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“You’re all fucking crazy.” Seething, I pushed him back. So, it was okay for them to know where my attacker was. That monster was supposed to have died years ago, my own father was serving time because of it, and instead of turning the sick fuck over to the police, they were doing god knows what with him. “I didn’t think you could sink further, Logan, but this, this is a whole new level of low.”
Logan advanced again, as I started to back up towards the door. The room, everything around me, felt like it was closing in. It was getting harder to breathe, and I felt my chest constricting. Reaching out, he tried to take my hand, just as I turned for the door. “Wait Phee, there’s more.”
“How long?” I couldn’t hide the hurt, it wouldn’t have done me any good, either. My back was to all of them, but I needed to know how long they had been keeping Kyle locked up, how long they had been planning to keep me in the dark. “Whose idea was it to keep this from me?”
“We wanted to give you time, Firecracker.” There was that word again, time. I was starting to hate it, but I could hear the caution in his voice, the resistance present. I knew what they’d done was an attempt to keep me safe, to shelter me from any more harm. “We would have told you when the time was right.”
“So what’s changed now?” I needed to harden myself. I couldn’t break in front of them. If I wanted them to treat me like nothing had happened, then I needed them to see that I wouldn’t break at the slightest setback.
“My uncle has a reward out for information on Kyle.” The pain in Logan’s voice mirrored my own. He had distanced himself from his family since finding out the truth, this latest incident hadn’t made things any easier. “We need you to make a decision, Phee.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight - Logan
I’d been feeling like shit ever since Phee had stormed out on us. I should have stuck to my guns when we were deciding whether or not to tell her. I knew we’d eventually have to come clean, but confronting her like that was the wrong way to go about it. The look of utter betrayal when I’d told her what was going on had absolutely killed me. I’d have done anything in that moment to erase that look, distrust written all over her face. It was what brought me back to my parent’s house, back to where my life had changed.
“Stryker, before we go in, I need you to let me handle this.” I implored him to listen to me as I pulled up to my parents’ house. Killing the engine, I inhaled sharply, the thought of seeing my father had bile rising to my throat, and I felt physically sick. I shook my head, breathing in deeply as I tried to calm myself. I was o vercome with a flood of emotions, but as pissed off and confused as I was I didn't need Stryker going off half cocked.
Rolling his eyes at me, I could tell he was frustrated. He wasn’t the only one, we all were. When Jonah had told us about the reward for information on my cousin's whereabouts, it had placed us all on edge. The whole ordeal had been playing on us. Phee had stormed out after we’d told her about Kyle. The bruises had faded, but that image would be forever imprinted like a roadmap in my brain. That wasn't what bothered me though, it was the emotional turmoil she was holding in, something that none of us were really equipped to handle. She hadn’t fully snapped yet, but when she did, I would be there, standing by her side to bring her back.
“You know they’re bullshitting you, right? Your father has played you for the last four years, Logan,” Stryker bit out. He hated taking the backseat, and between him and Damon it had been a damn pissing contest to see who took control. Frankly, I couldn’t have cared less. This was my family, and I was gonna do this my way.
“I’m not a complete moron. I am fully away that my father will try to placate. You don’t think I haven’t been through this before- fuck man, they’ve done it my entire life.” The myriad of emotions I felt bubbled further to the surface as the memory from the night my parents threw my world into turmoil, the night everything had come crashing down around me, played in my mind like a broken record. “I’m not going in there with the assumption that my parents are innocent, Stryker. Fuck no. But I do know my father, and we need to keep our cards close to our chests. We need to play this safe.”
“Logan, you heard what Kyle said about your old man, and D’ told you what Kyle bragged about to him. You read the shit in that fucking journal.” He said as he ran his hand through his hair. Stryker had been running around on pure unadulterated hatred and holding Kyle captive had only made it worse. Watching the live feeds constantly didn’t help the situation either. “Your own father is just as deep into this as Kyle is.”
I couldn’t deny that, and I couldn’t lie to myself. Just the thought of my father laying a finger on Phee made my skin crawl and made a nauseous feeling settle in my stomach. The more Kyle bloody opened his mouth, the more I realised just how much I didn’t know my own family. What the fuck were they mixed up in? And how much of this did my mother know about?
“I know, Stry, trust me I do. But we can’t go in there with all guns blazing. As much as I know you want to, if we do that, my father is going to clam up.” I needed him to understand, with my father, you had to play the long game. If I’d learned anything since this whole ordeal started- it was to expect the unexpected. “As it is, he is likely going to try deflecting. We can use that.”
His fists clenched and then unclenched by his sides as Stryker’s jaw tightened. When it came to Phee, I didn’t doubt that Stryker would raise the dead if she asked him to. “Let’s get this shit show over with then.”
It looked like he wanted to say more, but had decided to hold back. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but something told me my friend was keeping something from me. I knew there was still a long way to go before we had mended the divide between us, but him just being there, even if it was to find answers for himself, was a start. We had already come so far, but there was still that little bit of doubt there.
We made our way up the sandstone pathway. Black was a fitting color for the front door, all things considered. Opening the door, we entered the house. The place that used to hold happy memories, now sent chills down my spine. It was so quiet. The coldness that now enveloped my former home felt like it was trying to consume us. The memories of the last four years were now marred by deception and lies. The living room, where Dad and I would sit, watching the game, eating pizza- all tainted.
“Mom?” I called out. My voice echoed off the foyer walls. I waited for a reply, but got nothing. I wondered where she was. I hadn’t heard much from her since Phee was rescued, but the last few weeks there had been radio silence. She hadn’t even sent a text, but I guess when you’re ignored all the time, you eventually give up.
“Doesn’t look like she’s home, Lo,” Stryker said quietly, as he bumped my shoulder. “That could be a good thing though.”
He was right. This visit had two purposes. The first, to confront my father and get answers, and the second was to grab the rest of my things, so I didn’t have to come back. I had some things up in my room that I needed. The thumb drive with all the videos of the stalker was hidden in my room; I didn’t want my father finding it and using it. From everything I had discovered, I knew he couldn’t be trusted. If he got his hands on that, there would be no telling what he would do with it.
Living with Damon and Phee had become permanent, and once things had settled again, I needed to talk with my Tiny Dancer about the other night. Something changed that night. It felt like the old Phee was back, but she closed off as soon as we finished. I could tell she felt more than she let on, but she was too damn stubborn to admit it. I had to make her see I’d changed, that I was there for her.
The whole house now felt cold and lifeless. The family portraits that hung on the cream walls of the hallway had an ominous feel to them. I saw my family in a whole new light. I looked at one picture in particular- it was taken just after we had returned. I didn’t know what it was about it, but the way that my father was looking down over my mother, his left hand gripping her shoulder almost like a vice grip, the coldness in his eyes, with a hint of evil that matched the sinister smirk that adorned his face, it made me sick. How I had fucking missed that I didn’t know, but I would be keeping my eyes wide open from there on out.
“It all feels like everything I’ve ever known was a lie,” I muttered to myself, as Stryker and I quietly made our way to my father’s study. I was questioning everything. “Was anything ever real?”
“It sucks man, I know, but this needs to be done. Not only for yourself, but for Phee too.” His hand squeezed my shoulder. Stryker had a point. Both Phee and I needed closure, and I wanted to know if everything that Kyle had hinted at was true. “You’ve a lot to atone for Lo, we all do, but this goes part of the way for you.”
Everything he said was true. Lord knows, I had a fuck load to make up for, and I’d spend the rest of my life trying. I just needed her to give me that chance. I nodded my reply as we came to a stop outside the office. Breathing a deep breath, I went to open the study door, only to halt when I heard my father’s voice on the other side of the door.
Opening it slightly, I could see my dad, seated at his desk, surrounded by mountains of files and paperwork. His phone was on loudspeaker, and he was deep in conversation. I put my hand up to stop Stryker from barging in. Whoever he was talking to, it was heated, and it had something to do with Kyle.
“I’m telling you, Alex, I’ve not seen him.” My father sounded pissed. I could tell by the way his shoulders were hunched that he wasn’t enjoying the conversation. “Knowing that son of yours, he probably took off when they busted in. I know I would’ve, given the extent of the girl’s injuries.”
Just by what he was saying, I knew it was about Phoenix. The tone of his voice was heavily laden with hostility at even the slightest notion of her. Every memory I had of D ad around Phee was now brought into contention. How could I have missed his dismissive nature? The veiled demeaning comments? Hindsight was something else. When she’d arrived, I had gone along with the comments Dad made, but now. . . now I knew there had been more behind them.
“Max, I’m telling you my son is missing too. Not only that, but the fucking bunker has been turned upside down,” Uncle Alex yelled down the phone. I understood why there would be worry and anger present as he spoke, but the fear confused me. “He hasn’t touched any of the accounts or shown up at any of the safe houses. They took everything from the bunker, Max, everything. You know what that means, don’t you?”
