Strike A Chord (Rise Like A Rocket Book 2) by Laura Rocca

Author:Laura Rocca [Rocca, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

New York is like another world.

I haven’t been back in years and I can’t remember the last time I was surrounded by so many people, so much noise, so much confusion.

Since I moved to Lake Placid, I’ve avoided big cities like the plague. I’m so bewildered by everything it takes me a good hour to work up the courage to leave the hotel room I checked into on my arrival.

I know I have to go see my father but, before I can face that, I want to see the house where I grew up, relive the ghosts of my past, and psych myself up for what I’m about to do.

Standing outside the huge mansion, I realize nothing has changed. It’s as if time has stood still and it all comes back to me - the day I ran away, clutching just two bags, a taxi waiting down the street. Before I closed the door behind me, I turned, just for a second, to look at what I was leaving behind, telling myself to take one last look. And now here I am again, after all these years.

And it hurts - the disappointment, the bitterness, the anger haven’t faded over time, they’re all here, like a terrible, painful cocktail.

I remember it all, the hopes, the dreams, the complicity I thought I shared with my father. The wound caused by his betrayal is still as fresh, as deep, as ever.

I walk up and down for several minutes, trying to pull myself together, then realize I can’t put it off any longer and head for the hospital where, according to his letter, my father is waiting for me.

You came all this way, you have to talk to him now, I tell myself, forcing myself to move, one foot in front of the other, until I reach the subway, stepping mechanically onto the train, anxiously checking for the right stop.

By the time I get to the medical center, my legs are shaking.

Chloe, I order myself. Just do it!

I take a deep breath. I’m ready.

I take the first step towards the huge entrance, but then the doors open and my mother glides through.

I stand there, frozen.

She’s right in front of me, just a few feet away. I have nowhere to hide and, even worse, she’s seen me.

The contempt in her eyes is almost palpable.

Contempt. Not surprise or amazement at seeing the daughter she hasn’t seen in years. No gasps, no smiles, just contempt.

She strides toward me, her heels clacking loudly on the hard sidewalk, and I can’t help wondering if all the noise isn’t deliberate.

“You came then,” she hisses when we’re face to face. “Don’t worry, you’ll still get your money - despite everything, he refused to disinherit you.”

“That’s not why I’m here,” I reply, facing up to her. “I managed without your money all these years, I can manage without it now.”

“Whatever. You’re wasting your time, anyway. He’s not having a good day. They won’t let you in so, go on and, fingers crossed, he’ll still be alive tomorrow,” she replies, her mouth and nose twisted into a sneer.

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