The Pull of Destiny (84 page)

Right back atcha, bud.

Reluctantly, I said, “Hi, Mr.
Astor,” as politely as possible.

He was on my crap list for
so
many reasons but he was still my boyfriend’s dad and I still had to be
respectful towards him, no matter how hard it was.

“Here to see Luke, are you?”

Resisting the urge to roll my
eyes, (
Mr. Astor seems to have that effect on me
) I said, “Yes. We’re
going to visit Shane.” He said nothing in response to that, just continued
gazing at me, his eyes sharp. I waited a beat before asking, “Is Luke in his
room?”

Because we really needed to
leave, and fast. Mr. Astor was starting to freak me out with that little half
smile on his face.

Stepping towards me, Mr.
Astor replied, “Luke's showering.”

He opened the door to Luke's
room, gesturing for me to enter. “Have a seat. He won’t be long.”

Remembering the disaster that
had stuck the last time I was left alone in a room with Mr. Astor, I nervously
walked into the room and sat down primly, my heart almost thudding out of my
chest. He closed the door, waited for me to get comfortable in the armchair I
had seated myself in and cleared his throat.

“So, I’m sure you’ve heard
that Luke is leaving soon,” he started, hands clasped behind his back as he
stared up at something that had no doubt caught his eye near the ceiling

Nodding, I said, “Yes.”

This was the last topic I
wanted to talk about. I didn’t even want to think about Luke getting on a plane
and leaving, but obviously, Mr. Astor would be the person to bring it up. It
was like he
enjoyed
being the antagonist, shooting down people’s dreams
and ruining lives.

He probably does enjoy it,
Celsi.

“Perhaps being out of his
comfort zone will have a positive effect on him,” he continued smugly, sounding
like he was doing Luke a huge favor by uprooting him from everyone and everything
he held dear.

I looked up at him, unable to
keep quiet any longer. “Don’t you think that Luke needs to be in his comfort
zone, to be around people he knows, in order to get better?”

“Not sure if we’re talking
about the same Luke,” Mr. Astor replied coolly. “I don’t know if you’ve
noticed, Miss Sawyer, but Luke
is
better.”

He said that in such a
smart-alecky tone that I snorted out loud.

What a jerk.

“It takes months for people
to recover from serious neurological surgery,” I said, my voice taking on a
plaintive tone as I stared desperately at Mr. Astor. “Luke hasn’t even made a
full recovery yet but you’re moving him to England because you don’t trust him?
It’s not fair.”

Face void of any discernible
emotion, Mr. Astor gazed at me. I quaked, sure that he was going to come at me
with a biting retort. But why should I keep what I was feeling silent, when
maybe, just maybe, if I said the right thing it might persuade Mr. Astor to let
Luke stay?

It’s worth a shot.

“You’re right.” My forehead
wrinkled and as I stared up at him, he started to pace.
Uh oh.
“I don’t
trust him.” Turning to me, he gave an exaggerated slow clap. “Well done for
cracking the code.”

No need to get all snarky
with it.

Ignoring his sarcastic grin,
I asked, “Why don’t you trust him?”

A bark of laughter. “Do I
need to give
you
reasons?”

“He’s changed. You know he
has. He doesn’t drink, smoke or party all night anymore,” I said, my voice
fervent. “He deserves a second chance.”

Grimly, Mr. Astor said, “Do
you know how many chances your boyfriend has had? He lost the privileges of
getting any other chances when he got expelled.”

“He was provoked.”

Oh. My. God. I’m arguing with
Mr. Astor! This can’t end well.

Raising his eyebrows, Mr.
Astor asked, “Where you there?”

“No, but-,” I started, wanting
to explain everything. Somehow, I knew that Mr. Astor hadn’t even listened to
Luke's side of the expulsion story. Hell, Luke probably hadn’t even bothered to
explain the entire situation to his dad in the first place. Who would blame
him? Mr. Astor wasn’t the most sympathetic person, not by a long shot.

Sighing, Mr. Astor
interrupted. “Listen. I appreciate your attempts in trying to get me to reverse
my decision to send Luke away, but your well-meaning arguments won’t work on
me. Come and talk to me when you have a son like Luke, always screwing up,
never doing what he’s told- a rebel without a cause.” His voice turned
sorrowful as he stopped pacing and abruptly sat himself on Luke's bed, facing
me as he spoke. “Do you know how many chances I’ve given him to redeem himself?
Too many to count, Miss Sawyer.”

“I know, sir, but this time
will be different,” I insisted. “I don’t know many people who would go back to
their old, destructive lifestyle after a near death experience. And Luke was
changing even before the rupture.”

As cynical as it was, I could
see Mr. Astor's point of view. He’d given Luke so many chances to change but
Luke hadn’t even cared. It just seemed sad that now Luke was determined to be a
better person, his dad was the one who didn’t care. But surely Luke deserved
the benefit of the doubt in this situation? I mean, it was obvious that he was
different, right? You didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out.

Mr. Astor shrugged. “Good,”
he replied, rubbing his hands together. “Then when he goes to the UK with his
mother, he’ll complete his transformation and come back here a real Astor, not
someone always willing to sling his family name through the mud in exchange for
some cheap thrills.”

“That’s not his game plan
anymore.” I shook my head, willing for Mr. Astor to understand what I was
trying to tell him.
Luke is different!
Why was he the only person who
didn’t realize it? “He’s more mature, grown up.”

“That’s sweet of you,
defending him like that,” Mr. Astor smirked, his voice full of sarcasm. “I
guess he picked a winner.”

My lips tightening, I said,
“I’m just being honest and pointing out the truth.”

Since you’re too negative to
see it on your own.

“Oh yeah?” His eyes narrowed
as he glowered at me. “Well, since we’re baring our souls here, let’s talk
about how your boyfriend cost me business relationships, major deals and
hundreds of thousands of dollars, all thanks to that wild streak of his.
Bitter? Hell, yeah I’m bitter!” He got to his feet again, towering over me even
as my heart leapt in my chest.
Celsi, what have you done?
“Wouldn’t you
be bitter?”

Choosing my words carefully,
(he really seemed like he was interested in hearing what I had to say) I
answered, “Yes, but I would talk to him, tell him how I feel.”

Wrong answer.

Mr. Astor snickered
derisively at my naiveté as he shook his head. “Yeah right. Do I really look
like I have the time to talk with Luke?”

“That’s the problem,” I said
softly, looking up at him. “You don’t have time for him. You never do and
that’s
why he acts out, because he just wants attention from you. It’s the age old
tactic. If you can’t get attention by being good, get it by being bad.” The
frown on Mr. Astor's face softened as I continued, filling me with hope that
maybe what I was saying was registering to him. “He doesn’t want much from you,
just your love.”

Puzzlement flickered on Mr.
Astor's face as he stuck his hands in his jacket pockets. “I
do
love
him,” he said in complete bewilderment. “Does he honestly think that I don’t?
If I didn’t love him, would I have gone through all the trouble I went through
during his aneurysm problems?”

“That’s the thing,” I started
delicately, not wanting to step on Mr. Astor's toes but needing to say my
piece. “You did go all out, I’m not saying that you didn’t, but you kept
rubbing his face in it. You acted like you were just getting him the best
medical care in New York just because you’re his dad and you have to, not
because you cared.”

Running a hand over his neat
hair, Mr. Astor murmured, “I
do
care. I love my son very much, but he
keeps disappointing me with the decisions he makes.”

“When you were young I’m sure
you made a few bad decisions as well.”

Oops, now I’ve crossed the
line.

I was totally expecting Mr.
Astor to start barking about how perfect he was as a youngster and that I
should take that back, but to my shock, he smiled at me.

“You should be a therapist,
Miss Sawyer. Or a lawyer. You have some very concise arguments.”

“I’m just speaking out of
love,” I replied honestly. “I love your son and- and he loves you too, Mr.
Astor. In spite of everything he put you through. And he’s turned over a new
leaf. I just wish you would realize that.”

Holding my gaze with a
searching look, Mr. Astor finally let out a humph sound. “You know what, Miss
Sawyer?” His lips turned up in a smile as I waited for him to continue with
bated breath. “I think you’re the best decision my son has made in years.”

Just as I was goggling at him
with wide eyes, (that was basically the equivalent of Mr. Astor saying that he
approved of our relationship!) the door opened and Luke strolled into the room.
His eyebrows rose as he took in the scene, seemingly taken aback at seeing us
in the same room together.

“Hey, CiCi,” he said,
skirting around his dad warily to give me a kiss on the cheek.

“Hi, Luke,” I replied,
watching him glance at Mr. Astor, who was staring at the floor.

Slipping his hand over mine
as I stood up, Luke whispered, “Ready to go?” in my ear.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” I said,
still floored by what Mr. Astor had just said.

Finally, Luke turned to his
dad. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hi, son.”

Luke's eyebrows rose higher
at the salutation his dad gave him. “Um... didn’t know you were planning on
visiting today.”

He sounded slightly resentful
and I couldn’t blame him. The lack of his dad’s visits obviously hurt him
deeply, even though he didn’t like to show it.

“I came to visit Dr. Khan.”

Shrugging, Luke muttered, “Of
course.” He squeezed my shoulder. “We should head on out, CiCi.” I nodded as
Luke started hustling me out, one hand on my back. He apparently couldn’t wait
to leave. “Later, dad.”

We were halfway out of the
room when Mr. Astor suddenly called out, “Luke!”

“Yeah?” Luke said carelessly
over his shoulder.

Mr. Astor cleared his throat
before he went on. “I think we need to have a little talk when you come back
from the cemetery.” He glanced over at me and gave a slight nod. “It’s long
overdue.”

“Okay. I guess,” Luke
replied, nodding. “See you later, then. C’mon, CiCi.” As we walked away from
his dad, Luke muttered, “Weirdo.”

***

We stopped at the flower shop
to buy some flowers (my idea) and headed out to the cemetery where Shane was
buried.

“When was the last time you
came here?” I asked Luke as we walked up to Shane’s grave.

His face was somber and pale
as he looked down at the final resting place of his best friend. “Too long
ago,” he replied, his voice hoarse. Reaching down, he placed the bouquet of
flowers on the granite slab, running his fingers along the inscription written
on the tombstone. ‘
Here lies Shane Newton. Beloved son and friend. We loved
him, but God loved him more. Rest in eternal peace
.’ “You remember him,
don’t you?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “He was my
lab partner for a couple of weeks. Always happy.”

Lips twitching with a smile,
Luke said, “Yeah, that used to get me all kinds of confused. His family was
kinda screwed up, his dad was always in rehab but Shane was always smiling.” He
turned to look at me, his eyes thoughtful. “I see lots of similarities between
you two.”

“You do?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah. You both care about others,
you’re both happy, no matter what life throws at you...” His voice trailed off
as he stared at Shane’s grave pensively, his hands jammed into his jeans
pockets. “I bet you would have been really good friends if life had turned out
differently.”

Letting out a breath, I said,
“Maybe.” I didn’t want life to turn out differently because maybe Luke and I
wouldn’t have gotten together. Stepping forward, I slipped my hand in his and
smiled up at him. “But I’m kinda glad life turned out this way for us.”

Grinning down at me, Luke
murmured, “Co-sign.” He bit his lip, staring at the inscription reflectively.
“I don’t know what to say.”

“Imagine he was right here
with you. What would you say to him?” Luke shot me a surprised look at my
answer and I elaborated. “That’s what I do when I think about my mom.”