Suits & Aces (#3)

42 // Mending Walls

Shannon had forgotten what it felt like to have a friend, it felt as if she has spent the last few weeks of her life with people twice her age just to keep her mind busy.

Things had been messy since the entire ordeal with her biological father and Courtney.

It still felt surreal. She found out that the father she had known all her life was not her real father, only to find out that her biological father was a bumptious ass who only cared about what the world thought of him.

Her best friend who turned out to be a real sister also turned her back against her. She would have loved to believe that her father had turned her against her, but Courtney had always been rebellious, if she wanted to fix things with Shannon, she would have done so a long time ago; but that was not happening anytime soon, it probably will never ever happen again, especially after finding out that Courtney was pregnant, and again she had to find out from one of her other friends.

Kim was a troubled soul just like her, they never saw each other because they both had things to deal with, especially when it came to family life. Both their families carried the worst of baggages

It was true when Kim said that they had a lot to catch up on, sometimes it was just entertaining having someone to discuss her drama with, someone to relate to her without judging her or making her feel like she ought to be perfect.

Of all places, Kim just had to pick one of Logan's restaurant, Bon Appétit, the same place she used to work and the very same place where she met MJ Billings for the first time, this was exactly where her life took a wild turn, and she was thrown into the world of lies and deceit.

This place only spelt doom for her, she remembered how she was coming from here when she saw MJ and Keagan's friends and decided to follow them.

How no one still had not noticed that they were missing was beyond her comprehension, maybe people felt at peace now that they were no longer around. They were no angels, they only brought mischief to the community. If she had to be honest, things had gotten better since their disappearance.

"Hey, Shay! Sorry, I'm late. Amandla was on my case all day," Kim said as she sat on the chair opposite her.

"What happened?" Shannon asked, finally taking a glance at the menu.

She knew it inside out, she could not believe she still remembered everything, she was the one who suggested some of the dishes on the menu, but Logan would never acknowledge that.

"Haven't you read the article Sasha wrote? Now, Amandla is convinced that Sasha knows something."

Shannon looked up with a grimace. "Let me guess, she wants to know how your sister could have beaten you to it?" Kim growled in response. "Have you ever thought of reaching out to her though?"

Kim sighed and opened her menu. "Let's order something to eat first. What are we having?" Kim asked.

Shannon knew that Kim would try to avoid talking about her family at all costs, she did not have a good relationship with her older siblings, she only got along with her younger sister.

"Sasha doesn't want to be bothered, the only time she talks to us and grandma is on month end when she sends us money."

"And Demi?" Shannon asked.

"Demi is too good for us since she married my boss's brother. Don't even get me started with my brother, nobody knows where he is, even Sasha and Demi."

"Drama should have been our last name, honestly."

Kim laughed. "Girl, I see you've been busy, two videos trending online!"

Shannon cringed at the mention of those videos, one was when she was fighting with Amber, and the other was when she was dancing at the club.

"Girl, that's not even half of it. I dropped out."

"What?"

"Yeah, for good this time. And my brother is too busy with his baby mama drama to notice anything, so I'm safe for now."

Their food finally arrived, and they dug in almost immediately.

"So, about Courtney..." Kim started, sipping her coffee. "Her friends are planning a baby shower for her, and I just happened to run into one of them, that's when I found out about the pregnancy. But I don't think Courtney wanted anyone to know, which is strange because we both know that Courtney loves being in the spotlight."

That was true. Courtney never cared what anybody thought of her, she was not hiding her pregnancy from the world, she was hiding it from Shannon because Shannon was the only person whose opinion Courtney ever valued. On top of that, they were probably ashamed after the way they treated her.

"Hey, how is Emily?" Shannon changed the topic abruptly, and Kim groaned.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. So, remember the last time she stole my laptop, speakers, and tablet, and then sold them?" Shannon nodded. "My grandmother got into trouble at work because of that, and then Logan Parker replaced my things and paid for Emily to be sent to rehab. Well... she was doing well for the first three months, and then she relapsed."

Kim acted as if it did not bother her, but Shannon could see that her little sister's drug problem pained her.

"Are you going back to the office?"

"I wish... you want Amandla to ask if the paper is going to find stories and go into print while I chill in the office?"

They both laughed and it felt like the last few minutes did not happen, they spent the rest of their date ridiculing their bosses and talking about the good old days before "adulting" made itself the new era of their daily lives. They left the restaurant, each going their own way, knowing well that they at least had one person in the world who was willing to listen without passing any judgement.

Shannon had one last stop to make before heading home, she did not want to be the definition of broken relationships. She had only ever know herself as Shannon Botha, and recently, she had come to realise that even though her family always had drama, she was nothing without them. She had a bad record, but she also had the record for the most loved daughter ever, and she owed all that to her father, the man who raised her and made her who was today.

She spent months trying to figure herself out, thinking that she would find herself if she reconnected with her biological father, but she only found herself flung into a dark hole, she lost herself trying to find her place where she was not wanted.

She only had one father, and that was Erasmus Botha.

She got out of the car and paid the cab driver, and then stepped in front of the huge burgundy metal gate, her heart sinking at the memory of what happened the last time she was here; her father had said the most awful and hurtful things to her.

Her first thought was to turn back and walk away, but she could not get her feet to correspond, she knew she could not run away forever, this man gave her twenty years of her life from the day she was born.

She pressed the intercom before she could change her mind, and it was answered immediately.

"Who is there?"

Her throat dried out and her words vanished in a flash, she had forgotten what his voice sounded like, and it took three words for her to realise how much she had missed him. Her breathing grew rapidly as she leaned against the wall.

The gate slid open, and she quickly stood straight and wiped her tears, and then entered the yard.

Erasmus Botha stepped out from behind the door, and her heart just elapsed into a river of tears.

"Shannon?" He choked, his eyes sparkling with tears. "Is that really you?" He asked, stepping forward and pulling her into a hug. "I'm so sorry, my angel! I'm sorry."

"Daddy!" She cried, responding to his embrace. It felt like she was finally in her safe place, like no one would hurt her for as long as he was with her, she felt like she could once again face the world with her head held high.

He let her go and wiped her tears, assessing her face as if searching for bruises. She also got to have a good look at him, and he looked a lot older as if he had given up on life.

As if reading her thoughts, he ruffled his hair awkwardly. "Yeah, I've been in a bad place. Your brother was also here. How about you tell me what you've been up to while you help me clean up this place?" He asked with a bright smile and took her hand, but she resisted when he attempted to pull her into the house.

"Dad, wait!" She could not stop the tears. "Do you hate me? Please don't hate me!"

She could not bear the thought of another rejection, what if he remembered everything and decided that he wanted nothing to do with her for good?

He took his hand and kissed it. "Come, let's sit for a second." He gestured at the veranda. They sat down, and he never let go of her hand even for a second. "Luister, I know I've said some hurtful things to you, I was hurting and I was angry, it was never my intention to hurt you like that, and it's been haunting me for months, but I was too much of a coward, I was scared to reach out to you. I thought maybe you were happy without me." He smiled sadly. "Shay, I could never hate you. You are my daughter, I've been with you from the day I found out that your mother was pregnant with you, I was there when you were born, and I watched you take your first step. I saw your true potential before the world could. Don't you remember how I helped you master your first dance move, or how I took you to all those dance shows? I bought you your first dance shoes, remember those pink sneakers with tiny music notes and radios printed in black?" She laughed at the memory, tears spilling out of her eyes. "You are my baby, and I love you."

"I love you too, daddy."