"Can you get her out of the house?"
"Yeah, I can get her to leave, just as long as where we're going doesn't have anything to do with the wedding."
When Matthew got home, Chloe was gone. Becky convinced her to go to a bookstore and promised him to have her out until nine that evening. At first she wasn't going to go, but when Becky started to beg, she went just to get her to hush. Matthew didn't even shower or change first. He went right to the bedroom and opened up the tablet. He sighed in relief when he saw the letter sitting there. It would be just as difficult for him to read as it was for Chloe to write. He took a deep breath and sat down on the edge of the bed and began to read:
Dear Sylvia and Earl,
I feel funny calling you by your first names, but 'Mom and Dad' feels even more out of place. I don't think those titles are there to describe what someone is, but rather what they do. You're either a mom or dad, or you're not. It sounds complicated but it really isn't. I'm your biological daughter, which makes you my mother and father. But you're not my mom and dad. I'm sure you don't mind though, Sylvia. The few times I got to see you, you always asked me to call you by your first name in public. I guess it's okay, because we're strangers anyway since you abandoned me at birth, right? I'll try not to be angry while I write this, but I can't promise you anything.
I would like you to tell me what my favorite color is. What makes me laugh the most? What do I eat every morning for breakfast? What's my favorite food? When did I begin to ride a two-wheeler? What was my worst nightmare or best dream? What did I sleep with every night growing up? When was my last cold? What did I want to be when I grew up? What word could I never pronounce correctly? What was my favorite subject in school? Do I wear makeup? How much do I weigh? How tall am I? Did I sleep with a nightlight? What size shoe do I wear? WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN MY LIFE FOR TWENTY-FOUR YEARS?!?!
You know nothing about me, isn't that sad? When was the last time you called me or gave a damn? Who taught me to drive? WHAT HAPPENED IN MY ACCIDENT?!?! What were my injuries? Did I almost die? Was I afraid to get behind the wheel again? What kind of car was I driving? WHAT'S MY ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER?
What kind of parents think that money can replace being a mom or dad? Do you find me ugly or my personality despicable? Did I do or say something that led you to believe that material objects meant everything to me? I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but my guess is, you know the answers to none of them. Just like I don't have any answers. The most important question for me, however, is why? What did I do to be so unworthy in your eyes? Why was I less important than a trip, a job? Why would you talk to your associates more than you do your child? I bet you know what kind of flowers your secretary likes. What are my favorite flowers?
I managed to get by in life by lying. I lied so people wouldn't know that I was so horrible, even my parents didn't like me. The shame and humiliation you've made me endure all my life was too much for anyone to handle.
I fell in love. I knew you wouldn't approve of him right off the bat. The fact that you were so mean to him, Sylvia, proved me right. He stayed at my side while I was in the hospital. And you … did you touch me? Kiss me? Did it affect you at all seeing me so close to death? How about you, Earl, did you care? I love Matthew with all my heart. He's so good to me and loves me unconditionally. We're getting married in a month, and I haven't even shopped for my dress. That's something I was supposed to do with my mother. Becky invited you to my shower and you couldn't bother to show up? Why? Is it because it wasn't going to be a black tie affair in a room full of photographers? You shouldn't look down upon such a wonderful man like Matthew. You should be looking down on yourselves. I wanted my father to walk me down the aisle. But who is my father, anyway? What's your favorite color?
You busted my heart. You've done irreparable damage to me, and each time I think about the two of you, the knife just stabs in deeper, and I think about you all the time. Do you think about me? Do you miss me?
Regardless of all the things you've done, or refused to do, you're my parents and I love you. I just wish you were able to love me back. I'm really not that bad once you get to know me.
Matthew closed the notebook and picked up the phone. "Becky, it's me. I'll be gone when you bring Chloe back. I'll tell you about it later, but cover for me."
"Should I be worried?"
"No, but answer your phone if you get a call from the jail."
Chapter 15
Matthew tore out the letter and stuffed it in his pocket. He hopped in his truck and headed for the other side of the tracks, getting more ticked off with each mile he drove. He didn't even know what he was going to say or do, but he couldn't just sit back and watch the woman he loved wither away. The guards might try to stop him, or maybe Sylvia and Earl would refuse to answer the door. One way or another, he was getting inside that house.
Driving down the road along the Berkshire Estates, he glanced up at the roof he was working on the day he first saw Chloe. His heart softened and a wide smile spread across his face until he saw the big wrought-iron gate and guard post in front of the Burlington's mansion. Matthew slowed his truck down and watched as the guard stepped out of the booth.
"Can I help you, sir?"
"I'm here to see Earl and Sylvia Burlington."
"One moment, please."
The guard recorded his license plate number and checked his driver's license. He went back inside the booth and returned a couple of minutes later.
"Mr. Sharp, I'm sorry but the Burlington's aren't able to see guests this evening."
"Great." Matthew got out of the truck and walked to the intercom and pressed the button. "If you don't let me in and sit down and talk with me, I promise I'll go to the press, and then everyone is going to find out exactly how you both are. Don't test me."
The gates instantly opened. Matthew got back in his truck and drove up the long driveway. He knocked on the large front doors and waited. No one answered. He'd been at that house before and knew there was a side entrance by the pool. As soon as he stepped off the porch, the doors opened. Sylvia herself had answered them. She had to give the staff time to leave, because with Matthew's threats, she couldn't afford to have their conversation overheard. But the staff was already well aware of what went on under that roof; they'd seen the pain in Chloe's eyes over the years, especially during the holidays and her birthdays.
"Come in and have a seat, Matthew. It is Matthew, isn't it?
He noticed she had the same nervous look on her face that she wore during the interview on television. Matthew walked inside and followed her to a study, where Earl sat quietly in a chair. He had no desire to become friends with the two of them this evening. He was there to say what he needed to say, and they were going to listen. Matthew remained standing.
"I'm marrying your daughter and you don't even know me. Don't you think that's a bit odd? Your daughter is going to live with a man, forty minutes from your house, and you don't even know the guy. Does that picture seem off to you?"
Sylvia looked down at her hands resting in her lap, and Earl's shoulders began to slump.
"I've come here to read you something. Your daughter has been having a really hard time emotionally, and it has everything to do with the both of you. She wrote you a letter, but never had any intentions of ever letting you see it. Chloe doesn't know I'm here, but I didn't know what else I could do to help her, except by doing something to wake the both of you the hell up. I'm going to read, and you're going to listen. I can't hand it to you and have you read it. You'll just blow over every word that you don't like, and that'd be the whole thing. So I read, and you listen. That's how this is going to work."
Matthew unfolded the letter while Sylvia and Earl avoided having eye contact with him, or each other. He stood straight and read every word of Chloe's letter with as much feeling as he could muster. When he was finished, he folded it neatly back up and placed it in his pocket. Earl had glistening tears on his face, and Sylvia never lifted her chin to look at Matthew.
"How could you be so hurtful to her? All she wants is a mom and dad. She's the most remarkable woman I've ever met, and neither of you have a clue. She's breaking, and you don't even care. What was that crap you pulled at the hospital? Didn't any of that affect you in the least?"
"It's not what you think," began Sylvia as she lifted her face and looked Matthew in the eyes.
"Well why don't you explain it to me then, because I would move mountains for Chloe, so I'm not opposed to moving you either."
"I'm afraid of getting close to Chloe."
"How can you be afraid of her? What did she ever say or do to make you feel that way?"
"Because I'm a horrible mother and a horrible person." Sylvia knew she'd have to take off her armor after all these years. "Where I grew up, you didn't exactly learn the ways of the world. I didn't have parents or a family. I was dropped off as a child and forgotten about. I think I was psychologically afraid to ever get close to another person again. They rejected me, and I thought they did it because I was some kind of God awful person. I knew when my daughter got older, she'd see the same kind of person my parents did and wouldn't want me either. So I stayed away to avoid that. As her relationship with Lois grew, I saw that as my way out. I knew our cook would do a better job with her than I could. I'm just speaking the truth, Matthew, I'm not excusing my behavior."