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“A few days? Are you sure?”
“Positive. He’ll calm down by then and everything will be back to normal.”
“I’ll talk to Mom and Dad then call you back,” I finally decided, nerves mixing with excitement. “You’ll have to come and get me since I don’t have a car anymore,” I added with a cringe, a loud snort leaving him.
“Yeah, I figured. Just let me know when you’re ready. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I replied before hanging up, taking a deep breath before leaving my room and wandering down to the living room. This wasn’t going to end well.
Mom was arguing with my sister about her vanishing acts lately, but Dad’s eyes were already on me. This was going to hurt him, but Stanley was right. I was an adult.
“Stan’s asked me to stay with him for a while, so I’m going,” I said firmly, hoping I sounded confident, and his eyes widened.
“What?”
“He said he’ll come and pick me up when I’m ready,” I added, as if that cleared up his question, and I could tell he was struggling not to yell at me. I never talked back, so he was probably freaking out about how to handle the situation.
He finally sighed, scrubbing his face with his hands. “I grounded you so you decide to move out? I didn’t ground you for the fun of it, Luna. I need to show you that your actions have consequences. I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“I’m twenty. No one else gets grounded at this age,” I replied and wrinkled my nose. “And I’m not moving out. I just think we should have some space for a few days.”
“And a lot of those kids without discipline end up in prison or dead.”
“Rory doesn’t ground her kids. Neither does Aunt Charlie or Jade,” I whined.
“I know, and most of them will end up in prison or dead, just like I said. I love those kids, but Beckett and Riley have already had one stint behind bars, Ryder’s going to get called out by some drunk girl for rape eventually with the way he’s going, Jade doesn’t have to worry about Landon because he stays out of trouble, and Charlie still has rules for her kids. Phoenix is more guarded than you thanks to Rage, so stop complaining.”
“Ryder’s not a fucking rapist!” Tempest snapped, joining the argument with furious, sky blue eyes. “He doesn’t need to force himself on anyone, they throw themselves at him.”
“I don’t mean he’s a rapist, I just mean he fucks around with these drunk girls, and one day, one of them will regret their drunken decision and cry rape. Especially because he’s got money. Do you know how nice a payout would be to someone who cries rape on a rich kid? Ryder would be thrown in prison and Rory would pay ridiculous amounts of money to keep details quiet and to shut the person up. She wouldn’t like her son’s life ruined over bullshit like that, and it would destroy her being able to foster children. No one would let vulnerable kids live under the same roof as someone on the sex offenders list. Since when do you give a shit about him? I still can’t believe he conned you into his bed. I raised you better than that.”
“He didn’t have to convince me. It was the other way around.” She smiled sweetly, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Are you going to tell me women can’t sleep around for their own pleasure like men can? Mom used to strip and get on her back in Wet Dreams, so don’t give me that bullshit.”
“Tempest!”
“What? I don’t mean it in a bitchy way,” she huffed. “I just wanted to make a point that you can’t aim that shit at me after having a different opinion for Mom. She wasn’t even legal when she worked for you.”
“Where did you hear that?” he hissed, but Mom rolled her eyes.
“As much as I’d love to discuss this, our problem right now isn’t Ryder Donovan’s sex life with Tempest. Luna’s leaving, remember?”
“No, she’s not.” Dad scoffed, turning to me again. “If this is a way to get out of being grounded, we can talk about it. What’s next? Are you going to move out with him?”
“Dad…” I sighed, looking down at my feet. “It’s time I grew up. I should learn to stand on my own feet, right? Maybe I should talk to Stan about us getting a house together. I’m not a kid anymore. If that means you don’t want to pay for college anymore, I…”
“Punishing you by taking away your education will never be something I do. I’m glad one of you kids take your futures seriously,” he grumbled, giving Tempest the side eye before looking back at me. “I thought you said you weren’t ready to move out?”
“I’m not, but it’s something Stan and I should talk about. For now, I’m just going to stay with him for a little while.” I was proud of how strong I sounded, even though I felt awful on the inside for the look in Dad’s eyes. He was hurt.
He was silent for a moment before nodding, defeat on his face. “I can’t make you stay, but you come right back here if you need to, okay? Even if that’s in two hours time. As long as you’re safe.”
“You’ll leave Stan alone?” I asked, needing to know he wouldn’t threaten him or rough him up, but he gave me a sly smile.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Dad!”
“I’m joking. For legal reasons anyway,” he said lightly with a one-armed shrugged. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll keep putting money in your account to pitch in with groceries if you check in with me or your mother so we know you’re alright. I don’t like the idea of you depending on Stanley. That gives him power, and my baby girl’s the one in charge. Got it?”
