He turned around.“She’s your sister.”
“And how would you like it if I wandered into her room whenever I wanted?That would be weird.So no, she can’t go into my room.I am entitled to privacy.”
His eyes narrowed.“You’re not entitled to anything.You will babysit on a Friday night without giving your stepmother a hard time.”
“I have plans.”I didn’t, but that wasn’t the point.
“Then cancel them.”
“Why should I?You wanted this new family.Or are you worried that she’ll run off the same way Mom did?”
That might have been a step too far because he stood, and his face turned red.“You don’t know anything about what happened, but you’re just like her.Always up to something.”
Dad blamed everything on Mom, even years later, and I hated it.I hated that she’d left, and for years I’d blamed myself.But it wasn’t me she’d left, it was him.“Yeah, I’m a regular miscreant.I don’t smoke or do drugs.I have been in the same part-time job for the last three years, and I’m one year short of finishing my degree.As soon as I’m done, I’ll be moving out.I don’t want to set a bad example to your new child.”
He softened his tone.“I’m worried about you.”
“Why, Dad?I failed one class…and guess what, so did a bunch of other people.It was a hard class.”And I’d known that and still made excuses to party.If I’d known it would bite me on the ass this hard, I’d have kept my ass in the chair, not in the air.
“Something has changed.”
My heart stopped.Had he found out about the deal with Farrow?Impossible.“What do you mean?”
He glanced away and shrugged.“You know what I mean…”
“I don’t.”If he wanted to accuse me of something, I wasn’t going to make it easy.“I have done everything you’ve asked of me, but you act as though I am the wor?—”
“It’s gone quiet.You’re too quiet.”
I stared at him, my eyebrows pulling together.Was he talking about the house noises caused by Farrow, or was I paranoid?“Would you rather I throw wild parties and listen to my music without headphones?”
“That’s not…” He grimaced.“Your mother was mixed up in some dangerous things, and I’m worried about you.Especially when you came home with that.”He pointed at the dragon on my arm.
My eyebrows lifted.“I got it in memory of her.”
It had seemed like a good idea on the tenth anniversary of her death.Plus, I knew it would irk my father.When she left, he’d gotten rid of everything that had been hers.There’d been nothing for me to hang onto.There was no indication that she’d ever existed.It was as weird as fuck, and this conversation wasn’t helping.
“I know.But it made me wonder how similar you are to her.Did anyone approach you at college?”
I finished my juice.Even though I wanted some lunch, I didn’t want to hang around in the kitchen for any longer than I needed to.I pulled out the bread, ham, and cheese to make a sandwich and pretended to be unbothered even though I was sweating.“You’re being weird, like I’ve joined a gang or something.”
“Have you?”
“What?No!No one has spoken to me about anything.”
Did Mom know something about monsters?
Did Dad?
Is that why he was worried about the house being quiet?I was going to have to ask Farrow to rattle some windows, just not in Taya’s room.She didn’t need the same nightmares that I’d grown up with.
“Are you sure?”Dad pressed.
I wasn’t going to be the first one to say monster.“Yeah.Of course I’m fucking sure.Why are you looking at me as if I’m about to do something nefarious?”I pressed my sandwich together and gave it an extra squish, and then took a bite.“Was Mom in a criminal gang?Did she run off because the cops were after her?”
His face paled, and he shook his head.“She was friends with dangerous people.That’s all.I was worried they’d found you.”
Did Farrow know my mother?
