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If only it was so easy to tell Kally how much I love her. I’m only a couple of years older than her, but I’ve ticked off a few dreams. I’ve made a name for myself. I’ve visited some amazing places. I want her to see the world before she settles down. I’m not going to be selfish just because I want her with me every minute of every day. When we settle down, I want the wife, the kids, the white picket fence. I want everything I never had growing up. But I want Kally to be ready for all of it too.
Good things come to those who wait, right?
***
“I’ll keep the SUV running if you want a quick exit.” Jared squeezes my shoulder, and I walk away from him and my SUV.
I hear the car door shut behind me and my blood runs cold. I get the same feeling every time I step foot on my parents’ land, and I don’t like it. It makes me anxious, which is something I don’t experience in my daily life.
A car headlight breaks my thoughts as I walk across the driveway. The whole area is busy. Cars are being directed to parking spots. People from the high society my parents associate with walk up the grand steps to my family’s house. I’m not sure why half of these people are here. It’s an eighteenth birthday party. Kally should be having fun with her own friends. Partying the night away. Making mistakes. She will hate everything about this night, and I hate that this has been forced upon her.
I shake off the dark mood that’s descending over me and enter my parents’ house.
I look around the house I grew up in, but it’s not a home. It’s somewhere to show off. It’s made from lies and blood money. The pictures of a happy family are all for show. My mother and father wouldn’t know how to raise a family. Everyone else has done it for them, and it just makes me hate them that little bit more.
“Darling,” comes the condescending tone of my mother.
I look over to the right and see my mother holding onto my father’s arm like royalty. I walk over to them and place a kiss on her cheek for the sake of everyone walking past, but the bile rises in my throat. I’ve been taught well to act accordingly within the public eye, even though I want nothing more than to cause a scene and show the world that we’re not the perfect family they believe we are.
“It’s so lovely to see you tonight. We weren’t sure you’d be able to get time away from your busy schedule.”
I smirk. “I’ll always have time for Kally, you know that. I’ll see you inside.”
I can see the twinkle in my father’s eye, and he places his hand over my arm. That look is never followed by anything good. “I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to hear the good news with everyone else.”
“We’ll see.” I glare at him and walk on.
I can’t pretend there’s ever been any love between my father and me. I hate him for everything he does to people. He pretends he’s helping them, but really, it’s all for his own gain. Nothing is ever for anyone else, not even his family. Most of all, I hate him for what he’s done to me over the years. He made me feel weak and alone because I wasn’t interested in becoming a bastard like him and Colton. I despise the ground he walks on, and it’s getting harder to put on a smile for the sake of bystanders.
I walk into the grand ballroom, and people are talking amongst themselves. A brass band is playing in the corner, and everything screams retirement party. Nothing is saying eighteenth birthday celebrations.
The hairs on the back of my neck rise, and I know Kally’s near me. I look over to the corner, and she’s standing with her friend, Alissa. She looks beautiful, but her grim expression sets alarm bells ringing in my ears. I make my way over to her and wrap my arms around her slender shoulders. Her five-foot-two frame fits perfectly in my arms.
“Happy Birthday, babe.” I take out her card from my inside pocket and hand it over. I hope she can buy herself something nice with the cheque I’ve put inside.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
I bend down and place a kiss on her cheek, but she tenses. I look between her and Alissa and try to figure out what’s going on.
“Tell him, Kal. If you don’t, I will,” Alissa states.
Alissa has always been in our circle of friends. She’s a great girl. Her family isn’t like mine, thankfully, and she has a good relationship with her parents.
“Tell me what?” I tilt Kally’s chin to look at me, and I see the unshed tears glistening in her eyes. “Kally, what’s got you so upset on your birthday?”
This girl is usually glowing with happiness, but everything is dull tonight. It’s like the life is being drained from her as we stand here.
“Lissy?” I never take my eyes off the one girl who will always hold my heart and soul.
“Come with me.” Kally takes my hand and walks me out to the veranda off to the side of the house. Alissa is hot on my heels.
“Talk to me, babe.” I frame Kally’s cheeks in my hands. “You know I’ll help any way I can.”
“You can’t help with this, Clark. They’re making me marry your brother. Nothing can stop this.”
I laugh. I don’t know what comes over me. I’m pretty sure Kally’s kidding, but when a tear falls down her cheek, I realize that no one else is laughing.
“This is some kind of joke, right?”
