"Three years early on good behavior." Raine’s growing smile screams with sarcasm, knowing exactly what he’s putting Dad through.
I had no idea how long Raine’s sentence was for, since I was forbidden from attending his hearing, and I had no clue he was released early for good behavior. Dad knew I wouldn't have kept my mouth shut if I went to the hearing, and I spent days arguing with him, pleading for him to believe my truth, but as always, Dad wanted nothing to do with the truth.
"Dad, you must trust me. I lied to Raine," I cry out in pain. Tears have always been Dad's weakness with me, but this time, he either thinks I'm faking it or he doesn't care. "I never should have told him I was eighteen. You have to believe me."
"He should have known better," Dad yells back. "You are a child—a minor—and he's a grown man."
"He's twenty-one!" I shout back. "That's hardly an adult. He's just barely able to drink legally, for God's sake."
"I don't care how much you cry and scream, Haven. That man is an animal and a child molester."
"It was my idea to have sex," I tell him. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine saying these words to Dad, but I have to. He must know the truth. He needs to let Raine go. "Why would you do this to me? I love him, Dad."
"You don't know what love is, Haven. Girls like you don't love boys who steal food. You're above that, and you should always keep that in mind."
"Oh my God, you're disgusting. How can you even give me life advice when you stole everything you have? Wewerethose people who had to steal for food. You stole for food and you stole a lot more than that—much more than we needed." This is the first time I've admitted to knowing as much of Dad's secret as I've always known. I've teased with hints that I knew something wasn't right, which worried them into keeping me from most public events, but I guess they never assumed I know as much as I do. Plus, the baffled look on his face tells me my claims are accurate. "How would you like to go to jail for stealing? I have no problem announcing the truth."
"Look, honey, you're upset. I understand. However, making accusations out of anger will only cause more problems. I'm sure the judge will go easy on Raine, being that he’s only twenty-one, but he was wrong, and the act is punishable."
"I am the one who lied. I will tell the judge that. They can throw me in juvie if they have to." I would. I would take his place in a heartbeat because he’s innocent, and I’m not.
"It doesn't work that way, Haven."
"Well, I'm going to the hearing, and I am going to defend Raine. I don't care what you say."
"No, you're not going, and that's the end of the discussion. I will have security there waiting to pull you away if you even try. You are not to be within one hundred feet of that animal. I put a temporary restraining order on Mr. Carson until he is put away."
"You're the only animal here," I yell at him. "I will never forgive you for this. Never! So, I hope it was worth losing the small bit of a relationship you had left with me."
He doesn’t even care. His hands are still relaxed in his pockets, and he’s rocking back and forth on his heels as if he’s chipper and happy that he ruined my life and Raine’s. “If that's what it takes to keep you safe, then so be it. Someday, when you have children, God willing, you will see what a parent goes through to keep a child safe." You’re going to eat those words someday. If I have kids, they will never know the kind of grandfather they have. I’d be too ashamed to put them through that.
"I guess it’s along the same lines of what a parent will go through to keep his crimes a secret," I add in. “You’re disgusting, and I wish you weren’t my father.”
"Go to your room, Haven. Now!" he shouts at me as if I were a ten-year-old child.
"You won't get away with this," is the last thing I said to him.
"What are you doing here?" Dad asks Raine.
I slip my hand into Raine's and clench my fingers around his. "He's with me," I tell him with a raised brow.
"Where the hell is Bennett?"Bennett hasn't gotten to him yet.
"Oh, I don't know, probably screwing Maryanne. That's a thing with them, you know."
Mom walks over and places her arm around my neck. "Bennett cheated on you?" she asks, sounding appalled, or maybe just surprised.
"Yes, and I'm happy he did. It made it a hell of a lot easier to get rid of him."
Mom pulls her arm away to hug herself back into the contentment she's always seeking. "But I thought you loved him?"
"When did I say that?" I ask her, then looking over to Dad as well. "When?"
"I don't know, I just assumed…"
"You two assume an awful lot," I interrupt her.
"Forget about Bennett for a moment, will you, Pamela?" Dad says. "What the hell are you doing here with him, Haven?"
