Here for You Ch. 21-23

Ben shook his head sadly. "You're sick. You need to get help."

"I just need you, Ben," she whispered.

He stood and went to open the door. "I'm going to seek full custody of River. You've done enough damage; like hell if I'm going to let you come near us ever again," he said and slammed the door behind him.

Chapter 23

Elle didn't feel like going to work on Monday morning, but she forced herself to wake up and go to the office anyway. She had lost her waitressing job; she couldn't afford to lose this one too. By the end of the day, however, she was called to the manager's office who greeted her somberly. He handed her an envelope and apologized to her. The events that had happened to Elle over the weekend had reached the CEO's ears and he could not allow a person with a record, even though she was already proven innocent, to continue working at the hotel.

Throughout the meeting, Elle was quiet. She couldn't defend herself even if she wanted to; she was completely numb. Taking the envelope that contained her severance pay, she made her way back to her desk. She was grateful that the manager allowed her to stay until all her colleagues had left before having the security to observe her clearing her personal items from her cubicle and escorting her out of the office.

For the next several days, Elle tried to process her harrowing experience. She had lost a good-paying job and a boyfriend overnight. And she had lost a family which she loved and would have loved to be a part of in the future. She had stopped crying, though. The incident was an eye-opener for all the people who was supposed to trust and love her.

It strengthened her belief that she was not as important to Ben as she had thought. She had certainly never thought of being his number one, as she had known all along that his son was always going to be his priority, a fact which she understood and accepted. But she had thought she was important enough for him to trust her implicitly.

So when Ben called her, she picked it up only after a moment of hesitation. She figured she deserved an apology from him at least. But after hearing his sincere apology for the fifth time in less than two minutes, she wanted nothing more than to get off the phone.

"I know. Stop apologizing," she said wearily. It was too little, too late. She was still in love with him, but even she knew it was not enough to salvage their relationship.

"I don't deserve forgiveness for what I did to you," he said, "But I really am truly sorry."

"You were just protecting your son; I understand that," she said.

"I know you won't be coming back to the diner even if I asked you to, so... if there's any way I can help, I'll be glad to do it," he said.

"Don't worry about it," she said curtly. The city which had always been her lucky charm had become her personal hell; her manager at the hotel had been forbidden to give her a reference and she couldn't find a job since she didn't have the educational qualifications. Even if she needed help, she won't ask for it from Ben.

After a moment of awkward silence from Ben, he cleared his throat and said, "Are you okay?"

"It's really none of your business now."

He sighed. "You're right, but I owe you this much, Elle. I should've listened to you. I should've trusted you—"

"I have to go," Elle cut him off and hung up without saying goodbye. She slammed her head back against the couch with a cry. She had thought hearing from Ben and listening to his apologies would make her feel better. Instead, she felt worse. She hadn't gained the closure she needed and now she didn't know if she could move on.

***

Zoe talked to Elle into taking things easy for a while and treated this as an overdue vacation. Elle was thankful that she had enough money saved to get her through for a couple of months at least and was grateful for Zoe's support. Elle had called her father and Isaac was understandably upset by what had happened.

"I am so sorry that you had to go through that," he said.

"Yeah, me too," she replied. "But I'm glad it's over. I guess things can only look better from here on, right?"

"Right," Isaac said softly. "I am sorry for not being there for you now."

"Dad, it's okay. I'm okay," she assured.

"If I were you, I'd sue the hell out of that woman," he said gruffly.

"I know. But I've given it some thought and I just want to put it behind me. If I decide to sue her, I would have to go to the courts and in the end, even if it was ruled in my favor, the physical and emotional toil, it's just... not worth it," she explained.

"If it's what you want, my dear, then I'm going to respect that," he said.

"Thanks, Dad," she said with a smile.

"Anyway, I have already made my plans to visit..." he said and trailed off.

"Oh, please, Dad, please do come and visit," Elle said. "I would love to see you."

He chuckled as if pleased and relieved by her enthusiasm. "Then I'll see you in a week's time, Elle."

***

When Isaac finally arrived at her doorstep three days later, Elle was beside herself with elation. She hadn't seen her father for five whole years and she cried as soon as she was in his arms.

"Oh, my baby girl, I've missed you so, so much," Isaac whispered as tears fell from his eyes.

"I'm so glad you're here, Dad," she said.

Isaac would be staying at a nearby bed-and-breakfast so after a brief catching up over a cup of coffee, he excused himself so that he could check in and take a rest. The next day Elle showed Isaac the city and they enjoyed the day in each other's company. It reminded her of when she and Evan were younger and the happy times they had as a family.

"Did you visit Mom?" she asked quietly as they sat opposite to each other in a restaurant for their dinner.

Isaac shook his head. "No, after the last conversation over the phone that we had, you were the first thing on my mind. I had to come to you as soon as I could."

"Thanks for coming, Dad. I appreciate it," she said with a smile.

"Tell me about this Ben," he said. "I'm having a hard time believing this man who supposedly loved you could betray you like this."

"There's really nothing to tell," she said. "And he was protecting his child, as every parent would."

"He should've at least listened to your side of the story; it's only fair," he grumbled.

"Yes, he should have, but he didn't. He'd apologized for that so I'm just going to let it go," she said. "He needs to get on with his life and I have to get on with mine."

"I wish I could be as forgiving to myself as you are to Ben, Elle," Isaac sighed. "There's never a day went by that I didn't think of Evan and all the what-could-have-been."

Elle put a hand over her father's. "Dad, it was not your fault."

"I've been telling myself that for ten years," he said sadly and shook his head. "And I've been running from the guilt for half as long."

"Dad," she whispered as she watched tears formed in her father's eyes and he quickly reached up to wipe them off.

"That was why I decided to come back," he admitted. "I want to make amends to you and your mother. I'm done being a coward."

"You have to stop beating yourself over this. The man who pulled the trigger was the only one responsible. I never blamed you for what happened and I'm sure Evan wouldn't, too; he admired you so much because you were a good cop," Elle said. "You did your best, Dad. Mom couldn't blame you for not trying."

"But still, I could've tried harder," he said.

"If that's what you need to do," she said. "I support your decision."

"Thank you, sweetheart," he said with a smile.

For the next few days, Isaac would come by to Elle's apartment, bringing her and Zoe breakfast. Zoe was positively in love with him.

"Mr. Bronwyn, I'm going to call my Dad and ask him why he had never brought me breakfast of any kind before," she said, causing Isaac to laugh. "Are you sure you've never been to this city before because you sure know which place serves the best breakfast."

"Enjoy it while you can, ladies. I'm going to head back on the road in a couple of days," he said.

"But you've just arrived," Zoe argued.

"He has some stuff to do," Elle told her before turning to Isaac with an encouraging smile. "Right, Dad?"

He chuckled. "Right."

***

Two weeks after Isaac's visit, Elle successfully found a job in a little café just across the street from the hotel where she had worked previously. The pay wasn't very good, but she could get by. Luckily she hadn't gotten around to buying a car like she had planned so she still had the money to continue living in the city.

Zoe and Lizzie had finally found a perfect apartment for them and had moved in after Christmas. Luckily for Elle, Lizzie knew of somebody who was looking for a place to live and introduced her to Elle on moving day. Madeline seemed like a really nice person and Elle liked her. She hoped they could get along as roommates.

Elle walked slowly around her apartment the night Zoe finished moving her things out. It looked almost like it always did. Almost. Some pictures had been taken down from the walls and the bookshelf was half empty. A couple of mugs were missing from the cabinet and the bathroom looked tidier. Zoe's room was empty except for the bed frame and a night table and it was going to be Madeline's room soon.

Elle went to the living room and glanced down at the poinsettias and English primroses which were now thriving on the balcony and she thought of Ben. She hadn't heard from him since that day he had called to apologize, and that was almost two months ago. She wondered how he was doing, how River was doing, but she couldn't bring herself to find out.

She avoided Becky's Diner and didn't keep in touch with the staff even though she missed them. Maybe someday she would pick up the phone to call Lily or Rachel or even Paul, but not right now. Not when she was not over Ben. She knew she would get over him someday. And until then, she would just have to stay positive and not dwell on the past.

Isaac had called her on Thanksgiving morning. He had gone to find her mother, Laura, and the reunion had been amiable. Apparently, she had come to the realization that she couldn't let the past keep her from living in the present and had learned to let go of her anger. Isaac had encouraged Elle to reach out to her mother again, which she did and for the first time since she turned eighteen, Elle was able to really talk to her mother without feeling frustrated.

She lifted her face and breathed in the cool night air. In a few hours' time, they would ring in a new year. Even though Zoe and Lizzie had invited her to their new home to celebrate, she had no desire to join them. For now, she was content to let the world passed her by. It occurred to her that during this time last year she had been out partying with Taylor and acted crazily to gain Ben's attention. She smiled at the memory, thinking that she probably wouldn't have the guts to do the same thing now. It was amazing how much things had changed within a year and how much she'd grown. Even though things hadn't ended up with Ben like she had hoped, she didn't regret anything.

THE END