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I narrow my eyes and study her obviously guilty expression closely. “Bianca, was you canceling on us the other night intentional?”
“No! I mean, the canceling wasn’t intentional, something really did come up. I just thought that maybe you two could get to know each other again...”
I let out a groan and rub the bridge of my nose in frustration. “You’re trying to parent trap us, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely not! Why does everyone keep saying that? In order for it to be a parent trap I’d have to lock you in a room together. I’m just simply... facilitating get-togethers. That’s all.”
“Jesus Christ, Bianca. Aren’t you old enough to know that your parents aren’t getting back together? You’re twenty-three years old. We haven’t been together since you were two.”
Her eyes narrow in on me with a glare and she crosses her arms over her chest in a defensive gesture. “Hey, you don’t have to be an asshole about it. I just want you to be happy, Dad. You sit in this house all alone. You don’t date. You’re turning into a grumpy old man. In case you haven’t noticed, Mom is pretty awesome and moving to a brand-new city. So, sue me if I just want two people that I love to be happy. And if they can be happy together, what the fuck is wrong with that?”
I shouldn’t have brought this up here. I know that. There are too many people around and I don’t want to ruin Bianca’s birthday. At some point I’m going to have to sit her down and make it absolutely clear that I will never be getting back together with her mother but now isn’t the time.
I pull her back into another hug and squeeze her tight. “I’m sorry, let’s not talk about this right now. It’s your birthday.” She gives me a kiss on my cheek before pulling away and smiles. “Besides I haven’t even given you your present yet.”
“Present?” Her eyes light up and I can’t help but laugh.
I pull the folded sheet of paper out of my back pocket and hand it over to her with an exaggerated flourish. “I hope you don’t mind, you know I’m shit at wrapping.”
“Of course not,” she says, plucking the paper from my hand and unfolding it. She takes a moment to scan it and then looks back at me questioningly. “You got me something from Dark Arts and Crafts?”
“Actually, I opened an account for you at Dark Arts and Crafts that I will pay for—” She cuts me off with a squeal and throws her arms around my neck. “That I will pay for, as long as it’s under three hundred dollars a month, for the next year.”
“This is amazing, Dad! Thank you so much! I can’t believe it.”
“Yeah, well just remember that you don’t have to spend the entire three hundred every month,” I grumble good naturedly. “Now, go have fun with your friends. I’m going to grab another drink.” I hold up my empty beer bottle to show that I’m indeed in need of a drink and not about to go hunt down her best friend. I watch her run off to tell her friends about her gift and smile to myself, happy that I can give her this.
Some people might think that I spoil Bianca, but I’ve worked hard since I was seventeen years old to give her a better life. I don’t want her to have to struggle the way that I have always had to. My parents were far from rich and even though they wanted to, they couldn’t do much to help Amanda and me with Bianca. Now I’m in a position where I can help launch her into adulthood and the artistic career of her dreams and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. It doesn’t hurt that Bianca asks for very little from her mother and me and really does seem to appreciate everything we do for her. No, she’s not spoiled and I’m damn proud of her for chasing her dreams.
I was never much of a dreamer. I never had the chance. There was always too much responsibility on my shoulders. But as I glance around the room looking for Violet, I start to wonder if maybe it’s time for me to start dreaming.
I make my way from room to room, constantly scanning for my black-haired beauty. Why does it seem like my house has doubled in size? What I do spot is Archer about to pull Hollie into a darkened corner and I smile even if it does make me a little jealous. I truly am happy for them. Both Archer and Hollie have had a tough go at life and it’s nice to see two people that I care about find joy in each other.
Just as I’m about to move on, Hollie catches my eye and pulls away from Archer, moving toward me. We’re in the living room where the speakers are loudly pulsing away with some kind of techno beat that I don’t understand nor care for, so when she reaches me she has to get up on her tiptoes and almost shout in order to be heard over the din.
“She’s in the garage.” I look at her and am about to pretend like I don’t know who she’s talking about when she gives me a look that says I shouldn’t even bother to deny it. I glance past her to Archer who lifts one of his shoulders in a shrug, indicating that he didn’t tell her anything about our earlier conversation. Damn, that girl has always been too perceptive for her own good. Or I guess in this case, my own good. But she’s also always been good at minding her own business, so I don’t think she’ll say anything to Bianca. At least not unless she speaks to Violet first.
But I don’t have time to get her assurance of silence right now. With the information of Violet’s whereabouts fresh in my mind I’m anxious to get to her. “Thanks.” She just gives me a small smile and makes her way back to her boyfriend leaving me to thread my way through the throngs of party goers to get to the garage.
Once the door closes behind me, I’m thankful that most of the sounds of the party are muffled out here. While there’s still a few people milling around, there aren’t nearly as many people here. I rarely use the garage since my truck is too large to fit inside. Instead, I have the space set up as a kind of game room for when people want to come over and hang out. There’s a poker table in the corner that currently has four people sitting around it, drinking and playing cards. The center of the room is largely occupied by a pool table that I probably never should have bought since I’ve only used it a handful of times. There’s a group of people that look deeply invested in a game of eight ball and I’m glad that someone is getting some use out of it.
In the corner of the room opposite the poker table I see that little blond-haired punk sitting on one of the chairs we have lining the walls. He has a drink in one hand and Violet’s in his other. That’s not the thing that’s making me see red, though. What’s about to send me over the edge is that he’s tugging at her. It looks like he’s trying to get her to sit in his lap and I can tell by the look on her face how uncomfortable she is. She’s not pulling away from him exactly but she’s certainly not making any moves to join him on the chair.
Violet is my sole focus as I move into the room, my sights set on her like a laser. I knock into a few of the people at the pool table and vaguely hear their protests behind me. I don’t give a flying fuck. That’s my girl he’s making uncomfortable.
Once I’m within a few feet of them, Violet seems to finally notice me. Her eyes go wide and now she’s actively trying to tug her hand out of that idiot’s grasp. I don’t know if it’s because she wants to make an escape from me or if it’s because she doesn’t want me to see him touching her. Either way she’s not going anywhere unless it’s with me.
“Violet,” I bark out, my voice coming out much more harshly than I mean it to. My anger isn’t for her. “Who’s this?” I nod my head toward her date but don’t take my eyes off her face.
She doesn’t look at him either when she responds. “This is Tyler.” She straightens her shoulder and lifts her chin, challenging me. “My date.”
Tyler gets out of his chair, still holding my girl’s hand and sets down his drink before offering me his hand to shake. “Hey, nice to meet you, man.” I ignore him.
“I need to speak to you,” I tell her.
“I’m a little busy right now, Dante. Can’t this wait?” Her date is smart enough to pull his hand back, realizing that I have no intention of shaking it and is swiveling his head back and forth between Violet and me.
“No, it can’t,” I say through gritted teeth. If he doesn’t get his hand off her in the next few seconds, I’m going to lose it. She must see how close I am to going over the edge because her eyes widen slightly and she turns to her date.
