Desire Ch. 77 - The Strange Man

[itztigress3]

Chapter 77 -  The Strange Man
POV: Zac
Word Count: 3502


December 16, 2010; Thursday

I’d woken up alone this morning, Emily had left with Casey at 8, they were gone to knock out some of their lists and I was told I was staying at home so they could get mine. I tried to tell her what I wanted was already here and that was her. I fixed myself a bowl of cereal and took a long bath.

It was nice to have this time to kind of think myself. She had taken a few days before she finally opened up more and really talked to me about the scattered emotions she felt. I didn’t realize that her emotions were that scattered, mine had been for a little while but talking with her and Casey had helped me. I was hoping that getting her to talk would help as well.

My biggest issue had been taking a life. I knew and fully understood that my choices were limited in that situation, he would have killed us both. I knew he was going to kill me first and then her and I couldn’t allow that. It didn’t mean I didn’t feel horrible, the nightmares had been bad. I still couldn’t play a video game with guns nor did I feel comfortable holding one.

After that was Layla, I had not spoken to her but I had Mark. Apparently, she’d always felt that way toward me but I had never seen it. I was saddened that she couldn’t just tell me, that she had to go and cost us everything. She was being charged with a number of things and would not be seeing daylight for a long time.

I knew time would heal and I really didn’t want everyone to know that I had killed someone, so I told Emily I only wanted to tell my parents and I would seek their advice on telling my siblings, although, I was sure they would tell me that Taylor and Isaac needed to know.

About 12:45 Isaac called me and it was odd because he was supposed to be shopping today as well.

“Hey Ike, what’s up?”

“I’m actually hoping nothing is up, but there is a man here at the studio and he’s asking for Emily.”

“Is it someone we know?”

“No. I’ve never seen this man before and he said he wanted to talk to her specifically. I wouldn’t dare send him to your house.”

“Emily’s not home anyway, why are you at the studio?”

“I brought Nikki’s gift here so she doesn’t find it. He was here knocking when I arrived. He didn’t know no one was here.”

“Is he still there?”

“Yes. I told him I would call her and see where she was but really; I wasn’t going to send him anywhere without talking to you first.”

“Good choice there. How about I come down and I’ll see whether he speaks to her or not.”

“I’ll wait.”

I hung-up and changed into warmer clothes, it had gotten chilly and we were expecting snow soon. I slipped my shoes on and put my jacket on and then walked to the studio. Isaac texted they were in the lobby of the building so I came in the normal door and walked around to the lobby, coming in behind this guy.

Isaac was talking to him about something but I had no idea what nor did I care. I didn’t know this man and I was sure that Emily didn’t either.

“Ah, here is Zac now.”

He turned and the first thing I recognized was his eyes, which were grey and they reminded me so much of Emily’s.

“Hi, I’m Zac. You are?”

“Aaron Erikson, it’s a strange name I know. Most everyone calls me Ace though.”

“It’s um, nice to meet you Mr. Erikson. What can I do for you?”

“I was hoping to speak to Emily actually. But, you’re her husband right?”

“Yes. I am her husband. I don’t mean to be rude but I’m not calling Emily or allowing her to see you until you tell me who you are and why you’re here at the studio looking for her.”

He actually smiled at me; I didn’t think I was being that funny really. I was sure my expression wasn’t humorous.

“Is there someplace you and I can talk alone?”

I glanced at Isaac and he shrugged. “I can go finish what I was doing. I’ll be in the wrapping area if you need anything.”

He walked past me and gave me a nod before he left the lobby, Isaac wouldn’t leave until he was sure it was ok.

“This is about as private as you can get.” I said.

He glanced to the chairs. “Can we sit down?”

“Sure.”

We walked over and sat down in facing chairs and he paused.

“She’s not in the building is she?”

“No. She’s not even at home right now either; she’s with a friend shopping. But, that’s not any of your concern right now. Your concern is telling me who you are and why you’re here. If you are some friend of Adam or David then you can kiss my ass because you’ll never see her.”

“I don’t know Adam, but I am aware of who David is. I’ve seen the news reports in Georgia.”

I just looked at him and he looked nervous and afraid, he looked around and finally he settled his eyes on me and took a deep breath.

“I’m not sure how to even say it.”

“Rest assured Mr. Erikson, you won’t see her without me and I won’t take you coming her to find her when myself or my brother’s are not here. We take the safety of our family very seriously.”

He smiled some. “I am aware of that. Honestly, I didn’t expect to catch her here without you or one of them and I didn’t really think your older brother was calling her. I’m just very nervous because I’m not sure how you’ll take this and I’m afraid you won’t listen or that you won’t believe me.”

“I am a patient man but you are wearing it thin with the run around. I’m not calling her or having her come down until you tell me something. Why don’t you leave whether I believe you or not up to me after I hear why you’re here?”

He was really testing my nerves and he got something from his pocket and extended his hand to me, I carefully took the picture from him and looked down at it. There was a young man holding a baby, it was taken at the hospital. I didn’t see anyone else in the picture and it wasn’t dated or anything. Although, the young man looked like the man sitting before me and I was sure it was.

“I don’t know if Emily knows or not, but I’m her biological father and that’s the only picture I ever got to have with her. It was the only time I saw her before her mother died.”

I looked at him for several minutes, the media hadn’t told anyone and nothing had been released saying that David wasn’t her father. But, could he be someone David knew? I looked at the picture again and handed it back to him. He put it back in his wallet, the picture had been old.

I ran my hand through my hair, she wanted to find him but I wasn’t sure if she’d just accept that he was here. Likewise, I couldn’t even be sure he was who he said he was.

“How did you know where she was?”

“I’ve always known where she was, I didn’t have someone follow or anything just every few years I would check up on her through a friend of her mother’s. He was closer to David than I was and understood. He couldn’t provide pictures or allow me to really interact with her but he told me when key events would occur such as her graduation. I could attend those without alarming anyone. I lost her when she moved out here but then I saw her with you and the reports and the wedding. I knew she was happy but then I saw your plea to finding her and the news of you both being missing and then the arrest for David. I had to see her but I wasn’t even sure if she knew he wasn’t her father.”

I heard Isaac return and turned around. “I’m done, is everything ok?”

“Yes, you can go. It’s ok. I’ll be fine.”

“Ok. Everything’s locked up.”

“Ok.”

He left the building and I looked back at him. “Emily is aware that David is not her father. He told her during the week she was there and he also did a DNA test and she had the police do one for verification purposes.”

“Did she know before?”

“No. Um, it’s a very delicate thing because there aren’t many people that know David isn’t her father.”

“I don’t have anything to prove to you that I am I just thought if I could talk to her. I wasn’t expecting you to be so protective actually, but I am glad you are.”

“Well, you’re lucky I didn’t call the police. But, as much as I want to believe you it’s a tough situation because we don’t have any idea who her dad is, there was nothing written about him and the police have no clue either.”

“Isabella had to be careful about who she talked too. David didn’t take kindly when she had extra affairs. I remember when he found out about Courtney, it wasn’t pleasant to see her that bruised.”

I looked up at him, Emily had told me about Courtney. “Did you know her?”

“No. Bella was a private person and she told me only that she was a friend that she’d had sex with and David found out.”

Part of me wanted to call Emily and let her make the decision but what if he wasn’t her dad? What if this was just another way to get into our inner circle and another ploy to take her from me? Sure, Adam was dead and David was in jail but that didn’t mean they were the only participants. If I made the wrong decision here, I could hurt her very badly.

But, if I didn’t call her and didn’t tell her she would be mad at me and she deserved answers like the other two.

“Do you have any other children besides Emily?”

“I have two sons as well, but you already know them and so does Emily. She grew up with them; Aaron and Christopher are also mine. Isabella didn’t tell me they were until she was pregnant with Emily.”

“Can you give me assurance that you’re not going to hurt her? She’s been through enough and the last thing she needs right now is to be hurt because of you.”

“All I have is my word and this picture. I have one of the three of them taken at the hospital.”

He provided that one as well, which was just as old and on the back was something familiar. The printed words were very neat and reminded me of Emily’s handwriting and all it was ‘your Ace in the hole’. Emily had said that came up a lot in her mother’s diaries, David kept mentioning she had an Ace.

“You said everyone called you Ace, why?”

“My parents were hippies and named me Aaron Christopher Erikson, or ACE.”

“Did she…?”

“Yes. She told me she named them after me and Emily is the name I chose. I was rather surprised that David kept her name.”

“Wait right here for a few minutes, um would you like something to drink? We’re pretty bare here but we have water for sure.”

“Water would be fine.”

I got him a bottle from the fridge and then stepped into the back area, I could still see him and he just sat there and took in the lobby area. I called Casey first.

“I’m totally shocked you haven’t called until now. We’re fine.”

“I wasn’t planning to call at all, is Ems near you?”

“She’s actually in the bathroom.”

I glanced at him. “I want your opinion on something and you can’t let her know it’s me or the topic.”

“Oh dear god. I’m going to regret this, but go ahead.”

“Isaac called me about an hour ago, a man showed up at the studio asking for Emily. Obviously Ike called me instead. Casey, he’s telling me he’s her father. He has a photo taken of him and her when she was born and he has a photo of the three of them with ace in the hole on the back. I’m torn between telling him to get the fuck on and leave her alone and inviting him to the house to meet her. You’ve heard her talking about it. What are your thoughts?”

“Fucking hell Zac.”

I could almost see the painful express on his face. “I’ll make it worth your while Casey, I know you don’t want to be in the middle of this, but you know her as well as I do.”

“Worth my while huh?”

“Yes. I’ll even go as far as saying whatever you want to do as long as she agrees as well.”

“Whatever I want to do?”

Fuck! Had I just said that?! “Yes, whatever you want to do. But, she has to agree also.”

“Oh, she’d agree to it. I’ve seen the depths of her imagination. Honestly, she wants to find him and she will be mad if she finds out he came and you made him leave. I think that you should let her know and you should let her decide if she believes him. Does he seem credible?”

“Yes. I don’t believe he is lying but he doesn’t have any type of proof.”

“We’re almost done here; we were hitting the grocery store next and then coming home. You could call and ask her, I’m sure she’ll answer. You could invite him and surprise her but I’m not sure she’s in that type of mode yet.”

“I think I will call her first, see if she’s up for it.”

“Good idea. In the meantime I’ll be planning all kinds of things.”

I giggled. “She just has to agree dude.”

I then hung-up, god help me what they come up with, I waited about five minutes before calling her and heard the crowd in the background so I knew she was out.

“Hey, bored at home already?”

“I’m actually at the studio.”

“You said you were taking the day to do nothing, what prompted you to go in?”

I took a deep breath. “Isaac called me about an hour ago, told me there was a man here looking for you and he called me instead, which is ok. I came down to see what he wanted and who he was.”

“Oh? Was it a vendor or something? I didn’t plan any meetings or anything this month.”

“Emily, the man is claiming to be your father. He does have a photo of you, Aaron and Christopher. I know it’s the three of you because you have the same photo, taken when you were born. I’m not saying he definitely is or isn’t. But, Casey agreed with me that it should be your decision. I can tell him to leave and not come back, to leave and come back after the holiday’s, I can wait here or I can invite him to the house. What would you like to do?”

She was quite for a long time and I patiently waited on her to say anything. I was sure she was thinking it through and I didn’t blame her for that.

“Do you believe what he is telling you?”

“Yes, he doesn’t seem to be lying and the picture is old and Emily, on the back of the picture in very neat writing is your Ace in the hole, added his name is Aaron Christopher Erikson or Ace.”

She was again quite for a little bit before I heard her inhale deeply.

“See if he can come over tonight. I’d rather he not wait at the house and I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be.”

“Ok. Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I just didn’t think he’d be easy to find. I guess I never thought he might come to me.”

“For the record, I now owe Casey so if he picks up anything weird don’t freak out about it.”

“Well, I’m glad you mentioned it because I was wondering why we were headed to the adult store. I’m not sure I want to know what he has planned or why you owe him.”

“Oh, I’m sure. I’ll see you when you get home.”

“I love you; I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“I love you.”

I hung-up and went back to the lobby where he was still sitting there admiring a photo of me that Emily had insisted we hang up.

“Your brother takes remarkable photos, that one of you is amazing.”

I glanced at the picture and smiled. “My brother didn’t take that one, Emily took it the day I proposed to her.”

He smiled. “I’ve always wondered what she would be like, what she’d choose to do.”

“Well, you can ask her tonight. She’s agreed to meet you and invited you over. I’m sure if you’re ok with that we can do some dinner and then you can ask what she chooses.”

“I have no idea where you live. I only came here because it’s where she works and it’s posted online.”

“Not a problem we’re not hard to find. We’re three block north, 95 N Main.”

“I passed that address yesterday.”

“That’s us for now; we’re got land purchased outside town. How about 6?”

“That would be fine, um, do you know if the other two are aware of the situation?”

“Aaron and Christopher do not know their paternity as far as I know. Emily was going to sit down with them and discuss that soon. Mr. Erikson, there are things I’d like to cover before you see her.”

“Of course.”

“I know you’ll have to mention David, but don’t ask her how it was with him unless she volunteers the information. It’s a sensitive subject and I’d rather not bring it up.”

“Ok. Is there anything I should avoid when it comes to her mother?”

“No. Just David, he’s the problem.”

“I understand.”

He got up and we exited the building and I rearmed and locked up.

“What is she like?”

I paused and smiled at him. “She’s like her mother a lot, her brothers all agree. She’s smart, funny when she wants to be, she has a devilish side too. She’s caring, loving, adores family and right now she’s a little broken but I’m trying to fix that.”

“If I wanted to bring her something, what would I choose?”

“Bring yourself and don’t lie to her, if she asks a question tell her. But if you insist on an item, she doesn’t wear much jewelry, but she loves to read. She has most of her favorites but she doesn’t know much about what her mother read, I’d recommend something along those lines.”

He nodded. “I’m right over there.”

“We’re up the road.”

I gave him my number in case something comes up or if he got lost and then I went home and tidied up some, it wasn’t really bad but still. I also went ahead and added some extra drinks to the fridge and made tea, because apparently I was great with tea. I heard them coming in the back door and Casey brought a hand full of bags into the kitchen and dropped them on the counter.

“You have to stay right here.”

“Ok.” I said.

I heard her go up-stairs and then she came back to the kitchen and turned me to the counter.

“He doesn’t want you to see what he got at all.”

I didn’t mind having her pressed against my back with her arms around me but he came in giggling after a bit.

“Should I be alarmed?”

“No. I think you’ll enjoy it.” Casey smirked.

I eyed them both confused and felt a little uneasy. “Should I be concerned at all?”

“Well, you may not like the confinement aspect but I am sure the rest you will.”

“Ok. I’m not asking anymore questions. I told him 6, should leave us time for dinner.”

“Yep. I was planning spaghetti anyway, so I’ll just add a bit more.”

She then kicked me out of the kitchen and she fixed dinner. She was quite as she did so and I was just waiting for him to show up as the time got closer and I prayed he did. At 5:45 the doorbell rang and I got up to get it.