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It felt really good to do something for him for once. For the past week, I’d been in such a weird headspace that I’d instinctively fallen into the victim role of letting him save me. But now that I was feeling better, I wanted to make him feel cared-for too.
And I wanted to show him that I could give as well as I could receive.
The deli across the street was one of my favorites. Kona and I were greeted by the staff, and our lunches were quickly prepared and packaged to-go. I was walking on a cloud of peace when I arrived back in front of the daycare. So much in my head, I almost didn’t notice my father with his face pressed up against the glass door, looking inside.
“Dad?” I picked up Kona and held her close to my chest. “What are you doing here?”
“Where the fuck have you been?” He looked between me and Kona. “You working every day now? Where the hell is the money from all your time picking up shit and rolling around with these mutts?”
I didn’t know if he expected a real answer, but I didn’t have one for him. “I’ve had to stay here for a few days.” I petted Kona’s head, drawing comfort from her silky hair. “I need to get back in.”
“Whoa, there.” He placed his hand on my shoulder, holding me back. “You owe me rent. Just because you spend a night or two away doesn’t mean the bills don’t need to be paid.”
“Rent?” I hadn’t been paying rent since moving back, but I had been taking care of bills and groceries, so I guess that was a form of rent. “Um, okay.” I reached for my wallet, knowing I didn’t have much cash on me. “I think I have about $80 on me. Is that good?”
“Eighty bucks?” He grabbed my wallet from my hand and dug into it. “No, Billy. That’s not good. Where the fuck is all this money you’re making here? You blowing it on all your weird gay shit?”
“Um, I can pull out more and drop it off later.” I took a few steps back, not wanting Kona to be within his arm’s reach. If he could abandon Peaches, I had no idea what he might do to a stranger’s dog. “I need to get inside now.”
“Everything okay out here?” Axel appeared from the front door, immediately positioning himself between me and my dad.
“Um, yeah. He’s just leaving.” I stepped closer to Axel’s back, wanting to feel the warmth of his body without actually touching him.
Dad stepped back and looked around Axel to make eye contact with me. “I’ll just keep this. We’ll settle up later.”
Axel glanced down at me with a raised eyebrow. “Is that your wallet?”
I nodded infinitesimally. “He’s my dad.”
Axel’s eyes hardened, and he turned back. “You’re not keeping his wallet.”
My dad seemed surprised that anyone would stand up for me. “Who the fuck are you? I’m his father, and he owes me money. When he’s ready to pay me, he’ll get his wallet back.”
I wanted to melt into the asphalt and disappear. I was so embarrassed by my father’s actions, and I feared Axel would finally be tired of dealing with my drama. But to my surprise, he didn’t back down one bit. “You’ll give him his wallet back now. How much does he owe you?”
Dad looked between me and Axel as he considered the question. “Like…two hundred bucks. Rent is due.”
Unless he had remortgaged the house after Mom died, the only rent due would be to him. And I never agreed to any amount. “You never told me that before.”
“You’re such a whiny little bitch, Billy. Have some dignity and just pay what you owe.”
Once again, Axel had his wallet out and was fishing out a stack of bills. “Take it and don’t come back. If Billy wants to talk to you, he’ll find you. Until then, stay the hell away from him.”
My hand instinctively grabbed the back of Axel’s shirt, and I gripped it tightly.
He grabbed the wallet from my dad’s hand and then turned to guide me back inside. “Let’s go inside, Billy. There’s nothing for you out here.”
THIRTEEN
AXEL
I took everything in me not to punch that asshole for even daring to speak to Billy that way. But I knew that would just upset Billy even more, so I managed to maintain control of myself and get him back inside before things escalated.
Once we were behind the glass door, I stood there and watched as the fucker stormed to his car and sped away, hopefully for the last time. If I ever saw him again, I would not be so calm. In fact, part of me wanted to follow him home and show him how a daddy was supposed to look after his boy.
But he wasn’t the one I cared to give any more attention to. When I turned around, I realized Billy wasn’t standing with me. As expected, I found him on his bed, curled up with Kona licking his chin.
“Oh, baby.” I climbed into the bed behind him, nuzzling right up against his back and wrapping my body around his so he could feel me holding him. “I’m so sorry that happened.”
