesitation, I amended, "I… would like to know that, Derek, but lately it doesn't feel that way."
"Nikki, if I didn't care about you I would just get back together with Kayla and make my life a hell of a lot easier. How can you possibly not know that I care about you?"
"I do think you care about me, I'm just not sure that you care enough."
He just stared at me. "I don't understand how that's possible."
I wasn't sure how to have the conversation we needed to have without fighting, but since I had him at my house, I figured even if we did end up fighting, I could most likely control the situation.
"Derek… I need you to do something for me."
"Name it," he said.
"I need you to prove that you care about me. It's nice to hear, yes, but I need you to show it."
He sighed, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. "How am I supposed to do that?"
"Leave Kayla alone. I know that it isn't simple, but you need to set boundaries. You're letting her think she can just yank on your leash and you'll come running. I need you to stop doing that. I don't care if Kayla calls you crying. She's a viper, Derek, and a liar and… everything else that I would like to say, but won't out of respect for your kid."
"I know you don't like her…"
"It's more than that, Derek. She manipulates you. I know you don't always realize it, but she does. I don't know why, I don't know what her problem is, or exactly what's up her sleeve, but it's like she just enjoys playing with our lives. Please stop letting her. Stop lying to me; you know I will find out eventually, so what's the point?"
"I don't try to lie to you, Nikki. I already told you that I was going to tell you about dinner."
"Did you lie to me about when you found out?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I told you, Kayla called me, it was just one of those things, it had just happened, and I needed to help her do some damage control. It isn't going to happen often, it was a one-time thing."
"Derek, she lied to you," I told him.
He frowned a little. "What?"
"She lied to you about that dinner, about her mother accidentally finding out. It was not a last minute thing. Kayla was planning that dinner with her grandparents for several days, she just lied and used tears to get you to agree to it. I don't know why, I just know that she did."
"No, that's not… Her mom had just found out, that was the whole reason I had to be there."
"No, she lied about that," I corrected.
Derek frowned, and I could tell he was mulling it over, but he wasn't convinced that I was right.
"Did you have pie for dessert?" I asked.
One eyebrow shot up. "Yeah."