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My dad growls under his breath then, and Cynthia shoots him a glare before turning her gaze back to me. “No. I didn’t find anything that resembled Tyler grooming you.”
My dad growls again, and I turn my venom to him.
“What’s wrong, Dad? Disappointed that Ty is actually genuine in his feelings for me?”
“I’m still not convinced.” He mutters, and Cynthia raises her hands in a calming motion.
“Let’s not get off track here. I wanted to let you know that aside from the voicemail from Julie, there hasn’t been anything else sent to your phone. My phone, however, has been blowing up every few hours with new video snippets of you at that sex club, and I’ve taken it all to the police.”
“What!” I screech, my legs nearly collapsing from under me at her words.
“Calm down. I didn’t tell them about the one of you and Tyler in the barn.”
“A fucking mistake if you ask me!” Will snaps, but Cynthia ignores him, her dark eyes remaining on me.
“It’s not just that.” I blurt. “The man that sent the videos is a powerful man. He has connections high up. Probably has cops in his pockets. He could make things hard for you if you try to expose him.”
“He can try.” My dad hisses. “No one will stop me from protecting my daughter.”
“Your dad is right. We don’t care who this man is. Nothing will stop us from exposing him and anyone linked to him that has played a part.”
I guess it’s too late now, anyway. They have already handed the videos over to the cops.
“Why didn’t you expose Ty?” Tears well in my eyes as the mere thought of him paying the price for me sinks in.
“I’m not sure exactly.” She shakes her head, and I notice for the first time how exhausted she looks. “I don’t condone what’s been going on between you and Tyler, but I can’t seem to bring myself to hurt you like that, Rhys. To expose you just so he gets punished.”
Tears spill over as I plead with her. “Please don’t punish him. He’s a good person. I know it seems wrong to you, but it doesn’t seem wrong to us. It feels so right.”
“You thought things with you and Brian were right too, Rhys. How can you tell the difference? I don’t think you can. I don’t think you can see it clearly at all.” My dad stands from his chair, frowning at me, his words slicing my heart in two.
“Because Tyler doesn’t ask anything of me. He quit his job to be with me.”
“He quit his job hoping he wouldn’t get caught as a teacher sleeping with his student!” My dad roars, and I flinch.
“Let’s not do this. It's not helping.” Cynthia pleas. The pain in her tone almost makes me look at her, but I’m too angry to take my eyes off Will. He’s usually such a mellow man, but this stuff with Ty and me has turned him into a lion.
“I love him.” My voice is nothing but confident as I stare my dad down.
“Yes, and apparently, you love four other boys, too.” There’s sarcasm in my dad's tone, and I hate hearing it.
“Yeah. So?”
“So? So?” My dad rounds his desk to stand before me. “That’s not normal!”
“Ding! Ding! Ding! And the winner is William Rogan for finally realising that his foster daughter isn’t fucking normal!”
“Rhys!” Cynthia scoffs while Will takes a step back from me, frowning.
“It’s true. I’m not normal. I never have been normal, and I never will be normal, and the sooner you accept that, the easier it will be to understand me. If that’s not something you can accept,Dad, then perhaps I’m not meant to be a part of this family!”
I ignore Cynthia as she reaches for me, tears falling down her cheeks as I turn and flee from the room. If I were smart, I’d steal one of their phones and high-tail it outta here, but even though I said the words about not belonging to this family, my heart aches to be a part of it. It aches just as much as it aches for Ty and the other guys.
I lock myself in my room, once again refusing to eat, which sucks dog's balls because I fucking love food. The hunger doesn’t do my state of mind any good either, as the darkness closes in on me, almost making me choke on it. Since I don’t have access to my phone to play music, I lay the wrong way up on my bed, my head dangling over the end in the dark, and I sing every dark song I know. I don’t care that I sound out of fucking tune. I sing at the top of my lungs, screaming at times as the unbearable pain of feeling alone consumes me. I ignore the banging on my door. Cynthia’s threats of picking the lock. She can go ahead. I’m not moving off this bed, and I’m not going to stop singing like the crazy bitch they think I am.
I’m not sure how much time goes by, but my angry singing eventually turns into soft, sad crooning until all I’m doing is crying silently in the dark. There’s so much pain inside me. How the hell does that work exactly? How do my emotions cause physical pain? It’s almost unbearable. The kind of pain that you’ll do almost anything to take it away. To end it.
This, too, shall pass.
