He sighs like he’s bored. “You’re being dramatic.”
“He tried to rape me!” I shout, causing my mother to gasp. “Is that dramatic enough for you? What about the bruise he left me, huh?” I point to the mark on my cheek. “Isthatme being dramatic?”
His jaw tightens. “Do not raise your voice to me, Kaia.”
“I will if it makes you listen. You’ve done a lot of things that have hurt me, to try to control me, but last night, I lost any remaining respect I had for you. I can take being a disappointment, I can take being called the horrible things you’ve called me in the past. But you forced me to go to an event with the man who tried to violate me. I’m your fucking daughter! For once I just wanted you to be mydad,” my voice cracks, my eyes burning with tears, “I wanted my dad to protect me. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. For you to love me and accept me for who I am and the choices thatImake formylife. To love me forme.” My eyes then move to my mother. “I wanted a mom who stands up for me, but you’ve never taken my side. Not once. You stand by and watch the way your husband treats your daughter and you say nothing, just like you are now. I don’t want to leave, this is my home too but I can’t take it anymore.”
I’m crying now, and so is my mother. It’s a strange sight because I don’t think I’ve ever seen her cry. My father on the other hand is his usual emotionless self.
“Kaia, don’t go,” my mother pleads. She looks to my father, waiting for him to say something. “Peter, do something.”
“Don’t bother. You haven’t lost me, not yet, but keep pushing and one day you will lose me forever.”
My mother rushes to me, bringing me in for a hug and I stiffen. I stand there frozen, not sure what to do because I can’t remember the last time she hugged me, I can’t remember the last time she showed even an ounce of motherly affection towards me.
I clear my throat. “I have to go, Killian’s waiting for me.”
“He’s no good for you Kaia,” my father warns.
“Killian’s never hurt me. He’s never called me the horrible things you have, and he’s never once tried to make me into something I’m not. He’s loyal to his friends, and despite pretending he doesn’t, he cares.Deeply. Believe what you want about him, but right now he’s one of the few people I trust.”
“You have no idea who he is, the things he’s done. He’s a criminal.”
I pick up my suitcase. “I don’t care about his past, or why he went to prison, all I care about is right now. And right now, I want to be with him.” I turn for the front door.
“He’s a murderer, Kaia.” My father’s words make me stop. “He murdered his mother’s boyfriend.”
I didn’t spend seven years in prison for nothing…Killian’s words from last night echo through my mind.
“Then I’m sure he had a good reason.”
My father is stunned into silence and without another word from me, I head for the front door, pulling it open to find Killian standing on the doorstep.
He takes in my heavy, red-rimmed eyes before looking over my shoulder to where my parents are watching, then looks back at me, his brow pinched. “You okay?”
“Get me out of here,” I say wearily.
He plucks my suitcase from my hand and places the other on the small of my back, but his eyes return to my parents once more. “Like I said last night, Watson, it’smyjob to take care of her now.”
I don’t miss the smirk he gives my father as he slams the door shut behind us. When we reach his truck, he tosses my suitcase in the back before holding the passenger door open for me, then jogs around to the driver’s side and climbs in beside me.
“Nobody’s ever done that before,” Killian says before starting the engine.
“Done what?”
“Stuck up for me,” he clarifies, his eyes finding mine. “I heard you through the door. I don’t give a shit what your father thinks about me, but it felt good all the same. So, thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
I glance back at my parents’ house, my stomach twisting as I reach back for my seat belt.
“Don’t go to Sofia’s.” Killian’s voice has my head snappingin his direction. “Stay with me.”
It’s not a question, it’s a request.
My heart skips a beat in my chest and there’s no point fighting the smile that pulls at my mouth as I fix the seat belt into the buckle. “Okay.”
27
