Only Hope by Tyler Hamm

Chapter four: A fragile step forward

Oliver’s footsteps echoed down the marble hallway as he approached Eris’s room. His heart was heavy with uncertainty. It had been three days since he brought her home, and in that time, their interactions had been minimal—mostly awkward silences and the occasional sharp response from Eris.

Tonight, however, he was determined to change that.

Balancing a tray in his hands, he knocked lightly on her door. No response. He knocked again.

“Eris?” His voice was soft, careful. “I brought some tea.”

Still, nothing.

Sighing, he pushed the door open. The room was dim, lit only by the soft glow of the bedside lamp. Eris sat by the window, knees pulled to her chest, staring out at the dark expanse of the mansion’s grounds. She didn’t acknowledge him as he stepped inside.

“I thought we could talk,” Oliver continued, setting the tray on the small table near her bed. He poured a cup of tea and placed it beside her. “You don’t have to say anything. Just… keep me company for a while.”

Eris remained still. For a moment, Oliver thought she would ignore him completely. But then, her voice—quiet, guarded—broke the silence.

“You want to talk now?” she asked without turning to face him. “After fourteen years of nothing?”

Oliver exhaled slowly, his chest tightening at the bitterness in her words. “I know I don’t deserve an easy conversation. I know I wasn’t there for you. But I didn’t know, Eris.”

She finally turned to look at him, her dark eyes unreadable. “You didn’t know because you weren’t paying attention,” she said. “Mom knew what kind of man you were—so obsessed with his fame that he wouldn’t have wanted a kid messing up his life.”

Oliver flinched but didn’t argue. Because, in a way, he knew she wasn’t wrong. The man he had been back then—the one Carly left behind—was more in love with the spotlight than with anything real.

“I can’t change the past,” he admitted. “But I want to be here now.”

Eris scoffed, turning her gaze back to the window. “Yeah? And how long is that going to last? Until you get bored? Until you find something more interesting?”

His heart ached. “I’m not going anywhere, Eris. I promise.”

Silence stretched between them.

Then, unexpectedly, Eris reached for the cup of tea. She didn’t look at him as she took a sip, but Oliver caught the subtle way her shoulders lost some of their tension. It wasn’t much. But it was something.

Oliver sat down on the couch near her bed, careful not to push too hard. “Do you want to tell me about your mom?” he asked gently. “What she was like?”

Eris hesitated, her fingers tightening around the cup. Then, in a voice just above a whisper, she said, “She was strong.”

A small smile touched Oliver’s lips. “Yeah. She was.”

For the first time, Eris didn’t push him away. And for now, that was enough.

11

_______________________________________________

Oliver leaned back against the couch, watching his daughter carefully. She looked so much like Carly—her dark, wavy hair, the sharp curve of her jawline, the way her eyebrows pinched slightly when she was deep in thought. But there was something else, something purely Eris. A hardness that came from too many years of disappointment.

He had to break through it.

“I remember the first time I met your mom,” Oliver said, testing the waters. “It was at a charity gala. I was supposed to be networking, but she was the only person in the room who didn’t care who I was.”

Eris snorted softly. “Sounds like her.”

Encouraged, Oliver continued. “I walked up to introduce myself, and you know what she said to me?”

Eris shook her head.

“‘Oh, you’re that guy from that movie. Yeah, I didn’t like it.’”

That startled a laugh out of Eris. She immediately pressed her lips together as if regretting the reaction, but Oliver caught it.

“Your mom was brutally honest,” he said with a chuckle. “She didn’t care that I was famous. She just wanted people to be real with her. I think that’s why I fell for her.”

Eris was quiet for a long moment, staring into her tea. When she finally spoke, her voice was small. “She used to tell me stories about you.”

Oliver straightened. “She did?”

Eris nodded. “She never made you out to be a bad person. Just… someone who didn’t know how to slow down.”

That hit Oliver harder than he expected. Carly could’ve easily filled Eris’s head with bitterness, but instead, she had left room for him to prove himself.

And now, he had to.

“I wish I had known about you,” Oliver said earnestly. “I wish I had been there.”

Eris glanced at him, skeptical but not outright dismissive. It was a small c***k in her walls, but Oliver would take it.

“I’m not expecting you to forgive me overnight,” he admitted. “Or even at all. But I just want a chance to be your dad, in whatever way you’ll let me.”

Eris set her empty cup down, then slid off the window seat. Without another word, she climbed into bed and pulled the blankets over herself.

For a moment, Oliver thought she was ignoring him again. But just as he stood up to leave, he heard her mumble:

“Goodnight.”

His breath caught.

It was the first time she had acknowledged him in a way that wasn’t filled with anger.

A real step forward.

Oliver smiled. “Goodnight, Eris.”

As he turned off the light and closed the door behind him, he couldn’t help but feel something unexpected.

Hope.

12

______________________________________________