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“I have better things to do with my money than to buy a shop like this,” his father said in disgust.
The words were a slap. Lake took a step towards Rainne, meaning to comfort. She held up her hands to stop him.
“I guess I know where I stand,” she said at last.
Tears poured down her face.
“You stand on your own two feet, lassie,” Betty told her.
Rainne nodded.
“You lot.” She motioned to her family. All of them, Lake included. “You only want me around to do what you want. You aren’t interested in helping me.”
“That’s not true,” Lake said.
She gave him a cold look.
“I’ve had enough of all of you,” she said.
Slowly, she turned and walked out of the shop. Lake took a step to follow her, but Betty put her hand on his arm to stop him. She shook her head slightly. Lake knew she was right. Rainne needed to deal with this her own way. But he hated that. He clenched his fists.
“Well,” his mother said snidely, “looks like your attempt to convert Rainne to your capitalist ways has failed.”
Lake stared at them for a moment. The parents who weren’t parents. The family he didn’t have.
“It’s time for you to leave,” he said.
“Yes,” his father said, completely unaffected by the emotion around him. “Let’s go get Rainne and get out of here.”
“No.” Lake broke free from Betty’s touch. “Leave Rainne alone. Go to your bus and leave Invertary, or you won’t like the consequences.”
His mother’s eyebrows shot up.
“Are you threatening us?” she said with shock.
“Yes. If you don’t leave, right now, all that government training you despise so much will rain down on you like a thunderstorm. That’s a promise.”
His parents went white.
“You are dead to us,” his father said.
Lake nodded. He’d always suspected as much. He watched as they turned on their heels and scuttled from the shop. Lake hoped they did as he told them. He wasn’t sure what he would do if they didn’t. It scared him to think what he could be capable of.
Betty came to stand beside him. Her mouth was pinched.
“Don’t worry, son,” she said firmly. “You still have me.”
Rainne had stopped crying by the time she’d reached Alastair’s house. She felt numb from the betrayal of her family. Both sides were telling her that the other side was selfish and wanted to use her, when in reality, that’s all they both wanted. They were as bad as each other. So she fled to the only place in Invertary where she felt safe, to the only person who wanted her for her—and not for what she could do for him.
Alastair opened the door with a look of bewilderment.
“The show’s in an hour, Rainne,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
She looked up at her beautiful boy with her tear-reddened eyes.
“Oh,” he said with comprehension.
He stepped towards her and wrapped her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head and cooed to her, but Rainne was beyond tears. This wasn’t the kind of comfort she sought.
