“What the hell happened tonight, Laney?” I ask.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she says, pushing past me and walking into the kitchen.
I follow her. “I mean, the way you treated Ashlyn. You were rude.”
She doesn’t answer as she busies herself getting a glass of water. When she’s done, she goes to walk past me, but I block her path.
“Laney!”
“What?” she shouts, banging her glass down on the countertop, water splashing onto the black granite. “What do you want from me? Did you think I’d just roll over and accept Ashlyn into our lives? I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for any of this!”
“And you think I did?” I yell back. “You think I wanted to be a single dad?”
“You wanted to leave mom!”
I sigh. “We both wanted to separate, Laney. It was a joint decision.”
“So you say,” she mutters.
I groan. “I can’t keep having the same conversation with you in the hope the ending changes. I gave up everything while you were growing up–”
“Well, I’m sorry I ruined your life,” she shouts, cutting me off.
“Jesus, Laney! You didn’t ruin my life. If you’d let me finish, I was going to say that I gave up everything while you were growing up and I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. I don’t regret a second.”
“But you won’t.”
“Won’t what?”
“Do it all over again in a heartbeat. You won’t give up Ashlyn.”
My eyes meet hers, my chest tightening. I thought I’d done a decent job raising her on my own. It was tough, one of the hardest things I’ve ever faced, but I thought we’d made it through. After tonight, hearing her speak like an entitled brat, I can’t help but wonder where I went wrong. In this moment, I barely recognize her.
“No, Laney. I won’t. You’re not a kid anymore. You don’t need me the same way you used to.” I hold her gaze.
“I want you to be with Mom.”
“And if I can’t be with Mom, then you want me to be alone forever?”
She sighs. “Of course not.”
“Ash makes me happy.”
“Why does it have to be her?”
I frown. “Why not her? You can’t help who you fall in love with, Laney.”
She gasps and takes a step back. “You’re in love with her?” she whispers.
I reach for her hand. “Yes, I’m falling in love with her. We haven’t been together that long, but I think this could be the real thing.” When she doesn’t say anything, I squeeze her hand. “I know you’d like her if you’d just give her a chance.”
“I should go to bed,” she mumbles, pulling her hand from mine.
“We’re not done talking.”
“I have nothing left to say.”
“Fine. You’re grounded. This house, school, and Gran and Gramps’s place are the only three places you’re going for a month. No friends, no parties, no drinking.”
