“And my obedience.” I hiss, twisting out of his grip again. The muscles in my arm ache from his grip. “Please leave.”
“I thought I made sure I put that boy away forever. I was naïve enough to think a homicide charge would sweep our little problem under the rug. I don’t regret what I had to do to keep you under the veil of my protection, but God help me, don’t make me put everything on the line for you again, you ungrateful, little—”
“W-what did you just say?” I gulp, disbelief deafening my ears. “What do you know about what happened back then?”
“I know everything.”
“Get out!” I scream. “Get out, or I’m calling the police!”
My father’s eyes widen with the shock of my shouting. His phone begins to vibrate then, and he yanks it out of his pocket, silencing it with a swipe, but not before I see my mother’s warm face lighting up the screen with her call.
“Does she know you drove all the way up here?”
“Not yet. She told me to let you live your life, but when you stopped takin’ my calls, I just knew you must’ve found him again. I knew the day he was released he’d be on the hunt for you.”
“She’s going to kill you for coming up here, and I wouldn’t blame her.”
“Virtue—”
“I said, don’t call me that. If you can’t respect me for who I am now, who you raised me to be, then I can’t have you in my life. My life is in Tennessee. My life is with Ruin. I knew that then, until we were uprooted in another one of your fits of rage.” I am trembling, the anger finally clawing its way out of my system. I’ve never had this reckoning with my father, never sat with all the darkness he’d left me with when he’d stolen Ruin from my life.
“I can’t even look at you, baby. I don’t know who you are anymore. Please come back to Mississippi with me—”
“Is that why you came? To steal me away like a broken little girl?” I push at the solid wall of my father’s chest. He lands against the door, and this time, Stormy must sense my aggression because he jumps with all of his force against my father’s thighs and begins tearing at the hem of his shirt sleeve with his puppy teeth. “I’m not defenseless. I never was! You just never gave me the chance to prove my own strength. You stole my virtue before anyone else could by undercutting me every step of the way. I never thought I was good enough, my instincts were always wrong, I only ever disappointed you, so when it came to leaving with you that night… Well, I should have stood up then and refused. My life is here, my life belongs with him. It’s always been that way, and it always will be.”
“He’ll leave you when life gets too hard, mark my words. That boy isn’t the stayin’ kind. He’ll destroy your heart, and you’ll beg me to put it back together again.”
“No.” I shake my head. “No, Dad, I won’t.” I open the door, pushing him with all of my force onto my small front steps before I pause to take him in one last time. “Go home, Dad. And stay there. If I feel up to it and you calm down, I’ll call you in a few days. Or maybe I won’t. But don’t come back here. I need distance, a lot of distance.”
“Virtue—” I don’t wait for my father’s next manipulative words. I lock the door quickly, sliding the dead bolt in place before smoothing my shaking palms over my thighs. I think my knees might give out with the surge of adrenaline coursing through my body. I’ve never told my father off like that, and I probably never will again. Speaking my mind felt good, if utterly exhausting.
Crossing the living room, I collapse onto the couch, and Stormy jumps up beside me. I hum sweet words of praise into his ear as I scratch his chin. He wags his tail, resting his head against my shoulder and licking at my earlobe. I giggle, the love from this dog more devoted than any I’ve ever felt from my own dad.
“I love you, my sweet boy.” I place a kiss on Stormy’s nose just as a soft knock rattles the front door.
Taking a deep breath, I quickly glance through the peephole—something Ruin has begged me to promise always to do—and my heart kicks up another notch in rhythm. I unlock the latches and open the door to Ruin in a pair of dark denim jeans and a nice fitted black T-shirt. The fitted part always catches my eye, and I can’t help but admire the lines of this man. I know he must work out to maintain his muscular form, but I haven’t actually witnessed him hitting the gym. Something to add to my long list of items to ask Ruin.
I vow not to tell him about the encounter I just had with my dad. If anything, I want to forget it ever happened, and I’m just glad it looks like Ruin narrowly missed running into my father on the way out. I wonder if they would have even recognized each other if they had.
“Hi,” I say, out of breath.
He smiles, and his eyes travel the length of my body. “Hello, beautiful. Ready for another night of spoiling?” he asks. That smile of his, it’s so full and bright. How can anyone think badly of him?
I know some of the Maysons and my father have had their reservations about him, but if they could just see the man I do— Well, they wouldn’t have anything to stew over then, that’s for sure.
I grab Stormy’s things and hand them over to Ruin then quickly check that everything is as it should be in the apartment and lock my front door. Stormy is turning in circles, acting like he isn’t sure which of us he wants to be right beside more.
“How was your day?” I ask once we are in the car and on the road.
“It was good. You?”
“Pretty good. Kind of long, really,” I say, tugging slightly on the hem of my dress. I opted for a red number this time. It has a sweeping neckline that shows just the right amount of cleavage to say “Hey, let’s get it on,” without saying “Hey, I’m about to fall outta here.” Matched with a pair of flats, it’s both comfortable and sexy—basically a win all around. I even busted out some sexy lingerie just in case he kisses me like he always does. I don’t think I can hold off my desires for Ruin anymore, and I don’t think I want to.
“Are you hungry?” he asks.
“Starved.”
“Burger and milk shakes?”
