“Yes, the one whose apartment we’re currently sitting in.”
Dad glances around the living room, his gaze lingering on the stack of Shakespearean tragedies sitting atop an old record player. “I don’t like him.”
I snort. “You don’t know him.”
“A father doesn’t need to know a man to see whether he’s good enough for his child. Clearly, he’s not up to the task of protecting you.”
“This wasn’t his fault.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “Anything that happens to your mother or you kids is indirectly attributed to me. That’s the lot you pick when you start a family.”
“Jesus,” I say, cringing. “Who said anything about starting a family with the guy? I just like him is all.”
“Like?”
“Yeah, it’s this feeling you get when someone makes your heart race and?—”
“No,” he replies, huffing. “I mean, is that all?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
He shrugs. “Not every guy would stare down the barrel of a gun with no reaction because he knew you were inside and wanted to keep you safe.”
Behind my rib cage, my heart skips a beat, fluttering. “You just said he wouldn’t be able to protect me.”
“I said I wasn’t certain he could, not that he wouldn’t try.” Exhaling, he looks at the screen of his phone, and I glare down at my hands.
How does Sutton feel about me, and do I feel the same?
Last night at my absolute worst, there was only one person I trusted to care for me. To hold me close and provide comfort.
My Incarnate.
I think I already know the answer.
“In any case,” Dad continues, “while I can’t force you to leave this godforsaken school, I will advise you to be smart about your decision to stay. Don’t do it because you wish to keep making googly eyes at your professor or to spite anyone. Both of those reasons are dangerous, and I will intervene if you put yourself in harm’s way again.”
Nodding, I squeeze my fingers together. “I know you and Mom kind of forced me to come, but I was looking forward to being around Quincy and Asher again. Los Angeles was fine, but making deep connections was hard.” I look at him, my bottom lip wobbling. “No one gets you like your siblings.”
The corner of his mouth lifts, and I wonder if he’s thinking about his sister, Violet, or the de facto siblings he acquired over the years. Either way, he just wraps his hand around the back of my neck and pulls me into his side, where I wish, deep down, I could just stay forever.
We leaveSutton’s a while later, with me limping on a set of crutches that keep getting stuck in the fucking cobblestone pathways. Dad decides to have an impromptu meeting with Dean Bauer about the state of his school, which appears to be in jeopardy by the harsh set of his jaw when he leaves me in Asher’s care.
A part of me wonders if there will be a Dean Bauer when Dad leaves Fury Hill.
“You know, I never really thought we looked all that much alike,” Asher muses, kicking a rock down the path. “But I guess all you needed was a little bruising to highlight my features—your best ones, by the way.”
I shoot him a dirty look. “I wish Dad would’ve asked Q to come watch me.”
“He did. She declined.”
Ouch. I swallow, staring at my feet. “Why?”
“Probably felt bad for calling him in the first place. Who fucking knows what goes on in her head?”
Pausing in the middle of the walk, I frown at the ground, replaying Sutton’s words from earlier over and over in my head.
I called your sister.
