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I shook my head, not believing him in the slightest. "Not Quinton," I croaked out. "He'll never let this go until he knows every last little detail. He'll push and push until I snap and I’m forced to give him everything he wants."
I could feel it building inside me. Something coming to life in a rush, and I knew there'd be no stopping it even if it died, and I didn’t have it in me to try. My body began to shake uncontrollably and I clenched my free hand into a tight fist.
Rain sighed in defeat while holding his palms up toward me in a clear show of restraint and to show me he meant me no harm. "You're right, baby. Not Quinton, he's different. It's my job to take care of you because I'm your father. It's Quinton's job to take care of you because he's the head of your coven. I know it might seem like he treats you differently than the rest of the guys because he does. That isn’t to say he wouldn't get pushy with them and force them to give him their secrets and pain because he would. It seems more intense with you because he loves you in a different way than how he loves them. They're all going to treat you differently than how they treat each other. That's to be expected. But Quinton, he needs to take care of his family in the only way he knows how. Look at what he did to that Annab—"
That thing building inside of me finally snapped.
I bent forward at the waist and screamed in a voice so ragged it hurt even my own ears to listen to. "Don't you say her fucking name. Don't you ever say it."
I straightened on a jerk, and my arm shot out at my side. In a vicious arc, I swung my arm across the counter, swiping at everything in sight. Bottles of face cleaner, makeup remover, bottles of different hand soaps, the holder without toothbrushes in it, everything went flying. I grabbed at the hand towel hanging on a little ring mounted to the wall and yanked. The towel dropped to the floor and the ring hung crooked, swaying precariously before crashing to the floor to lie beside its discarded burden.
I opened my mouth and screamed wordlessly.
"Fucking Christ," Rain ground out harshly in a voice I barely heard over the sound of my screaming.
I whirled around and grabbed hold of the plastic shower curtain and liner, which had been put up solely for my privacy that I never actually used because they made me feel claustrophobic. I held them tightly in my fist and pulled. The metal rings clanked against the rod as the curtain snap, snap, snapped, tearing from ring after ring. Halfway through the entire rod came down with the curtain. The heavy rod hit me in the shoulder on its descent and bounced off. It crashed to the floor in a heap beside my feet.
The room was utterly silent outside of the sound of my ragged, labored breathing.
Frantically, I searched for something else to destroy.
The door in front of me, the one that led into Dash's bedroom, opened.
"No," I whispered urgently, as Dash's blurry face stepped into the open doorway. I blinked, chasing the tears away, and he became a lot less blurry.
Tears of his own filled his eyes and he reached his hand out to me. "Ariel, honey, come here."
I shook my head from side to side. I couldn't be around him right now, not him. Not when it was all still so fresh. Not when I'd done everythingforhim.
"Go be with your dad."
He flinched as if I'd struck him in the worst way possible.
He cleared his face of all emotions and reached for me once more. "Come, be with Romero and me. He's asking for you, and I want you there with me. Please, honey, come with me."
Any other time I'd give him anything he asked of me. I had a feeling it hurt me more than it hurt him for me to have to tell him no. But I had to because I didn't want to be alone with him and Romero right now. I didn't want to be alone with anyone but myself right now, but especially not him. I wasn't quite ready to face him when he called me out on knowing about Romero and hiding it from him. I didn't want to give him a chance to turn on me, I was too raw to deal with that now, if I ever would be able to.
"Not now, Dash," Rain spoke from directly behind me. "Why don't you go see to your father while I take care of my daughter. I know we're all one big happy family now, but I think it's time you and I focus on our own blood for the time being. When she's ready for it, I'll let you know and you can see her then. Until then, I suggest you go see to the father she risked her life and sanity to bring home to you."
Low. Freaking. Blow.
All of it.
Boy, when Rain really wanted to, he could be a serious dick.
Dash's features turned to stone. He was pissed and this was exactly what I had been trying to avoid.
"How dare you try and tell me what to do when it comes to Ariel," Dash ground out between clenched teeth. A muscle ticked angrily in his jaw. "She owes me an explanation, and you must know that there's no fucking way in the state that she's in right now that I'd try and force her to give me that explanation any time soon. Jesus, what kind of person do you take me for? I thought it would be good for her, given she's clearly in a state, to be around me and my dad. Now the only thing I'm convinced of is that she shouldn't be in here with you not—"
Quinton appeared in the doorway behind Dash. His hand came down to rest on Dash's shoulder and Dash tried to jerk away from his touch. Quinton did not let him go. In fact, he stepped up behind him and wrapped his arm around Dash's chest.
Dash didn't struggle, but his eyes never left mine as Quinton dragged him out of the bathroom.
"I love you," Dash whispered. "Nothing will ever change that. You have to know that. And now I have my father back thanks to you. Come to me when you're ready. We'll be waiting for you."
The door closed behind Dash and Quinton as my knees buckled and my legs went out from underneath me. Rain caught me before I could hit the ground.
He lifted me up with an arm under my shoulders and another one under the backs of my knees. He held me tight to his chest as he turned and walked toward the open doorway and into my bedroom.
