“It does not matter, Dascha,” Dad mumbles. “The bottom line is that I left you. A good father would not do that.”
“But if you had a choice…” I hiss. “That’s different than someone blackmailing you, or extorting you or whatever the hell might’ve gone down.”
“Dash,” The Ivory murmurs. “There are many things for which I am sorry. If I must add taking your father from you to the list, I’ll bear that burden.”
Sighing, I’m just exhausted. They’re right. It doesn’t matter.
At the end of the day, the details of everything The Ivory has done are irrelevant. Because we know he is all of it; his evil empire stretches over all of our lives, like a sheet of plastic that’s been suffocating us for so long. But we’ve burst a hole through it.
And now we canbreatheagain.
It’s time to move on.
Just like I no longer want to focus on all the things that happened in the Pen while I was suffering, I no longer care about the pain my father caused when he left.
Because I’m not in pain anymore.
My mother’s bones are gone from that closet.Time to lay all of my other skeletons to rest as well.
“Give me some time,” I tell him, glancing at Ivory. “Both of you. I think you both need to recognize the hurt you’ve caused with your actions, and just… stay away. For now.” Ivory blinks at me, as if he’s considering my words. “That doesn’t mean you won’t someday be allowed back in. It doesn’t even mean you can’t watch from afar. But just let us all get our lives together. Let us take advantage of this freedom.”
My father appears a bit hurt by this, but that’s fine. He should be.
As for The Ivory, his lips are quirked in understanding. I’m sure he already knows this is what he’ll need to do. After all, he’s inflicted deep wounds. They might take a while to heal.
“Maybe someday we’ll talk.” I stand slowly, taking my real Officer Kemper by the hand. “Until then… eyes open, mouth shut.”
The Ivory’s dark eyes sparkle. My father narrows his gaze and purses his lips.
But neither of them say a word.
“I can’t believe you’re about to get married!” Luthor does a little hop, and I chuckle.
“Really? I can,” I huff. “I’ve been engaged longer than all of you mofos.”
“Still, it’s exciting.” Felix grins. “Our little Dashypoo is tying the knot!”
“Yea, he was in prison the least amount of time, didn’t have to deal with the fall,andsomehow managed to locate his soulmate without lifting a finger.” Ren rolls his eyes, teasing sarcastically. “He deserves this.”
“Actually, I think Trevel was in for less time than Dash,” Byron corrects.
“Now, what did I ever do to you?” I ignore him, shaking my head at Ren.
“Youmade outwith myfiancé—do I have to say it again??” He snaps while Felix laughs and Luthor groans.
“Stopbringing it up! As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t even make out with Dash.” Luthor gives Ren a pointed look.
But my brow furrows. “So then… you made out with Kemper?”
His face falls. “Okay, fine, it was you.”
I laugh, sipping my virgin pineapple mojito.“How long did we make out for? Like, did you stop it right away? I feel like you didn’t.”
“I know, look how red he’s getting,” Byron teases.
“It was… a solid five minutes,” Luthor grunts, covering his face.
“Five minutes?!” I gasp a cackle. “That’s a long damn time!”
