“Athena, he even sabotaged his own siblings. Ok. Who does that to family? If you are still with him, you need to get away.” He says hurriedly.
“Dad, I’ve got to go. I hope you are taking care of yourself,” I mutter. Then, before he can say anything else, I quickly add, “Please don’t call me again.”
As I hang up, I hear him calling my name, but I cut it off.
My heart is tight in my chest.
Tears are burning the back of my eyes.
I hear the front door opening and quickly sit up, pulling myself together.
“I’m home!” he calls out from the foyer.
“I made a fire,” I call back from the living room.
He walks in, carrying a bag of groceries. “It’s so warm in here. Lovely. I got the best-looking burger patties. I’m pretty excited to make them,” he grins.
Adrian leans over to kiss me on the cheek, catching me by surprise. “Did you have a nice day?” he asks.
“I did. I took some really beautiful photos of the garden covered in snow,” I say, doing my best to forget the fact that my father even called or the stuff he said. He will try anything to get his way, including lying.
“Let me see,” Adrian says, smiling. “I’m going to put this down. Do you want to cook now or later?”
“Now is good,” I say, standing up and grabbing my phone so I can show him the pictures. I need something to do. My head is clouded.
In the kitchen, he is unpacking the groceries while I flick through the various photos and show him each one. He pauses between unpacking to admire and comment on every photo.
“Nice editing, too. Where did you learn that?” he asks.
“Oh, I taught myself a bit today. I got a new app, and it’s really fun to play with. But I’ve never had such a good camera before, so I think the camera can be given most of the credit.”
He scoffs. “A lot of people have access to a good camera, kitten. It takes someone with a special eye to take photos that good.”
I grin proudly. I really want to enjoy myself. I really want to forget about the call from my father, but I can’t ignore it. It won’t stop looping in my head.
“Um, my father called me,” I say tensely.
Adrian stops what he’s doing right away.
“Your father? How did he know you had a phone?” Rage spikes in his eyes as they darken.
I notice how his fist clenches and his jaw tightens.
“He said he just randomly called me this morning. I even asked if he’d called me before, and he came up with a hundred excuses, so I just cut him off. But… he said some really horrible things about you. Look, I know he lies…”
“He lies a lot, kitten. I know you want to trust him, but you…” His voice is filled with anger.
“I don’t trust him. And I told him not to call me again.”
Adrian cocks his head to the side and studies my face. “You really said that to him?” he asks, looking relieved and impressed. “I did. I don’t want that type of energy in my life. Lies. Manipulation. Whatever his reason for calling me…it wasn’t because he cared how I’m doing,” I sigh, shrugging a little.
Adrian steps closer and slips his arms around my waist. “I’m proud of you, kitten. That can’t have been an easy thing to do,” he says.
He steps back, smiling, and turns back to the groceries. I can tell he’s still upset, though.
“Shall we cook up a storm?” he asks.
“Adrian,” I say nervously. I have to ask. I can’t stop the nagging thoughts, so I have to ask.
