Marlon didn’t move, and he didn’t back down either.
“That’s exactly what we about to do because we not about to make a scene and embarrass ourselves in front of all these goddamn people.”
“Oh fuck you, Marlon.” My dad dismissed his statement. “You already embarrassed yourself messing around with a girl half your age. Fuck is wrong with you, man?”
“Look man,” Marlon shoved his hands in his pockets. “I know you processing a lot right now, but let’s keep it cordial and respectful.”
“Or what, nigga?”
I stepped between them before this got worse.
“Okay, everybody needs to calm down,” I said, holding my hands up slightly. “We can figure this out without?—”
“Move.”
My dad didn’t even look at me when he said it.
“Excuse me?”
“I said move, Rory.”
“No,” I said, standing my ground. “Not until you stop acting like?—”
“Aurora.” Marlon’s voice made me stand straight. “Let me handle it.”
“No,” I said immediately, still lowkey mad he snitched on us to begin with. “Because clearly you already handled enough?—”
“Rabbit.”
That tone.
It hit me like a switch flipped. I stopped mid-step, my words catching in my throat. I hated that it worked. I hated that he could do that to me.
“Please,” he added.
I let out a hard breath before stepping back enough to give them space.
But I wasn’t going anywhere.
My dad let out a dry laugh, shaking his head slowly as he looked between us.
“Wow,” he said. “You got her trained, Wolf.”
My jaw tightened immediately.
“What is it?” he continued, his tone sharp now. “You think I fucked up so bad you could control her better than me?”
“It ain’t about controlling her,” Marlon countered. “Rory’s her own person.”
My dad wasn't impressed. I could tell because his face didn’t move. If anything, it got harder.
“Look,” Marlon went on, taking a small step forward, trying to meet him halfway. “I know it’s fucked up, okay? I know I’m dead wrong for this. It’s beyond foul. And I ain’t even mean for it to go down like this.”
“Then why the fuck did you do it?”
The question made the room go quiet.
“Because I wanted to,” Marlon answered after a moment.
