Seth was already waiting in front of his father's house when Genetta came driving up in her little, black car. He suddenly felt stupid and way too greedy when he saw her car next to his bigger and more expensive one. His father had given her a car but it hadn't exactly been a car to brag about. His heart broke thinking about how she had slept in that car for the past week.
She stepped out of the car and he couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. He didn't deserve her coming to him like this but she was there and it meant the world to him.
"Hello, Seth," she said.
"How are you doing?" He asked.
"Does it matter?" She asked.
"Yes," he answered. "Is everything alright?"
"I'm still alive," she shrugged. "Why am I here, Seth?"
"Right," he chuckled nervously.
He took out the papers that she had signed eight days earlier and showed them to her. His signature was still missing on them.
"Did you bring me out here so I can watch you sign them? That's a new low, even for you," she said.
"No, I..." He sighed. "I wanna do right by you."
She let out a laugh that sent chills down his spine. She wasn't finding it funny at all. It was a cold laugh that he didn't like. He took out a lighter, lit the flame, and burned the papers in front of her. Her jaw dropped as she watched them go up in flames. He let go of the papers and let the remains fall to the ground.
"I'm sorry, Genetta," he said. "I know you probably don't trust anything coming out of my mouth but I am truly sorry for everything I've ever done to you."
"Seth?" She asked lowly.
"I was greedy and my vision was clouded," he said. "Everything is yours and will remain yours."
"Why?" She asked.
He took a step forward and was happy to see she wasn't backing away from him.
"I was so angry because I thought we were going somewhere. I was in love with you and he knew that. He called me that morning and said you had climbed into bed with him the night before, and I believed him. I fucking believed that asshole. We had a fight the day before and his way of punishing me was to get to you. He took you and I placed my anger on you. I was angry with him but like a coward I took it out on you. My heart was broken and I blamed you for it. I didn't know the truth and I'm sorry," he said.
He took another step forward and she still wasn't backing away. If he wanted to, he could reach his hand forward and touch her but he didn't dare try that.
"I never stopped loving you," he said. "I always found you because I wanted to break you into saying you made a mistake. I wanted to hear you say that you chose the wrong Rollins. I wanted to hear you say that you loved me too."
"I did," she whispered.
He nodded and felt tears in his eyes. He was too late. He didn't have any hope of them ever being together when he asked her to meet him there. He just wanted to do the right thing.
"Anyway," he held out his hand towards the house. "The house is yours and so is half of his money. It's not like I needed that money anyway, and it's only fair that you keep it now that I know the truth. And I don't doubt for one second that it is the truth. There were others before you that he..."
He looked down at the ground and hoped she would finish that sentence herself.
"That he what?" She asked.
"That he raped," he looked up again. "Women he paid to go away or threatened to destroy their lives if they didn't take his money and go away. I knew he had this side to him but I never knew he did it to you. He always made it sound like you had a relationship, and you never said otherwise. I was angry and hurt, and I took it out on you. I hope one day you'll forgive me."
"I don't want the house, Seth," she said.
"Swallow your pride and move back in. Your car can't be good for your back," he said.
"This isn't about pride," she said. "That house holds so many bad memories. I never wanna set foot inside it again."
He scratched the back of his head and turned to look at the house. That made sense. His father had been hurting her inside that house for years, and she had to stay if she didn't want to go back to the streets.
"We can sell it and split the money," she said.
"What?" He looked at her.
"I forgive you, Seth," she gave him a little smile. "None of us were being honest with each other. We both hurt each other in some way. Your father was great at manipulating people and getting what he wanted."
"He sure was," he sighed. "That piece of shit! I'm glad his dead."
"Seth," she said calmly.
She took his hand and he felt warm inside. He had missed her touch so badly. It had been so many years without a hug or friendly pat. He pulled her in for a hug and held her close. Tears started running down his cheeks when he felt her put her arms around him.
"I don't deserve your forgiveness," he said.
"Yes, you do," she said. "Your father hurt you on purpose. I was just a pawn to him to assert his dominance over you."
"I should have known," he said.
"He was your father," she said. "No one wants to think their father is capable of things like that."
He broke the hug and saw she was crying too. He couldn't help but smile through his tears, and he was rewarded with a smile back.
"Look at us," he said.
"We're a mess," she said.
"We are," he laughed. "Alright, if you don't wanna live here, you're coming home with me. I'm not taking no for an answer. I got a guest room you can crash in until you figure out what you wanna do. No more sleeping in your car. And we're stopping for lunch somewhere on our way back to my place."