Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
“You did.”
“So go ahead, then.” I let out a tired breath. “Disown me. Leave me in here to rot. God knows I’d deserve it.”
There’s been a lot wrong between us for a long time. I told myself I didn’t need him. Didn’t want him in my life. First chance I got, I was getting the fuck out and never going back.
But when the cops handed me the phone, there was only one number to dial.
“Listen, I was the adult, all right?” Dad lightly squeezes my left hand, which isn’t nearly as beat up as the right one. “It was on me to do better. To keep our family strong after your mom passed. I didn’t do my job and our relationship suffered as a result.” He takes a deep breath, leaning closer as his voice softens. “I was lost without her. Watching her slip away was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I never imagined what life would be when she was gone, and suddenly I barely knew how to get myself out of bed in the morning. I spent too long feeling sorry for myself, instead of remembering you were right there suffering too. You needed your father. That’s on me, Fenn. That was my fault.”
“I didn’t help,” I admit. Those first few months after she died were hell. But it only got worse as the years went on. “I didn’t have to run wild the way I did.”
“No.” He smiles sadly. “But that’s also on me. I should have set boundaries. Been there more. It was easier to focus on work and leave you to your own devices than risk the hard conversations.”
“So what now?” I ask, exhausted and entirely out of my depth.
“We try to do better. Forgive each other. Be a little kinder. We’re so fortunate to have an opportunity to be a family again. With Michelle and RJ. I know she wants to have a relationship with you. And I’m hoping he’s willing to get to know me better. Maybe, we can give it a chance?”
I hesitate, wondering if any of it is even possible. Forming a new family unit. Michelle’s a nice enough lady, questionable taste in men and timing aside. RJ seems to like her well enough, anyway. And as stepbrothers go, I lucked out. Definitely not the worst roommate I could have ended up with this year. Given the circumstances, I guess it’s not a terrible deal.
“Yeah,” I tell him. “I think I can do that.”
I’m not about to start feeling sorry for myself. There’s no version of the last year where I’m the victim. Still, I get a little choked up at the thought we might have finally turned a corner. That there’s a possibility I might get my dad back.
A quiet knock sounds at the door before the lawyer reenters.
“Here’s where we stand,” Richlin announces succinctly. “They’ve charged him with tampering, leaving the scene, obstruction, and failure to report.”
“Christ,” my father hisses.
That many, huh?
“It’s entirely possible the DA will tack on a few more,” Richlin adds.
“So, what do we do?” Dad asks impatiently.
“For now, I’ve secured his release to your custody. He’ll have to appear before a judge in the next few days. In the meantime, I’ll talk to the DA about how we might cooperate in exchange for certain considerations.”
“Meaning what?” Dad demands, now sounding more like the man I grew up watching pace in his office chewing out subordinates.
“Maybe we get the charges reduced, if not dismissed. There are a lot of variables. Not the least of which is what the Ciprian boy has to say. I’d rather not make promises until I have more information.”
“Let’s get out of here,” I tell my father. “I just want to go.”
I’m starving. Exhausted. Barely able to keep my head up. The bruises and hairline fractures throb with every breath as any remnants of adrenaline are fully burnt out of my blood.
Mostly, I want to get the hell away from here before the cops change their mind and decide to throw me in a cell until my hearing.
Dad has his driver drop me off at the dorm. He tries to insist I stay at the hotel in town with him for the next couple of days—I’m suspended from classes, after all—but I convince him I need my own bed and a change of clothes.
RJ wakes up when he hears me come in from a shower.
“Sorry,” I say quietly, putting away my toiletries. “Go back to sleep.”
He sits up. Groggy. “What’s going on? You going somewhere?” He rubs his eyes. “And what the hell happened with Lawson last night?”
My spine stiffens at the sound of Lawson’s name. “Just go to sleep. Way too early for this.”
It’s nearly sunrise now. But RJ apparently decides it’s not worth trying to go back to sleep. “What happened last night? Where did you disappear to after the fight?”