As long as she had these memories, of these times with her father to reflect on, she knew she could always find that happiness.
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
A week later
Neeka’s life was slowly going back to normal, or as normal as it could be given what had happened. She hadn’t gone back to work for the simple fact her father’s health was deteriorating and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with him.
He was her priority, even if her trauma from being kidnapped, and her feelings for Gage, threatened to take a front seat.
She sat beside his bed as her father slept, the soft sounds of Bach, her father’s favorite composer, playing. A tray of food sat on the floor beside her, the chicken broth she’d prepared for him sitting cold and uneaten.
He’d lost more weight, if that were even possible, and his skin had taken on an ashen hue, his eyes sunken in. He looked like he’d aged so much, the disease taking control, slowly eating away at him.
She held his hand, his breaths slow and uneven. She knew his time was coming to an end and that there was nothing to be done. It had been her father’s wish to pass at home, and she was thankful she was with him and could be here for when he did let go.
Neeka closed her eyes and leaned back in the recliner, never taking her hand from her father’s. She felt the slightest pressure against her palm and looked over at him, her father’s sleepy gaze looking at her.
“Hi, sweetie.”
“Hi, Daddy.” She sat up and leaned toward him, kissing their conjoined hands as she smiled. He tried to sit up, but she shook her head.
“Save your strength, Daddy.”
“I love you so much, Neeka.”
“I love you, too, Dad.” He closed his eyes again, a smile on his chapped lips as he sighed in contentment.
She stayed hunched over his bed for the next hour, watching as his respirations slowed until he finally stopped breathing altogether. Everything in her froze as the realization of what had happened took root.
She let herself cry. Theo came into the room and helped her out of the room, and she let him. Her father’s suffering was over, but that didn’t mean the pain had faded.
Neeka sat at her desk staring at her computer. The laptop was off, the monitor black as she looked at her distorted reflection on the screen. Three weeks had passed since Gage had taken her away from that hellhole and her father had left this Earth.
But it still felt like everything had happened just yesterday. The pain was still there, the hurt, worry, and nervousness still strong.
She tried to get on with her life, knowing she didn’t have a future with Gage, and also knowing her father wouldn’t have wanted her grief to consume her. They’d talked about it plenty of times when they’d found out about his prognosis.
She missed her father, and she missed the life she used to have. And on top of all that she missed Gage.
Despite the common sense that she would never have any kind of future with Gage, and trying to really understand and process that, she’d been getting comfort from Theo. He was gentle with her, listened to her, even let her cry as he held her. It was nice not to be alone, but that didn’t mean it felt right having Theo hold her.
She felt nothing but friendship for the man.
Despite Neeka getting comfort from Theo, she also felt strange having him hold her. Maybe it was because of her feelings for Gage and how she felt wrong having another man hold her so comfortingly.
The fact that Theo was always around her, hardly giving her any personal space was also not helping the situation, and she felt like she was being smothered.
“Hey.”
She looked over her shoulder to see Theo standing in the doorway, as if her thoughts conjured him. Her skin tightened at the smile he gave her and she hated that after everything she’d gone through she was feeling this way toward Theo.
It had to be her, had to be because of the trauma she’d gone through. Right?
He wore a tuxedo and held a single tulip. Feeling her brows knit in confusion, her heart started to beat a little faster.
“Hi.” She turned fully and looked down at the tulip. “Where are you off too so dressed up?”
“I thought you could use a night out on the town. You need to get out of this house. It isn’t good for you to stay cooped up in here all the time.”
She instantly felt the need to say no, that when she was ready she’d leave, but she didn’t say the words. “I’m not really in the mood to go out, Theo.”
“Neeka, I’ve been trying to get you out of this house for the past two weeks now. Just come with me to dinner, that’s all I’m asking.” He gave her a charming smile, but it didn’t move her, and in fact it looked a little off. No, something felt wrong about this.