Them arguing wasn't the point. It wasn't necessary. "It doesn't matter anymore. I need to know if you have the money."
The face he made wasn't a good sign. "Rissy."
"Yes or no?"
My father blew out a breath that made his lips flutter. "Not all of it."
I guess that could be worse, unless he considered twenty bucks to be a significant chunk. "How much?"
"Fuck." His lips fluttered again. "You wanna come in and talk about this?"
Dex and I answered at the same time. "No." Especially not when that woman was still in there. Gross.
"You got five minutes to meet us downstairs," Dex said. "Gimme your keys."
My father took a step back, frowning fiercely. "Excuse me?"
"Your keys. Give 'em to me."
"Why the fuck would I do that?"
Maybe he didn't know, but I did. I held my hand out. "We can't risk you leaving."
"I'm not leaving," he argued and for a split second I felt rude agreeing with Dex's request.
This wasn't anyone else's battle but mine. I held out my hand and waited. He didn't hand them over immediately. My father's face made a dozen expressions until he finally turned around and went into the room. Whispers stacked on top of each other before he returned, dropping a set of keys into my palm.
"Five minutes," Dex spoke from behind me as I eyed the woman in the room moving around.
The woman dressed in my father's clothes. The woman that looked like my mom if I closed my eyes, squinted, and made my vision blurry.
Isighed. All I could focus on right then, was how disappointed I was in this man Iused to callmy dad.
~ * ~ *
Awkward wouldn't even begin to describe the atmosphere in Luther's truck, or the tension across the table at the pizza parlor.
Tense also wouldn't be an appropriate adjective.
"Rissy—," he'd started to say about a dozen times before Dex shut him down.
"Don't," my dark-haired man snarled.
I didn't make an effort to assure Dex that it was fine, that I wanted to talk to my father, because honestly, I didn't.
"Rissy," he'd start again on deaf ears.
My mom. My poor, beautiful, sweet mom had been in love with this man. She'd thought the world of him even after he abandoned her with two small kids. She loved him even though he never called, never helped financially, never did a single damn thing.
Rage boiled beneath my veins.
If I'd known everything that I knew now...
That I was related to a self-centered man-whore...
I reached out to grab Dex's hand, threading my fingers over the top of his. The look he gave me was tight. He was seething beneath his skin and I had no idea what directly fueled him, but it wasn't like he didn't have a dozen possible sources.
Dex wasn't my father. Not in any way, shape or form.And I loved him.
