All I Need: Rod & Daisy (All Of Me Duet Book 2) by A.D. Justice (books to read to improve english TXT) 📗

resulting recession. They were abandoned as lost causes. The area never recovered its original luster and appeal. Many are empty or boarded up to keep vandals and wandering teenagers out. But at one time in my life, this was my home. I exit the car and walk around in the dark, remembering the way by heart rather than by sight. The smattering of trees that separate this subdivision from the neighboring one served as our fort for many games. The trails were perfect for riding bikes and pretending we were in a deep, dark forest. In reality, getting lost in here would’ve been impossible—every direction leads back to a house. But our childhood imaginations were boundless.

I walk the trails and the streets until dawn, reliving much of my childhood while contemplating how vastly different my life turned out from anything I thought it would be.

“Wow. You are the spitting image of Chris Stone. Are you any relation to him?” The male voice behind me startles me. I thought I was alone wandering through this dilapidated house.

“Yeah. He was my father until he abandoned his family when we needed him most. How do you know him?” I turn and face the haggard, aged man squatting in the condemned structure.

“Chris comes here frequently. He brings us food, blankets, and medicine sometimes. He helps take care of us—the people no one wants around anymore.” He scratches his unkempt beard, clearly a bit uneasy with the information I shared. “I’m surprised to hear he abandoned you. He doesn’t seem the type. Maybe he learned his lesson and wants to atone for what he did before. We all have our demons.”

“Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him in twenty years.” But this old man’s sentiments are an echo of the words Daisy used regarding her attacker.

“Maybe you should. Maybe then you wouldn’t be visiting this place in the middle of the night. What are you looking for, son?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m trying to figure out who I am by retracing who I used to be. Maybe I’m looking for simplicity in the middle of utter chaos. Maybe I’m just looking for answers when I don’t even know what the fucking questions are.” My reply is unexpected, even to me, but it’s exactly what’s on my mind right now.

“There’s only one answer you ever need to know. Love. Love covers a multitude of wrongs. Someone hurt you. You hurt someone else. You’re ashamed of things you’ve done to others. You can’t forgive someone else for the things they’ve done to you. The only thing that can make everything right again is love. If you have that, you are rich indeed.”

I’m not sure how to respond to the old man. My slack jaw, wide eyes, and dead silence clearly conveys that fact. He could knock me over with a feather right now and I wouldn’t have enough in me to fight back.

“I wasn’t always like this, you know. Not that I was some hot shot, but I made a decent living to provide for my family. I’d worked for the same company for nearly twenty years, then I walked in to work one day only to find out I’d been laid off. They knocked me out with a single punch. I’d always worked, never been without a job, but I couldn’t find one afterward, regardless of how many times I applied.

“My wife was supportive and tried to help me in every way she could. But that demon depression got a hold of me and wouldn’t let go. What little money I received from unemployment started going to alcohol. Day by day, I drank more and more to escape from thinking about what a failure I’d become.

“You’ve heard the saying a drowning man can’t be saved, right? Well, I was drowning all right, but at the time I didn’t realize I had pushed my family under too. Let me tell you something, son. You don’t know pain until you see another man taking care of the woman you love and raising your children because you couldn’t do it yourself.”

His words sting like a thousand bees descended on me at once. I’ve been so focused on my past while roaming the neighborhood, not once did I consider what I could be giving up in my future. I walked out on Daisy tonight after urging her to tell me the truth and promising her we’d work through all our problems together. Isa and Landen were sound asleep in their beds, but my sole focus was myself. Then there’s Daisy, who’s been carrying this burden, along with my baby, unsure of how to tell me and afraid of how I’d react. Seems her fear wasn’t at all unfounded.

In one fail swoop, I could’ve lost everything that means anything to me.

With a single act, I could’ve become Chris Stone—the one person I’ve tried the hardest not to be. I haven’t spent most of my life despising him only to become him when I’ve found my soulmate. It’s time to pull my head out of my ass and realize the gifts I’ve been given.

“You’re exactly right. Thank you for sharing your story. I truly appreciate it. And now, I need to get back home as soon as possible.”

I get his name before I leave and head home.

Home, where my whole heart is.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Daisy

After a long day at school, I had an even longer night at Rod’s house waiting for him to come back. He left his phone here, so I couldn’t even call to check on him. My eyes were wide open before the sun began peeking over the horizon, but there was still no sign of Rod.

Juliana called both of our numbers last night, but I didn’t have the heart to answer. How can I explain what happened here while she’s fighting for her life in the hospital? She obviously wouldn’t be able to reach him either. Her knowing about our problems will only make