Chapter 2 - SO, LEAVE!

SIENNA

When I arrived at my restoration studio the following morning, it filled me with anticipation and excitement. Despite all the difficulties I encountered, I endeavored to put the incident out of my mind and summon up the courage to go speak to that museum.

But until that happened I had a lot of work to do, and I was ready for it. The first piece that was on order was a beautiful antique chair that had been in the Smith’s family for generations. Mrs. Smith told me it had a sentimental value attached to it, and it was my job to restore it to its former glory.

I cautiously raised the chair onto my workbench and inspected it with great care. The chair had already gone through some wear and tear and was no longer at its peak condition. Time had discolored, scratched, and worn down the wood. I was determined to put in the hard work and have patience to make this chair look as good as new.

I started by sanding down the wood to remove the scratches and reveal the natural grain. Then, I applied a fresh coat of stain and let it dry for a few hours. Once I finished that task, I then focused my attention on the upholstery. I carefully removed the old fabric, being mindful not to damage the delicate frame of the chair. Following that, I changed out the old springs with new ones and gave the chair a new upholstery.

The work was slow and required a great deal of attention to detail, but I was captivated by every second. As I ran my hands over the chair, I could almost feel it coming back to life. While I worked, I was constantly thinking of the family who had entrusted me with this invaluable piece of furniture. There was no question that they were counting on me to give my very best, and I was absolutely determined not to disappoint them in any way.

Then, a sound of what felt like someone pounding on my front door taking it down abruptly disrupted the quietness of the studio.

“I’m coming! Jeez! Don’t smash my door! This is my studio, for God’s sake!” I yelled out in surprise, quickly placing my utensils down onto the table. My day was going terribly when this someone kept on banging on the door until I eventually got there. "Seriously, knock it off!" I shouted from my studio.

Not even my clients bringing their artifacts in for restoration knocked so hard to break down my door. Was it an angry customer? Or maybe it was Aiden Roberts again who hadn't finished his venomous outburst on me. If it was him, he would just listen to my frustration!

I left my utensils on the workbench and with determined steps headed for the door.

“What is it?” I yelled with conviction, my voice getting higher.

This was clearly not the way of greeting someone but this person was getting on my nerves.

But I was the shocked one.

Jason Moore, founder of Jewel Inc. and my father, stood expressionless before me, dark bags visible beneath his eyes.

“Sienna…” he said barely in a whisper.

I acted impulsively and shut the door on him, not giving him the chance to speak another word.

If only I had been more prudent and not opened the door, that would have been the right thing to do. I should have taken the opportunity of my first punch and used it to render him unconscious. I felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement as I walked back and forth in my studio, glancing at the various artifacts that were scattered around the room. After all the years that have passed, what could have possibly brought him back here? I had just barely got away from the looming presence of his shadow. My hand was shaking as I grasped my phone to dial Laurie’s number. During this challenging period of my life, she was the only one who could provide me with the support I needed to get through it. All the while I could hear him talking incessantly and hammering away.

“Sienna! Open the door! Open the damn door!” he screamed in anger. What the hell was he thinking? Who gave him the right to come to my workplace and shout like that?

He began to hit the door with an ever-increasing force until it was a thunderous pounding.

“Go away! I don’t know you! You are nothing to me!” I said through the door barely holding my tears. How could I not know him? He was my damn father!

My hands were shaking so hard I didn’t get the chance to call Laurie. She had her own problems. Why add another one?

“Sienna, please, open the door! I need to talk to you,” he said again.

“We have nothing to say to each other, so LEAVE!” I yelled.

His voice, this time was less forceful and more imploring. His lies would not take me in so easily. Not this time.

“Honey, it is not me I want to talk to you about. I know you are angry with me for leaving you and mom and Alicia… Please… this is about your sister, Sienna!”

My face grew taut as I felt my muscles tighten. Alicia. Was this a clever way of getting me to open the door or something else? I found it unbelievable he would have the temerity to use my little sister in order to manipulate me. Furthermore, it had been a long time since he had last seen me.

I had a conversation with Alicia two days prior and she seemed to be in good spirits. It appeared he has been up to his old tricks once more. All the lies he had told us throughout his life with us had been a complete fabrication.

“You’re trying to bluff! What about Alicia? She was fine when I spoke to her.”

Without realizing it, I opened the door during this time.

A look of immense relief spread over his face when he caught sight of my eyes.

“I am serious, Sienna. We really need to talk,” he said again, catching his breath.

“We can always talk here. What do you want? Talk! And be quick, I have other things to do then listen to you,” I commanded.

At one point in time, he would have felt proud of the ruthlessness of command I had given. Now it made me furious.

With no response coming, he suddenly found himself overcome with emotion and tears poured from his eyes.

I did not know it was going to happen, and it took me totally by surprise. As far as I could remember, I have never seen my father cry. His eyes had never grown accustomed to shedding tears, and his heart did not understand what compassion was. Money was the only thing he felt he had any power over, leaving him incapable of feeling anything else.

Despite my inquiries for an explanation, he was still crying, and I was still waiting for a response. I found my thoughts drifting back to my beloved sister. I reached for the collar of his ragged shirt. “Start talking, God damn it! What happened to her? Don’t just stand there, silent”!

I kept shaking him repeatedly until I was too exhausted to continue.

My heart was pounding as I stood in the doorway, feeling unsteady on my feet. He was undoubtedly a bastard, but he was also my father. I had a chance to take a better look at him, and it was clear that he was not in the best of shape. His hair, which was usually so perfectly put together, was in a state of disarray and I couldn’t resist the urge to look at his overly priced suit as if he had been sleeping in it. When I saw the suit, it surprised me to find out it was too big for him, and I suddenly realized he had shed some pounds.

I had always known Jason Moore for his strength and physical robustness. He had changed drastically since I last saw him and he was now just a shadow of the man I remembered.

Feeling a need to break away from the intensity of his gaze, I quickly diverted my attention to the incomplete chair in my studio. Another mistake. Whenever he had the opportunity, he would take advantage of my weaknesses, as he had so often done before. He had a tendency to forget or simply choose to ignore the fact that we were not his business partners. His inhumane actions caused a rift between us and drove us apart, even though we were family. He seemed to be stuck in a pattern and was doing the same thing yet again.

“Your sister is terribly sick, Sienna,” he said without hesitation.

“What? What did you just say? You are bluffing again!”

I tried to keep my sorrow inside and I barely breathed as I struggled to contain my emotions and words. There was a heavy feeling on my chest, making it hard to breathe, and my legs felt like they were made of stone.

“Alicia has stage two liver cancer and I don’t know what to do.”

He was motionless, yet his words echoed through the studio.

His words had such a powerful impact that I couldn’t tell if I was alive or not, if I was still breathing, or if I had just expired. A wave of tenderness washed over me for my sister. Was I meant to endure how many slaps?

It had been many years since my father had left us, without so much as a backward glance, and yet here he was, knocking on the door of the studio where I was working, just as if no time had passed at all, like an apparition from the past, delivering the news about Alicia.

“You are lying! You are fucking lying! Where is she? Take me to her!” I screamed in despair.

“I can’t…”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

I was feeling hopeless and struggling to find my own strength, but it was incredibly difficult. I was the only one feeling anxious and restless. He wasn’t. He simply stared at me as if his words had run dry and he had nothing more to say. “Why now? How long have you known?”

Even though I knew I was asking an excessive number of questions, I couldn’t help but notice more and more popping into my mind. I instantly put the blame on my father with no prior thought. “The entire situation is your fault! You, with your apathy and your money! Having enough money to even take a damn swim in them if you could be all that mattered to you. You are a shithole!”

I was so overwhelmed with pain that all I could do was shout, having no more tears left to cry. I blamed myself for feeling completely numb and disconnected from my emotions, all because of him.

“Sienna, honey… I need your help. Your sister needs your help,” he finally said, staring at me with his teary eyes.

“Do you need my support? What for? Adding to your spending? Well, I no longer possess anything. You already dealt with that. You’re not even concerned about her! Listen up, sir!” I yelled, barely able to control my rage. “I advise you to keep away from both her and me. Not to mention my mom. You have done enough harm as it is. I appreciate you telling me this and coming all the way to my work. Give me the hospital’s address where she is being treated and get the hell out of our lives! Leave us the hell alone,”

That my words did not affect him, yet he remained still in my doorway without making a single gesture was peculiar. What was so compelling that he could not bring himself to go? He went out of his way to come here and he wanted to share with me what he knew about my sister. Did he express any regret about what had happened?

“Your sister is dying, Sienna. We learned two weeks ago...”

His throat felt so closed up that he couldn’t utter a single word. It was a surreal moment for me when I saw my father, the one who was usually so confident and wealthy, unable to put two words together. This was absolutely ridiculous and completely outrageous.

“Two fucking weeks? Why are you knocking on my door now? She and I spoke yesterday. Why did she not inform me?” I asked once more, unable to believe that this was unfolding before us. I was completely apathetic towards him and had no emotion or care.

In my opinion, he could spend eternity in hell. I couldn’t care less.

“Sienna, there is a problem…”

“When there’s no problem with you?” I snapped.

“We haven’t yet… started the treatment. You know, chemo…”

“WHAT? Are you insane? What is wrong with you, Jason Moore?” I yelled from the top of my lungs. People could hear us, but I didn’t give a fuck.

“I am broke, Sienna! I have no money left!”