I didn’t even know he was dating anyone. But like he said, it’s not like I’ve made much of an effort to figure out what’s going on in his life.
He nods. “We’ve been having some trouble,” he concedes. “Took a break for a bit. But I kept an eye on her, make sure she was safe, you know?”
I nod, just to get him to keep talking. I don’t know where he got that idea from, that it’s okay to keep watching someone after you had taken a break, but that isn’t the part I’m trying to argue about right now. If he thinks I’m on his side, he’ll tell me more,and I need to figure out just what he’s putting this poor woman through.
“And I found out she went to this restaurant with another guy,” he growls, his voice dropping furiously. “Nice place. It was clearly a date. I could tell.”
I grit my teeth to keep from pointing out the obvious. That, for all he might think it’s a break, this girl clearly sees it as a break-up.The sooner he gets it through his head that she doesn’t want anything to do with him anymore, the better.
But I can tell none of that is going to reach him. He’s always had this entitled attitude, especially toward women. Some of the first trouble we had from him as a teenager came in the form of this girl from school he wouldn’t stop following, no matter how much we tried to keep him locked down to the house.
“So I got a list of everyone who’d been there that night, narrowed it down based on who was close to her age,” he goes on. “And I found him. He works at a dive bar—can you believe that, she’d go on a date with a lowlife like him?”
He shakes his head, as though he can barely wrap his head around it himself.
“She was only trying to make me jealous,” he continues. “So I went to sort the guy out. Make sure he knew that I wasn’t going to stand for him making moves on my girl. I went to the bar, but he was there with some of his friends, and…”
He gestures to himself. “They jumped me. Said he didn’t know anything about the girl, but I know he was lying.”
“How do you know?” I ask as I pour myself a cup of water, lifting it to my lips in the hopes of disguising the incredulity on my face.
“Why the hell else would she have been out with someone like that?” he retorts, voice rising. He’s used to getting what he wants by causing trouble, but this, the hospital, is more my domain than his, and he would do well to remember it.
“Have you considered that it might not just be a break for her?” I point out. “That it could be over, as far as she’s concerned?”
His face darkens, mouth twisting. “She would never do that to me,” he mutters. “She’s not that kind of girl. She’s good. Decent. Kind…” He trails off, shaking his head.
“I should never have let her go the first time,” he adds. “And I’m not going to let some sleazy lowlife fucker take her from me. I can give her so much more than he ever could, I?—”
He stops himself at last as he looks back at me. He must be able to tell what an utter load of bullshit I think this is, because he narrows his eyes at me at once.
“Don’t come at me with a lecture,” he snaps. “You wouldn’t know a thing about how to keep a relationship together. How long has it been since you and Mom divorced again?”
I don’t answer. Getting pulled into this argument with him is only going to make things worse, and I have no intention of letting him get under my skin. Or mentioning the fact that he is the reason that his mother and I weren’t able to make things work. The guilt of knowing that I might have been responsible for how he turned out, for the man who sits before me right now, belligerent and refusing to see things from any other point of view.
“You should give her some space,” I tell him, trying to frame it in whatever way will keep this girl from having to deal with the full extent of his wrath.
His lip curls up dismissively, and his voice darkens. “I’ve given her enough space.”
All at once, my chest compresses at the thought of what this girl must be going through. Who even knows if she was out on a date with that man he tried to attack—and even if she was, what business is it of his? He can’t seem to get it through his skull that he isn’t entitled to anyone and anything that he wants, and the fact that he has managed to get away with everything so far is hardly going to dissuade him of the fact.
“What’s her name?”
He snorts. “Oh, yeah, like I’d tell you,” he retorts. “What are you going to do, get in touch with her, tell her to dump me for her own good?”
“Why do you think that’s what I?—”
“Because I know what you think of me, Dad,” he snaps, rising to his feet. “I know you think I’m a waste of fucking space.”
“I never said anything like that?—”
“You didn’t have to,” he replies as he moves toward me. I am distinctly aware of how much bigger he is than me. I might be his father, but this is still a furious man, a man willing to do whatever he can to intimidate and scare me.
I stand my ground. I’ve dealt with worse than him, even if he would never guess it.
“You look at me like I don’t deserve anything,” he growls, shoving his face close to mine. “But you know what? I know exactly what I deserve. And this girl—she’s part of that. I don’t give a fuck what you have to say. Or anyone, for that matter. She’s going to be mine. She’s going to be back at my side, whereshe belongs, and you’re all going to see how fucking wrong you were.”
There’s a crazed look in his eyes, and for a moment, I wonder if I should check him for a concussion. But I can tell any attempt to get him to stay here longer is going to end with another fight, either with me or the guard on the other side of that door, and that’s the last thing I need right now. He knocks into me with his shoulder and pushes open the door, stalking out past the security guard without a look back in my direction.
