Chapter 20

“We’ve got a little bit of time to kill until it’s done simmering,” I told Patrick after adding the last of the ingredients to the Chicken Cacciatore I was making.

“I can think of something,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist. I giggled, actually giggled.

“We don’t have that much time,” I declined.

“I can be quick,” he whispered, placing a kiss on my lips.

I was about to respond when there was a knock on the door. Patrick groaned as I pulled myself away from him. I figured it had to be a neighbor because I hadn’t buzzed anyone up. I realized I was wrong when I got to the door and opened it. I saw a teenage girl standing there who looked vaguely familiar.

“Are you Gabrielle Tunney?” she asked timidly. I noticed she had a gym bag with her on the floor.

“Yes, I am,” I told her cautiously. She looked relieved and nervous at the same time at my response.

“It’s Kaylen, Rachel’s daughter.” My eyes widened in shock and my breath caught in my throat. That was why she had looked familiar. It had been almost 10 years since I’d seen her, but she looked just like her mother.

“Kaylen, what are you doing here?” At my question she burst into tears and rushed into my arms. Not knowing what else to do, I pulled her into me and held her for a moment. “Okay, calm down. Why don’t you come in and we’ll talk?”

“Okay.” She sniffed before walking into my apartment. I walked over and grabbed her bag off the floor, a sinking feeling forming in my stomach. Had she run away? And why had she come to me?










Patrick waited in the kitchen for Gabrielle to get back. When she didn’t come back right away he started to wonder what was going on. Just as he was about to go see if she needed any help he saw a teenage girl walk around the corner. She jumped when she saw him, obviously not expecting him to be there. He noticed that she looked like she’d been crying.

“Oh, I’m sorry. She didn’t tell me anyone was here,” the girl apologized shyly. He smiled at her, not wanting to make her feel unwanted.

“That’s okay. We were just about to have dinner. Do you want to sit down and have some? There’s plenty,” he offered. She nodded and sat down at the table while he got up and grabbed another plate and set of silverware. Then he grabbed the Cacciatore off the stove and brought it over to the table. “Are you one of Gabrielle’s students?” he asked when he got back over to the table.

“No. She’s my aunt,” the girl told him. He looked at her in shock. Gabrielle’s niece? That couldn’t be. She’d told him she didn’t have any family.

“Oh, I didn’t realize. I’m Patrick,” he introduced himself, fighting the urge to question her.

“I’m Kaylen.” He placed the Cacciatore down on the table in front of her just as Gabrielle walked in. He looked up at her and gave her a questioning look. Gabrielle looked shocked herself.

“I’m going to go and let you and your niece catch up,” he told her, trying to keep the edge out of his voice. Gabrielle’s face fell at his statement and anger built up in him. So she had lied to him about not having any family. He grabbed his jacket off of one of the bar stools and headed right for the door.

“Patrick, wait!” he heard her call after him once he was in the hallway. He spun around on her.

“I thought you didn’t have any family,” he spat at her. He was both hurt and angry at the lie. Why would she have lied to him about that?

“I don’t,” she responded quietly.

“Is that or is that not your niece?” he asked pointing at her apartment, his voice raising a decibel. He saw tears well up in her eyes.

“You don’t understand,” she started.

“Cut the shit, Gabrielle. That’s not a hard question to answer. Yes or no?” He was losing patience with her.

“Yes,” she whispered so quietly he almost didn’t hear her. The anger surged through him at the answer. Instead of saying anything he might regret he turned and made his way to the elevator. “Patrick, please.”

“I need time,” he said through gritted teeth. The elevator opened in front of him and he got in without looking back at her.










I watched Patrick get on the elevator as tears fell down my cheeks. I wanted to chase after him, to explain, but I couldn’t. Right now Kaylen was in my apartment and something had obviously really upset her. Upset her enough to search me out and come to me. I wiped the tears away and shook Patrick out of my mind before walking back in.

“Did he leave because of me?” Kaylen asked.

“No, honey, he left because he wanted to give us time to talk. Why don’t you start by telling me what you’re doing here?” She looked down at her hands in her lap and stayed silent. After a few moments I knew she wasn’t going to tell me right then. “Okay, well, why don’t we eat first? Are you hungry?”

She nodded and I sat down at the table across from her. I handed her the serving utensils and she took some food. I did the same when she was done and we began to eat. Neither of us said anything while we did. It wasn’t until we were both done and I’d picked up the dishes that I turned back to her.

“Okay, Kaylen, you need to tell me what’s going on,” I told her firmly. I saw tears building up in her eyes again, but she still didn’t answer me. Then something hit me that I probably should have thought of before. “Do your parents know you’re here?”

“No,” she croaked out. I covered my face with my hands. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come.” I sat up and looked at Kaylen.

“It’s okay, really. I just need to call your mother.” Boy did I not look forward to making that phone call.

“No!” she yelled out quickly. I turned back to her.

“Then you need to tell me what’s going on.”

“They didn’t want me,” she mumbled.

“Who didn’t?” I prodded.

“Mom and Dad. They don’t want me.” My heart broke for her when I heard that. I knew that feeling all too well.

“That’s not true, honey. They love you.” She shook her head adamantly.

“I heard them talking. They were fighting. They were saying that I was too much trouble and blaming each other for how I’d turned out.”

My heart broke for her. I highly doubted that my sister and her husband didn’t want or love Kaylen, but I also knew how hurtful hearing things like that could be. I let her talk, get everything out of her system before interjecting and giving her any advice or an opinion. I didn’t want to push her away and cause her to run out, because if she’d come to me, then she really wouldn’t have anywhere to go after.

She got everything she’d been holding inside of her out, telling me that nothing she did was good enough, they didn’t understand her, they didn’t support any decision she made. To be honest it was fairly typical problems a 14 year old might have with their parents. There was just one difference. That difference was Rachel and her husband Lance.

Rachel was the oldest of my two sisters and 12 years older than me. There was a big age difference between both Rachel and Bailey and I, but Rachel and I had always been the most distant. To Rachel, if it wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t okay. At least she’d been like that when I was growing up. I doubted that in the almost 10 years I’d been away from home that she’d changed much.

I talked to Kaylen for a while trying to reassure her that Rachel and Lance did in fact love her, and that there would always be fights. That didn’t mean that any of it was Kaylen’s fault. I eventually got her calmed down enough to get her parents’ phone number out of her. I picked up the phone and prepared myself for a phone call I didn’t want to make. I hadn’t spoken to Rachel since I’d left home and I really didn’t know what to expect when I called and told her that her daughter was currently with me. I took a deep breath and dialed.

“Hello?” a female voice answered.

“Rachel?” I asked.

“Yes,” she responded cautiously. I doubt many people called her and addressed her like that.

“Hi, it’s Gabrielle.”