Leather & Lace

Chapter 16

Lacey's family visited again, bringing her flowers and balloons. Edward sent her favorite flowers with a card saying he’s wishing her well. She rolled her eyes at the card. She should’ve known that her dad would tell his family. She talked with them, although her mind wondered where Brett and Eric were up to. She was a little sad that Eric hadn't come to see her yet. She questioned if he was mad at her or if she did anything to make him distance himself from her. She barely spoke to her dad, since things were still rocky between them. She was ready to go home, but she had to wait for her test results to come back. She anxiously waited to hear the good news and to hear him say that she gets to go home. She couldn't wait to get back into her bed and just sleep.

"Lacey, I noticed you haven't really said too much since we've been here. Do you want us to leave and just let you rest?" Carolyn asked.

Lacey looked up at her and smiled. "No, mom. I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind. You know, with the divorce case and all other cases I have to work on this week."

“Just take it easy, honey. Your health is more important.”

“I know and I will, mom.”

“Well,I don’t think you continue the Newman case,” Larry said sharply. “It’s too much for you.”

“Too bad that’s not your call to make. This is my case and what you think is irrelevant,” she reciprocated. Her patience was thin when it came to her father. She tried to hold on to all of the morals she was raised with, but her father was causing her to just throw it all away.

“Don’t disrespect me. I’m your father!”

“You have to give respect to get it. Sorry to break it to you, but I’m a grown ass woman who made a name for myself despite being related to you.” She exploded. She couldn’t hold back any longer. Carolyn and Sharice watched in horror at the exchange between them.

“I will continue this case and if you do anything and I mean anything to jeopardize it, you will have a big problem.” She was sick of him trying to control everything she does. She just wanted him to be a father for once.

“Dad, I really need you to back off. I don’t want to be disrespectful, but you need to stop dishing out what you can’t take. I love you and I always will, but I meant what I said.”

Larry’s face was contorted with anger before he let out a hard breath. “You’re right,” he finally admitted. Lacey and Sharice looked back and forth between each other, unsure if they should believe that he’s genuinely admitting it.

“I’ve been too hard on you and your sister and demanded you both to meet our expectations.” He looked at Sharice first. “I want to apologize to you, Sharice. You are my daughter, my first born. When you came out to us, I should’ve accepted you, instead I pushed you away. I treated you and Autumn like dirt. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m willing to do whatever I can to earn it.”

There were tears in Sharice’s eyes. She didn’t expect this turn around and still wasn’t sure if she should just accept his apology. “You know, I’ve longed to hear you say I love you. It’s been years since you’ve said that to me. I thought you hated me for who I am, I thought you resented me,” she sniffed. Lacey’s and Carolyn’s eyes were glossy. Admitting his wrongs was something Larry almost never did. Even with his cases, he was always careful not to make any mistakes.

“Of course I don’t hate you,” his voice was softer. “I love you. You’re my daughter. Being a lesbian wasn’t the way I expected you to go, but I know that I can’t change your mind about who you love.”

“You have a funny way of showing it,” Sharice half joked.

“I promise I will work on that. I know you and Autumn have a baby on the way and I never formally congratulated you. Why don’t you both stop by the house this weekend?” Lacey could always tell if a man was lying by their eyes. Either her dad was really good at pretending or he’s actually genuine.

“I will talk to Autumn first, but dad, this doesn’t mean that I forgiven you, yet. It’s hard to forgive what you can’t forget, but I’m going to try as long as you’re going to put in the effort.”

Larry came closer to Sharice and then they embraced in a hug for the first time in years. Lacey wiped her face with a Kleenex. She didn’t expect to be so emotional. This was a complete turnaround since they just had heated exchange of words moments ago.

“You always said that the law of forgiveness is accepting one’s own mistake.”

He stepped back to look at her. “You remembered that? You were a kid when I said that to you.”

“Yeah, you picked me up from school and the teacher told you that I drew all over the wall in the classroom.”

“I remember that,” Carolyn joined in.

“So do I,” Larry chimed in. “You said you were trying to draw a rainbow for her.”

“Yeah, obviously, you don’t do it on the school walls,” she giggled. “But when you told me that, it stuck with me for some reason.”

They all laughed and that day, Lacey saw her dad and sister reconcile their relationship.

“I’ve made so many mistakes, even recently. I want to do everything in my power to earn your trust back. Both of you,” he looked between Sharice and Lacey.

“What do you mean you made mistakes recently?” Lacey asked. The room was silent as they all were waiting for an answer. Just then, the doctor and nurse knocked on the door and Lacey told them to come in. She guess would have to find out later. She reshuffled her focus to them. She knew they were here about her test results. With the blank look into their eyes, she didn’t know if her test results were good or bad.

“Hi, Lacey?”

“Yes?” She straightened her back.

“It looks like everything came back normal and although we were able to get the drug out of your system, you still need to rest before doing something strenuous.”

“But I can’t miss work. I have court this week.”

“I understand that but you can go to court, but be mindful of the after effects of the drug. Please drink plenty of fluids, water specifically and follow up within two days with your primary care physician. Other than that you are able to go home.” The nurse scrambled over with a list of medications that were prescribed to Lacey. She informed her about the signs and symptoms of withdrawal since she was severely drugged. Once she was finished explaining, she gave Lacey her discharge papers.

Meanwhile….

Brett made it home with half of the footage. He wanted all of it, but he knew Eric was going to be against that idea, especially since it involves Lacey. Besides, two eyes are better than one. He checked his phone and saw that he had no missed calls from Lacey. He didn’t expect her to call, but seeing her name pop up on his phone would’ve made his day better. He quickly undressed and threw his clothes into the washer. Next, he turned on the shower and began to wash his bloodied hands and his body. After he finished, he checked the time again, not wanting to break his promise to Lacey.

“Shit.” He rushed to put on his clothes. He grabbed his keys and left, driving as fast as he could to get back to the hospital. He quickly parked the car and ran inside the hospital. He knew her room number and went straight there. When he got to her door, it was closed. He knocked and opened it.

“Lacey, I’m here like-“ he stopped when he noticed the room was empty. There was nothing but the messy linen on the bed and an empty cup.

“Are you looking for Lacey?” A soft female voice asked from behind him. He turned and was met by a nurse.

“Yes, did she change rooms?“

“No sir, she went home over an hour ago.”

“Oh okay,” he breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

She nodded her head and he left again, this time heading to her house. He turned down her street as the night fell upon him. He spotted a dark car in her driveway as he slowed to a stop about two houses down. His stomach dropped to the bottom of his stomach when he saw Eric getting out of the car. He carried a huge bouquet of red roses to her door and knocked. She opened the door with a smile on her face. She embraced him in a hug and his hand was too close to her ass. He was filled with jealousy, he wanted to go there and snatch Eric’s hand away from her. But he also didn’t want to disrespect her. He reminded himself that if she chose Eric, he would back away. From what he sees, that’s exactly what she did.

He drove off making a loud screeching sound with his tires. He wanted to be the one to hold her, kiss her, and take care of her when she’s not feeling well. Instead, she chose someone else. His mind was distraught with the thought of them being intimate. He tried his best to shake it, but he couldn’t. He drove himself to a bar, despite what just happened to Lacey, and drank until he couldn’t see anything. A woman with dark hair and a small curvy frame approached him. She smiled as she spoke to the bartender, but Brett couldn’t make out what she was saying. He felt her lift his arm and walk him to his car. When they made it inside of his house, he blacked out.

When he woke up the next morning, he could hear the bacon sizzling on the stove. He looked around confused. He was home but didn’t know who was here with him. He sat up in bed and saw that he was naked. He quickly showered and put on a t- shirt and some jogging pants. He could hear clicking and cluttering of dishes and a female’s voice humming to some soft music. His face dropped when she turned around in nothing but her bra and panties.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I’m making you breakfast baby. You should sit down. I made your favorite,” Shondra answered. Brett stayed rooted to his spot.

“I’m trying to understand, how did you get in here?” He tried to remember everything that happened. From him seeing Lacey and Eric to him going to the bar and getting wasted. He shook his head in shame when he realized that Shondra’s hair was now dark, just like the woman from the club. She laughed at his question.

“Wow you were really messed up, huh? Well apparently I’m still your emergency contact. The bartender called me from your phone and I came as fast as I could.” She sat her plate of food on the table.

“Why are you still here and dressed like that?” Brett asked, turning his body away from her.

“Oh please, don’t act like you didn’t see yourself naked this morning. What do you think happens between a husband and wife?”

“No,” he shook his head. “We didn’t have sex.”

“No, my darling, we didn’t. We made sweet love and you were the one initiating it.”

“Leave!” Brett yelled. He didn’t want to believe her, but he couldn’t even remember anything since he blacked out.

“Oh honey, is that how you’re going to treat me?”

“Shondra, you need to leave now!” He was fuming, more at himself than anything.

“I’m not leaving so deal with it.”

“We are getting a divorce,” he reminded her. She just shrugged her shoulders.

“Yeah, but wouldn’t that be sad if I called my lawyer and told him that I have proof of you f*****g your lawyer.” Brett stepped towards Shondra, glaring at her. He wanted to throw her out, but what if she does have proof? He couldn’t ruin Lacey’s reputation like that even if she didn’t choose him. Shiners smiled wickedly as she saw that she had the upper hand. “So much for a conflict of interest.”

“Why are you doing this?” He gritted between his teeth.

“It’s all simple babe, I just love you,” she chuckled. His eyes narrowed as he tried to think of ways out of this. “Besides, seeing the jealousy and rage in your little lawyer girlfriend would bring me so much joy.”

She wanted to play this game, that was fine with him, but he knew that he was going to win in the end. He just hated that Lacey was the pawn in this game. He underestimated Shondra, but now he would be keeping a close eye on her.

“So my darling husband, I’m going to shower and then I’ll be ready for round number….five,” she smiled at him as she walked past him and up to his room. “Oh, I called Eric this morning and we’re having dinner with him and Lacey. I told him we were going to work on our marriage. So you can tell your lawyer girlfriend that her services are no longer needed.”

Brett stood there with his fist clenched. He willed his hands to stop shaking. Shondra definitely went too far, but he couldn’t do anything just yet. He needed to play along with her and make her believe that he wants to reconnect with her. It also meant that he would have to cut off Lacey, at least temporarily.