Sorry it is taking me so long to post new chapters. Work has just been crazy and my husband changed his start time at work so I have no time in the morning to write anymore. I hope it was worth the wait. Hey I was curious to know what you guys thought of the putting the song lyrics in the last chapter. No one commented on it and I just wanted to know if you guys felt that it worked.
The rain poured down as Barry drove around town not caring where he ended up. He tried, without success, to clear his mind of the pain on Caitlin's face. Why did he say that? Why did he feel the need to hurt her with his words? He needed to apologize, to make her see he really did love her. He knew it would hurt his dad, but he couldn't live without her anymore. He wouldn't live without her anymore.
But where did she run off to? Where would she go? The hospital. She said she was going to see his dad, so that's where he was going. He put the pedal to the floor and sped as fast as he could to the hospital.
He flew through the emergency room doors not paying any attention to the nurse that tried to stop him. "Hey you can't go in there!" he heard her yell as he rushed passed her.
He searched the floor frantically looking for his dad. Instead he found a nurse that had worked with his dad for years, "Kendra!" he called out as he ran up to her. "Have you seen my dad or Cait, uh Dr. Snow tonight?" She heard the urgency in his voice and responded with the same trepidation, "No. Is everything ok? Are you hurt?" She looked him over for any signs of injury, but only noticed his clothes were soaked and thought something might have happened in the rain storm.
Only my heart, he thought. "I just need to talk to my dad. Is he in with a patient?" he panted with anticipation.
Kendra's hazel eyes looked at him with confusion, "Your dad has tonight off. He and Dr. Snow were going to that charity event. I thought you know about it."
Barry's anxiety quickly turned to bewilderment, "That was the plan but Dr. Callahan got the stomach flu and dad had to come in for him."
She gave him quizzical smile, "I think you're mistaken Barry, Dr. Callahan is here. He's in with a patient right now, but I'm sure he'll be happy to talk to you when he's done." She watched his face convulse from confusion to pain and to anger. "Are you sure your OK?"
An alarm suddenly beeped to life on the monitors in front of them. Kendra reached over and hit a button to silence it. "I'm sorry Barry I have to go. Dr. Callahan is in room 3 if you want, you can wait for him right here." She rushed off to the room that the alarm generated from.
Barry stood in the middle of the emergency room his head spinning with a tornado of questions. My dad? Lied to me? To Caitlin? Why? What the hell is going on?
"Barry? What can I do for you?" Dr. Callahan asked kindly. Barry stared at him unable to speak. His mind was racing with questions.
"Is everything ok? Is your dad ok?" the doctor asked seeing the pale dumbfounded look on Barry's face.
"Did you...were you sick tonight? Like with the stomach flu?" Barry asked hoarsely.
The doctor shook his head, "No I feel fine. Been here all night. It's been a little crazy with the rain, but-"
"So my dad wasn't going to cover for you tonight?" Barry interrupted.
The doctor looked confused, "No. He was going to the charity ball tonight. I was suppose to go, but he convinced me he needed to go so we switched shifts and I gave him my tickets."
What the fuck?! "Thank you. I need to go." Barry rushed out of the emergency room with just as much urgency as he ran into it. He hopped back into his car and drove home hoping the whole time his dad had a very good reason for lying.
When he finally got home he bolted through the front door and found his dad standing by the fire place with a glass of whiskey in his hand.
"What the hell is going on?" he asked desperately. "I went to the hospital. I talked with Dr. Callahan and he told me he hasn't been sick at all tonight. He even said you convinced him to give you the tickets to the ball."
Henry stared at him with sad eyes. His face hung heavy with guilt and remorse. "You need to sit down son. I need to talk to you." Henry gestured to the couch inviting Barry to sit down.
"I'm not sitting down until you tell me what's going on? Is Caitlin here?" Barry asked again with more urgency.
"Sit down Barry." Henry demanded. He had a desperation in his eyes Barry had never seen before.
He complied, and sat down on the couch with an audible irritated sigh. "Ok. I'm sitting. Now will you tell me what's going on?"
Henry couldn't look his son in the eyes, instead he stared into the fire knowing he had made horrible choices, and Barry and Caitlin were suffering the consequences.
"Let me start by saying all this was never my intention." Henry's voice was low as his throat tightened with shame. "I love you and I just wanted to see you happy." He paused trying to find the inner strength to continue and hoping his son wouldn't hate him forever.
"What are you talking about. Why did you lie about working tonight at the hospital?" When Henry didn't answer, Barry asked quietly, "Did you ask Caitlin to marry you?"
"No…and I never planned to ask her. I never loved her. She's a sweet girl, but she's too young for me." Henry's words fell like brinks, a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest. He had been drowning in a sea of lies, and he finally was grabbing a life jacket.
Barry stared at his father with astonishment. His mouth gapped open, unable to speak. Was he hearing right?
"When Caitlin first came to work for me she was sweet, and lovely girl, but I could tell she was sad. The more I got to know her the more I thought she would be perfect for you but," he turned around finally facing his son. "You're so damn stubborn! You didn't want anything to do with anyone that wasn't Iris. I wanted to introduce you two but not make it seem like it was a set up. So when she asked me out I thought it would be the perfect situation for you to get to know each other." He sighed, leaving his confession out in the open. "I thought maybe if you thought she was unavailable you'd be more willing to get to know her."
Barry gazed at the floor as the realization of his father's lies was sinking in. "What about the proposal? Why did you tell me you were going to ask her to marry you?"
"I was trying to push you into telling me you liked her." Henry knelt down on one knee and tried to grasp at one of Barry's hands, "I thought maybe...you would say something."
Barry stood up quickly pushing hid fathers gesture away, "Why would that push me into telling you I liked her, all it did was push me away from her." He felt the need to escape. He didn't want to hear anymore. He felt dizzy and sick like when he would ride a roller coaster as a boy. "God Dad! I thought you were finally happy after all these years. Do you really think I would want to be the one to ruin that for you?"
"I'm sorry son." Henry whispered still knelling on the floor. He stayed on his knees giving penance to son.
"No! You do not get to call me that right now." Barry paced back and forth behind the couch. "I can't believe this. What about when I asked if you were cheating? Why didn't you say something then?"
"I wasn't sure if you liked her yet and…I wasn't ready to tell you…the whole truth." Henry looked down shame coloring his face.
"There's more?!" Barry yelled unable to comprehend the massive charade his father had been playing.
"Yes. I've been seeing someone for a year now. She's the hospitals administrator, Christina McGee. I didn't want to tell you at first because I wasn't sure how you would react with me dating someone. I didn't want you to feel like I was replacing your mother."
"So telling me your dating someone my age is so much better." Barry said sarcastically.
"She told me it was a mistake to lie to you two, but I didn't listen to her, and now I've ruined everything." Henry slowly stood and reached a hand out to his son praying for forgiveness.
Barry stared at his dad with shock and disbelief. The man he trusted all his life had been scheming and lying to him for months. Secretly dating someone, lying about dating Caitlin, lying about everything.
An uncontrollable rage bubbled to the surface. His vision turned red and his hands shook with a fury he had never felt before. He had been betrayed, by his father. The man that was always supposed to be there for him. His hand uncontrollably curled into a tight fist, and he struck his father with a right hook. Angry tears welled in his eyes.
"Ok. Ok. I deserve that. I've been lying to you and I deserve that." Henry messaged the area of his chin where Barry's fist made contact.
"What about Caitlin? Was she in on it too?" Barry said through clinched teeth.
"No. No, I have been lying to her too." Henry said defeated
"Do you know how bad she was hurt by her fiancée? How could you do something like this to her?" Barry had an excusatory tone.
"I didn't even know she had been engaged before. She was getting a lot of advances from some of the other doctors and I thought maybe she was just asking me out as a way to avoid the others doctors. I never meant to hurt her." Henry pleaded. "I had nothing but good intentions in mind."
"Good intentions? Good intentions? Well your good intentions have betrayed my trust in you." Barry could hardly stand to look his father in the eye. "You've lied to me for months, no wait, a whole year apparently. I can't be near you right now. I need some air. I need to see Caitlin. Where is she?"
"She came by here, she was in tears." Henry said sadly. "I guess you guys had a fight or something? She was rambling on about how she would marry me and how I am safe and we needed to get married as soon as possible. I had to sit her down and tell the truth too." He paused for a moment and rubbed his cheek, "She slapped me…twice. Then stormed out. I assume she went home."
"Well that's just great." Barry flung his arms in the air. "She's been hurt by both of us tonight." He slumped back down on the couch remembering his hurtful words.
"How did you hurt her?" Henry asked sincerely. He slowly moved closer to his son hoping he wouldn't push him away again.
"We kissed and it was…" he remembered the taste of her sweet lips, and the kiss so soft and timid. "Magical. Then all of a sudden she runs away. I catch up with her and she tells me she saw me and Patty…together and that's all she can think about. She says she can't look at me because the image keeps popping in her head or something. It made me mad. She had no right to excuse me of hurting her when the only reason I started seeing Patty was because I am in love with her." The irritation in his voice hung high and he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"So you do love Caitlin." Henry apprehensively sat down next to Barry and tried comfort him by placing a hand on his back.
Barry stood up quickly, "Don't touch me right now. There is nothing you can do right now that is going to make any of this ok. I just feel like everything is falling apart and I don't know what to do." He walked behind the couch again, pacing back and forth. He felt lost and for the first time in his life he didn't have his dad to help him find his way. "I just don't know how I'm ever going to trust you again." He stopped and held onto the back of the couch for strength. "I'm going to go see Caitlin. I need to tell her I'm sorry. I need to make sure she's OK." He pushed off the back of the couch and started for the door.
"Barry wait." Henry called to him, "I'm so sorry I've hurt you both. Please tell her how sorry I am."
Barry just shook his head and walked out the door.