Riches To Rags

Chapter 17: Listen

Chapter 17: Listen 

  "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply."  

~Stephen R. Covey 

Her heart thumped loudly as she hiked the steps to the house that she grew up in. Workers were all around the front yard just as she remembered. Mowing the plush lawn and trimming trees. Now, as she reached for the gold door handle, it wasn't her desire to own the piece of property. Things between her father were still rocky and gaining anything from Frank wasn't on her agenda. Their relationship was.

Pushing the door opened, Rae sauntered  into the spacious foyer area. Nothing had changed in the estate as it was quite surprising to her. The day that  their home was ransacked by the Repo men, she couldn't believe the condition they had left it in. Now as she breezed through the house, the decor was the same as if the repossession never happened. Pictures of their once happy family plastered on the walls as your strolled through the main room. The smell of fresh cut flowers flowed throughout the air. 

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Rae hissed, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her tight denim jeans.

"I talked to my moms, now it's your turn to cash in," Levi joked.  "I don't even know where the fuck I'm going. This a big ass house. I ain't know your ass had this much money. I would have drag ya little ass back here days ago."

Rae rolled her eyes and went in the direction where she knew her father was. It was the same place he always closed himself in when he need time to think for himself. Opposite from Rae, being outdoors made her feel more free and able to get all her thoughts together. But for Frank, he like closed spaces, working on new projects and coming  up with new investments. It was just his way of keeping his mind off of his problems. 

"Please, don't be impressed. Plus none of this is mine. It's all my father's and I don't want any part of it. "

Levi had some doubts. He understood that sometimes you needed to take time and get your thoughts together, but he also knew that people needed that extra push to overcome the next step. This was that next step and he realized that if he didn't drag Rae out for a ride and switch up plans at the last minute, she wouldn't be standing right next to him about to talk to her father. 

She had be avoiding him. Missing his calls, ignoring his messages and overall, not welcoming the idea to discuss the issues that they both were facing. Hurt. It was evident that his daughter was hurt by his choices that he made in his life and all Levi could see was him trying to reach out to explain and hopefully apologize. 

The two were coped up in his apartment eating chips while watching reruns of Living Single, when Levi thought that he needed to get her out. What was suppose to be a nice day driving through the city without a destination, turned into just that. A long drive to San Diego and to the estate of Frank Harris. 

When they pulled up Levi's mouth dropped in shocked. He knew that Rae had came from money, but never thought that she was actually wealthy. He remember stories from Carla and how she described the Harris Manor, but the grand mansion before him deserved more than the small pictures that she tried to paint in his brain. He only dreamed to give his future kids a home like this and as the walked down the never ending hall he knew he had to continue to grind harder.