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“Withthosepeople.”
“With friends,” Lydia counters.
“With the same friends who sold you drugs at school.”
“That boy—” My mother starts. “Was it that boy? Lydia, people like that can’t be trusted.” The words tumble out like she’s racing an invisible clock. “Was it him?”
I had the impression that Lydia was caught smoking weed with a group of guys, not a boyfriend. Not someone she was involved with like that. If my parents are looking for him, it’s even worse.
Lydia hesitates. My father pounces.
“Of course it was. Don’t worry, Lydia. I’ll get a list of names, and you’ll never see any of them again.”
“Dad, no.”
He gets up out of his chair, and in three strides he’s towering over her. Over both of us.
“You’ve had enough time to figure this out,” he snaps. “You’ve had enough time to turn things around. You do this over and over again. You don’t seem to understand that your place in this family matters, and your reputation matters, and if you continue to drag us through the mud, you won’t have either one anymore.”
“I just wanted to—”
“Be a whore scraping for money and attention like yoursister?” His voice is so loud it hurts my ears, but he’s still in control. It hasn’t gotten away from him. Cold shoots down my spine, followed by shame and hot anger. “You can sleep with men who like to give you black eyes if that’s what you like, Lydia, but don’t think there’s not a price. You’re a—”
“Dad.” I’m sharper than I wanted to be. Louder. But he’s too close, and more volatile by the second. I put my arm in front of Lydia. My anger’s like a broken oven that doesn’t know when to stop.Whorerings in my ears. “It’s not her fault that some assholes at a party wouldn’t take no for an answer. You should be glad she’s okay.”
His eyes focus on me. His rage is cold. It could freeze a person in place. “Oh? Is that so?”
“Yes. That’s all that should matter to you.”
“I’m not sure who invited you to weigh in, Elise. You turned your back on this family. And you’ve been nothing but a bad influence since then. Are you the one who encouraged her to go to this goddamn party?”
“No.”
“Then shut the hell up unless you’re here to beg my forgiveness.”
That anger turns white-hot now. Way hotter than my reasonable mind, which knows better than to say anything. “Are you serious? You should beg for mine.”
My mother stands up. She takes one tentative step toward us, then stops.
“For what?” This might be how I die. Killed by my own father for daring to suggest that he owes me anything. “You’ve always gotten exactly what you wanted. Is that run-down bakery in Brooklyn not enough? I even let Gabriel Hill join my business group so you could stop prostituting yourself to him. What more do you think you deserve?”
“Stop yelling at her. Lydia went to a party. She called me when she felt like she wasn’t safe. You don’t have to torture her for it. You have no right, after what you did.”
Lydia’s eyes are huge. She has no idea what happened with the consortium. She was practically a baby when Gabriel’s parents were killed.
My father smiles, and all I can see is sharp teeth. “I wouldn’t make accusations without evidence, dearest. There’s only one way to deal with people who spread false rumors about me.”
To burn them alive. My bakery flashes into my head. All those ovens. All that heat. An accident could happen anytime, and nobody would think anything of it.
I have to calm down.
One breath doesn’t do it, but I forge ahead. “Do not take this out on Lydia. If you’re angry with me, then deal with me.”
He studies me, brow furrowing. “Are you so emotional because you’re feeling some regret, Elise? A little jealousy that he has a spot alongside us and you haven’t been offered one?”
“I’m not jealous.”
“Oh, honey. You were never a very good liar.”
