I tense at the hard tone of his voice.
“I did what any good father would do. I was merely vetting the young man dating my daughter. And when I saw he wasn’t suitable for you, I made my feelings clear.”
My mouth hangs open at the harshness of his words. At how he doesn’t see anything wrong with what he did.
“You’re unbelievable,” I mutter.
He exhales sharply. “Poppy, I don’t have time to argue with you about this. I gave Frank your contact information. He’ll get in touch with you to set up your tutoring sessions soon.”
“I’m not going to meet with Frank, Dad.”
“Yes. You are.”
Before yesterday, I would have backed off after hearing my dad’s angry tone. I would have just gone along with whatever he said to keep things peaceful between us.
But not anymore. Not after seeing him treat Nick the way he did yesterday.
I’m not putting up with my dad’s entitled behavior anymore.
“No. I’m not,” I bite back. “I’m not going to see this tutor because I’m not taking the LSAT.”
My dad is quiet for several seconds. Blood rushes in my ears, and my heart pounds in my chest. It must be the adrenaline rush I’m feeling from finally standing up to him after all these years.
“Poppy, you can’t be serious.”
“I’m dead serious, Dad. I’m not taking the LSAT because I don’t want to go to law school right now. I have something else I want to focus on. Something more important.”
“W-what? What in the world could be more important than law school?”
His tone hitches. He sounds so upset and confused and panicked. I’ve never heard him like this before.
“I have a YouTube channel.”
“A what?” he barks.
“A YouTube channel. It’s educational. I cover academic topics and break them down so they’re easy to understand. It’s doing really well.”
“This is ridiculous,” he mutters. “You’re telling me that you’re giving up law school to be on YouTube? Poppy, you have to know how stupid and immature that sounds.”
Hurt radiates through me. And disappointment. I didn’t expect my dad to magically change his mind about going to law school. But he’s not even listening to me. He’s not hearing me out. He’s just dismissing me, no matter what I say.
“Is this because of your boyfriend? Is he telling you to do all this?”
“Of course not. Nick is supportive of me because he’s amazing, but I make my own decisions.”
“I don’t want you to see him anymore.”
My stomach drops to my feet. “What?”
“That young man is no good for you. You need to break up with him.”
Adrenaline pumps hot through my entire body. “I’m not breaking up with him, Dad. How dare you even ask me to.”
“If you don’t stop seeing him, Poppy, your mother and I will cut you off.”
I go still, the shock of his threat washing over me. It’s a pretty empty threat. I have a full academic scholarship to Hollis, so they don’t pay for any of my schooling. The only thing they pay for is my apartment rent, but I can take over those payments no problem with how much money I make from YouTube and the Writing Center.
I’m stunned at how mean and cruel my dad is being. That he’s threatening me to get me to do what he wants—to control me.
