Kevin hadn’t just run away. No. Kevin Rivers was a fucking cowardly dickwad who would, in about five minutes, understand that Kalli was not to be fucked with. She wasn’t a seven-year-old girl anymore. And if she wasn’t strong enough to make him see how wonderful she was, how idiotic he’d been to walk away from her so many years ago, well, I wouldn’t mind clocking that son of a bitch right in the fucking gut.
I slowly rolled Kalli to her back, kissed her temple, then gently pulled out of her arms. I covered her with the blanket all the way up to her neck because I knew if she got cold, she’d wake up in minutes. I needed more than two minutes for what I was about to do.
I grabbed the card off the floor, grabbed my cell phone, and snuck out onto her front porch. I didn’t need Kalli to hear my conversation. I dialed the number, shaking my head at the irony of the San Diego area code, and listened to the phone ring on the other end of the line. It rang five times, and I was afraid it would go to voice mail. That was disappointing. This was a conversation that would be better in person, but would suffice to hear live. A recording of the speech I’d planned for the last two hours as I held the woman I loved, sleeping in my arms, wouldn’t be nearly as effective as the live version.
“Hello?” I heard a groggy man’s voice ask. Good. He’d been sleeping.
“I’m looking for Kevin Rivers.”
“Uh, this is he. Who’s this?”
“I know your daughter, Kalli.”
“Kalli?” he sounded just as confused as he was tired. Then I heard the instant the panic set in. “Is she all right? What’s happened?”
I tried to ignore the genuine concern in his voice, tried to look past the fact that he truly sounded like a panicked parent, and pushed it all aside to get my point across.
“Kalli’s fine, and I’d like for her to stay that way. So here’s what’s going to happen: you’re not going to fuck with her mind anymore. You’ve done enough damage and I won’t watch you tear her apart again just to make yourself feel better.”
“Who is this?” Now he sounded angry.
“I’m the man who she’s finally allowed to help her put the pieces back together. I’m the man that’s going to kick your ass if you hurt her again. And I’m the man who will die to protect her. Got any more questions?”
The line was quiet for a moment before Kevin asked, his voice much quieter, “Is she all right?”
“No, she’s not all right. But she will be.”
“I sent her flowers every week, but finally the florist told me they started getting returned. Something about new residents at the address.”
“How’d you get her address?”
“I’d rather talk to her about that. Is she there? Can I speak to her?”
“She’s asleep. The only way you’ll ever get to talk to her is if she decides to call you. I won’t stop her from calling you, but I will be with her if she does. What I called to tell you today is, if she decides to reach out to you, you’re not to fuck with her head. Got me?”
“What makes you think I want to hurt her? I only want to talk to her, to have a chance to explain –”
“No, see, that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t give a flying fuck if you want to hurt her or not, the odds are, you will. There is nothing you can say to her about why you left your seven-year-old daughter on her birthday that’s not going to hurt her. You’re going to want to talk to her about her brother. Her brother who died. Her brother whose death she still feels slightly responsible for. There is no way to talk to her without hurting her at this point.” I took in a deep and ragged breath. I hadn’t expected to get so angry. I knew I would get keyed up, knew the adrenaline would pump through me if I got a chance to talk to him, but I didn’t expect to see red like I was. “So, what’s going to happen if she calls you is, you’re going to apologize and you’re going to listen to her. You’re going to be honest with her, and you’re going to give her exactly what she wants from you. Nothing more, nothing less. Understood?”
“My relationship with my daughter is no one’s business but mine and hers. I think it would be best if we hung up and Kalli called me back later.”
“You don’t seem to understand. I’m the one protecting her now. I’m the one who’s going to be here to help her back up every time she falls, even if she trips herself. Your relationship with her is unimportant—to me or her. I don’t care if she calls you and you fix what you broke, if you convince her you’re not a monster and that she should allow you back into her life. What matters to me is Kalli. If she’s happy, I’m happy. But if you hurt her by being careless, I will hurt you more.”
“So you just called me to harass me?”
“No, I called to tell you that if you can’t be a decent human being, if you can’t be honest with her, if you can’t give her real, truthful answers to her questions, don’t pick up if she calls. Do her that one last favor as her father. If you’re just going to reel her in and then run away again when shit gets tough, just… don’t. She doesn’t deserve to be yanked around anymore.”