"Whatever you want. And you know what? I have had enough. I'm wiping my hands clean of both of you." Dad sounds indifferent.
And he hangs up.
I punch the wall.
Fuck.
If I thought he meant that, I might celebrate, at least for me. But Lyndall? He is the only parent she knows, and deep down this is going to devastate her, no matter how much she claims to hate him.
She is fighting to grow up too soon.
Fighting?
She is having fucking sex.
Isn't she?
Because I'm not sure she would. Then again, I'm not a teenager, and...do I want to know? Especially if Dad killed the kid.
I close my eyes, breathing in and out, slow and deep.
Silas is back in Queens. He has work to do. As do I.
And then...there is Lola.
I open my eyes and find her sitting on the edge of the sofa. "Hey, can we talk?"
"I'm not telling you any of the girl talk."
I offer her a smile that feels stretched and thin. "I would never break those sacred bonds. But I wanted your perspective. Dad said he caught her having sex with this guy, Luke. He's eighteen."
"I thought he was older," she mutters.
"So, you know."
She sighs and smooths her hands down her skirt. Her tits press against the fabric of her shirt, and all I want to do is tuck her up against me in bed and go to sleep.
Except, I'm not sure that is a good idea, even if I didn't have to spend the night at my computer.
"Lyndall...confided some things in me," Lola says.
And even though I guessed, it is not the same as knowing. My stomach roils, spitting acid, hot and bitter into my mouth.
"How fucking dare you keep knowledge of an underage girl being taken advantage of by a guy?—"
"She—"
"In fact...where the fuck is she? I'm going to demand the truth from her, right now."
Lola grabs my arm. "It's way too late in the evening for that, and you need to calm down and not act like a crazy controlling idiot. Otherwise, you will push her away. Just like your father. Apples falling from trees, you know?"
"No. I don't. And I resent that."
"So, don't make it true."
"In case you missed the memo, Lola, she's fifteen and having sex."
"Calm down." She crosses her arms.
