All I Need: Rod & Daisy (All Of Me Duet Book 2) A.D. Justice (short novels to read TXT) 📖

We’re having twins—a little brother and a little sister for you. Isa will have two first cousins at once. Isn’t that exciting?” I prod a little more, hoping he’ll be happy with the news of our expanded family.

“Yeah, I’ve always wanted a little brother. My little sister can play with someone else’s GI Joe, though. Okay?”

“Okay, we’ll make sure she leaves yours alone,” I agree, knowing he’ll be nearing his teenage years before the babies are ready for those toys, but it eases his mind for now.

“All right then, I’m excited.” He grins from ear to ear, that precious little smile, and my heart melts all over again.

“Me too.” Isa chimes in. “I’ll be a big cousin.”

“That’s right, baby girl. You’ll be a big cousin to the babies. You’ll be the best cousin ever.”

Tracy and Karen arrive within a few minutes of each other for our girl’s night in date. Louise made a full buffet of everything we could possibly want to eat and drink before she left. With quick introductions out of the way, the four of us become fast friends.

We heap our plates full of food and adjourn to Juliana’s room so she can rest while she hangs out with her company. We pile on the bed and sit around her, encouraging her to eat as much as she can, while we talk and laugh like a bunch of schoolgirls.

“Ladies, I don’t know what to do about my man. I severed ties with my family years ago, but he’s adamant he wants to meet my parents to heal the rift between us. I’m not going into all the details but trust me when I say this relationship can’t be fixed, and I don’t want to subject him to them. How do I convince him I love him despite keeping him away from my family?”

“It doesn’t sound like he’s listening to your feelings on the subject. Why do only his matter?” Karen takes a sip of her wine. “There’s a reason you’re not involved with them, so he should respect and support you in that.”

“He’s not like that at all. I’m doing a piss-poor job of explaining the situation. Maybe I need another drink or five to forget the whole thing.” Tracy tilts up her glass and drains the rest of her wine.

“Cut him some slack, Tracy. Like I said earlier, he doesn’t know everything because you haven’t told him. He still believes in family, forgiveness, and how great everything can be when everyone is together. He’s never experienced the things you have. I know how hard it is for you, but it’s hard on him too because he doesn’t understand.”

“Fine, fine. Whatever you say.” She refills her glass from the bottle she brought with her from the kitchen. “Maybe I’ll tell him the whole, sordid story.”

“You know, you look so familiar. Have we met before?” Karen addresses me, effectively changing the subject.

“Hmm, not that I remember.”

“I swear I know you from somewhere. Now it’ll bug me all night.”

Juliana clears her throat and cuts her eyes to Karen, the universal, non-verbal clue to stop while she’s ahead.

“What is it? What am I missing?” My eyes automatically dart between Karen and Jules, waiting for the secret to be revealed. “Tell me, Jules. Don’t leave me in the dark here.”

“Yeah, same here.” Tracy leans in, waiting for Jules to spill her secrets.

A pained expression crosses Juliana’s face, but she’s trapped between three of us now and can’t get out of it. “Daisy, Karen was with me the night of the big fraternity house party on campus. She helped both of us after that asshole spiked the drinks.”

What she doesn’t say is Karen was a witness to the worst night of my life. She was the other person in the car, the one who talked to me during the entire ride. I didn’t put two and two together from Rod’s recollection of that night until this very moment. Juliana’s best friend has been by her side for years. Of course it’s Karen.

Awkward silence fills the room as no one is sure of what to say next.

“That night was the worst. But Rod has hired a private investigator to find my attacker. He thinks I should press charges and get this guy out of society.” I offer what information I can to help put the others at ease.

“I agree with Rod. If you decide to go after him, give the police my name. I didn’t have anything to drink that night, so I was completely lucid and remember it all vividly.” Karen leans over to hug me. “I’m only sorry we didn’t realize you were in trouble sooner.”

“Thank you. I appreciate the concern, but I’m okay now. It took a long time, but I’ve finally accepted what he did wasn’t my fault. He doesn’t deserve all the guilt I put on myself in the early years. I refuse to apologize to anyone for what he did.”

“Does that mean you’re finally ready to put him away?” Tracy asks, narrowing her eyes at me. Over the past several years, she has broached the subject from time to time, but never in a pushy way. Even though she didn’t know everything at the time, her line of work made her suspect foul play from the beginning. She’s always in my corner, regardless of the situation, and despite not having all the facts.

“Yes, I think I am. He’s been free long enough while I’ve spent time in a prison of my own making. When Landen is old enough to understand what happened and what the consequences were, I want him to see his mom as a strong survivor, not a scared victim.” This is the first time I’ve verbalized those feelings, and I’m surprised how cathartic it feels.

“That deserves another drink. I’ll have one for you, Daisy. And you know you have our full support through the entire process. Whatever you need.” Tracy lifts her refilled wine glass high above her head. “Here’s to justice,