The Hour He Never Gave Chapter 13
I turned around, stunned, and realized Ellie had gotten out of the car at some point.
She grabbed the hem of my shirt, confusion written all over her face.
The second Pierce heard her words, all the color drained from his face.
“Ellie, what did you just say? I’m your dad. Are you still mad at me, so you’re saying that on purpose? Ellie, I know I was wrong. Can you forgive me?”
Ellie immediately shrank behind me. “My daddy died a long time ago. He visited me in a dream during surgery and said he’d always watch over me. So how could you be my daddy?”
Remembering the doctor’s warning and scared Pierce would trigger her condition, I quickly covered her ears and stepped in front of her, completely blocking her view of him.
“You heard her. Leave. Stop upsetting my daughter.”
His eyes turned red. His lips moved like he wanted to say something else, but before I could call the cops, he walked away in a daze.
But he didn’t give up.
Every morning when I opened the curtains, I saw Pierce lingering outside the yard.
His eyes stayed locked on Ellie and me the entire time.
Whenever I called the cops, he left immediately.
And every single time, he left something behind.
Something different every day.
Sometimes it was the next book in Ellie’s favorite picture-book series.
Sometimes it was a dish he cooked himself-one Ellie used to like.
Sometimes it was flowers I loved or an old vinyl record I used to collect.
I never brought any of it inside.
I even dragged a huge trash can over there.
Every day, I dumped everything he left straight into it.
The next morning, Pierce would see the gifts sitting in the trash and just stand there for a long time, looking 1 crushed.
I acted like I didn’t notice.
Even then, he kept coming back.
When he saw the wooden swing set I built for Ellie, he started building a treehouse beside the big tree outside my
gate.
Every night, he worked on it for hours.
Every morning, I hired someone to tear it right back down.
After a while, the neighbors started noticing Pierce too.
One evening after work, I ran into the couple next door, Harry and Kate.
“Lucia, who’s the guy always hanging around your house?” Harry asked. “An admirer?”
“He’s persistent,” Kate added. “He shows up every day.”
I hesitated for a second before telling them the truth.
“He’s my ex-husband. During my daughter’s surgery, he pulled away her lead doctor for his side chick’s kid and almost got my daughter killed. That’s why we divorced. Everything he’s doing now is just him trying to get me back.”
The gossip-loving smiles on their faces disappeared instantly.
They stared at me like they couldn’t believe what they’d heard. Then the shock turned into anger.
“Oh my God. How can someone be that shameless?”
“Don’t worry,” Harry said immediately. “As long as we’re here, we won’t let him get anywhere near your house again. If you ever need anything, call us.”
I smiled at them, genuinely grateful.
I never expected to meet neighbors this kind in a tiny town so far from home.
“Thank you. Really.”
**
The next morning, before my alarm even went off, shouting exploded outside the yard.
I quietly shut Ellie’s bedroom door and looked out the window.
Harry and Kate stood outside with their hands on their hips, going off on Pierce.
Kate was practically jabbing a finger into his face. “You’re Lucia’s ex-husband, right? Thought you were some tragic devoted lover. Turns out you’re just a hypocritical piece of trash.
“You almost got your own daughter killed, and now you’re here begging for forgiveness?
“This isn’t about Lucia. You just want to feel better about yourself. She’s suffered enough because of you. Seriously, how are you still shameless enough to keep harassing them?”
Pierce couldn’t get a single word in.
Harry was even more direct. He grabbed a hoe from the yard and pointed it at Pierce.
“Get lost. If I see you here again, I won’t hold back.”
