AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Heath, that’s enough,” she says, her voice stern.
Dad whips around. “What the fuck are you doing here? Did you know about this?” He aims his anger at her now. He releases his tight grip on Gabriel, wiping blood from his cut lip, and walks toward Violet, then abruptly turns back, facing Gabriel. “You’re fucking dead to me. Stay the fuck away from my daughter.”
Gabriel doesn’t respond. He doesn’t make eye contact with me. My dad grabs at my shoulder to shove me out of the house, and I cry out at his painful hold.
“I’m not leaving.”
“The fuck you are,” he barks.
I fight out of his grasp. “I said I’m not—”
“Leave.”
My head whips in Gabriel’s direction. “I’m not—”
“Listen to your father. Get out of my house.”
His tone is harsh, his cold stare void of emotion. I open my mouth to fight. For him. For us. But Violet gently taps my shoulder. “I think we should go.” I can’t believe this. Again, I prepare to fight, but Gabriel wipes at his bloody jaw and walks away.
I become blind with my own fury. My pain and disappointment intertwine and create a tornado of emotion. Then I turn my raging vehemence toward my dad. “How could you!”
“How could I? Are you kidding me right now! You have some nerve, Haze—”
“Don’t you Hazel me! You’re a fucking hypocrite! You pull this shit on me and ask me to accept it—which I do—then you react like this!”
“He’s my best fucking friend! He’s more than twice your age!” he booms back.
His anger doesn’t scare me; it only fuels my own. “Again, hypocrite! Last I checked, Violet is my best friend and the same age as me!”
“This isn’t about us. This is about you.” He jabs a finger at me, and I storm toward him, stabbing him in the chest.
“No, it’s about you expecting everyone to be open-minded about your decisions while shutting down the idea of someone else finding love in the same way.”
Dad throws his head back and snorts, dragging his hands down his bruised and bloodied face. “Don’t even say that. You’re not in love with him. That’s fucking ridiculous.”
“No, what’s ridiculous is you!”
“Watch it.” His growl vibrates the floor under my feet.
“No. I hate you! Stay away from me.” I turn on my heel and head toward the front door.
“I’m going with Hazel,” Violet says, following me.
“No, you’re not. You can stay and explain to me—”
“Save it, Heath. She needs me more.” She doesn’t stop at my dad yelling demands and follows me out, helping me into the car. I’m suddenly in shock and running on autopilot. Throwing the passenger door shut, Violet runs around and jumps into the driver’s seat. “Where to?” she asks, pulling away from Gabriel’s house.
“Back to school. I can’t be anywhere near either of them.” She nods, and I hold myself as the tears flow and the devastating reality of what just happened sinks in. I’ve ruined everything.Dad blows up both our phones the entire drive back to campus. Thankfully, Violet doesn’t answer and allows me the peace I need to wrap my head around what just happened.
“You know your dad. He’s gonna drive up here. He’s not going to let you ignore this.”
I rest my head against the cool window. “I know, but I can’t deal with him right now.” I can’t get the memory of Gabriel’s rejection out of my head. I bang my head against the glass. “Why the hell did my dad have to be there?” Why is life so damn cruel?
“I’m sorry. I should have called him. I could have saved us the visit. Maybe some ER visits. Pretty sure they both have broken noses.” I peek at her, curious why she’s making jokes.
“Aren’t you mad? Concerned for him? He is your man.”
She shrugs. “Nah. He’s a big boy. And maybe this is his karma. He got off easy with you. You could have made our life hell. You could not have given us your blessing, and I could have walked away. He has a lot to be thankful for when it comes to understanding. And who knows, maybe he just needs some time to let the news simmer. It’s definitely a lot to take in. I mean, think about it. Gabriel is even bigger than your dad. He’s probably having to imagine him doing all sorts of nasty things to you. Not to mention, how big he probably is down—”
“Seriously, Violet?”
“Hey, I’m just pointing it out. It sure does explain all your mood swings. The times you were on cloud nine to the times when you looked on death row. Getting it, not getting it—ouch! I’m driving!”
“That’s not helping.”
“Well, beating me up isn’t either. What do you want to do? Go back to the dorms? Go spend a ton of money on your dad’s credit card? I’m not sure there are that many worthy shops on campus, but—”
