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I slowly shake my head, hating how shaky I feel.
“Then you don’t know if he’s in love with you. If he can’t even work up the courage to say it, then he’s not worth your time, darlin’.” He starts to exit the kitchen and I trail after him. “I need to take a shower.”
“We haven’t even been seeing each other for that long,” I blurt.
He stops in his tracks, facing me once again. “If you haven’t seen him for that long, then how do you know you’re in love with him? Like I said, you don’t even know what that is. This is just—it’s lust. You’re full of hormones—and lord knows that boy is too—and he shows you a little bit of attention after you’ve been so shy throughout high school and now look at you. You’re throwing yourself at that boy and letting him feel you up and God knows what else. I won’t have it. He’s not allowed in this house again.”
“Daddy!” I’m crying. The tears are streaming down my face as if I have no control and I follow him through the house, stopping at the doorway of his bedroom. “You can’t just banish him from my life.”
“I can and I will. If I could, I’d do everything in my power to you keep away from him for good, but the more I tell you to stay away from him, the more you’ll want him so that’s pointless.” His mouth thins. “If I don’t want him in my house though, that’s my right. Keep him out of here. He’s a bad influence, sweetheart. You should steer clear of him. He’ll only break your heart.”
I shake my head, unable to form words. My father approaches his bedroom door with me still following him and grabs the handle. “I’m going to take a shower.” He shuts the door in my face and I back away, covering my mouth so he can’t hear my sobs.
Tears blurring my vision, I stumble down the hall and turn into my room, shutting and locking the door behind me before I land on the bed face first. Reaching for my pillow, I gather it in my arms and press my face into it, crying as hard as I want, as loud as I want, grateful it’s muffling how noisy I am.
I cry and cry until it feels like there’s not a drop of moisture left in my body. My eyes burn and my face is swollen. I’m exhausted and I fall asleep, only waking up hours later, my bedroom shrouded in darkness. My father is in the kitchen, banging on pots and pans as he opens and closes cabinet doors, in search of whatever it is he needs to make dinner.
Rolling over onto my back, I stare at the ceiling, slowly coming back to life. My head is still foggy and my eyes still hurt but I sort of feel better. I roll back onto my side and reach for my phone, checking my notifications to find that I have exactly two. One from my father and one…
From Arch.
Dad’s is simple.
I’m making dinner. It’ll be ready in twenty minutes.
I check the time the text sent. That was barely five minutes ago.
Checking Arch’s text fills me with a sort of nervous anticipation that leaves me jittery, and not in a good way.
Arch:I hate what happened, and I wish your dad would let me talk to him. I hope you’re okay. Text me when you can and let me know you’re all right.
I’m immediately texting him back, my fingers so anxious they fumble all over the screen, hitting the wrong keys over and over, making me have to correct myself.
Me:I’m okay. Sorry I fell asleep.
He responds almost immediately, like he was waiting to hear from me and I feel bad for not texting him sooner.
Arch:Is he mad?
Biting my lower lip, I decide to be truthful.
Me:Yeah.
I can’t tell Arch that my father pulled the ‘I’m disappointed in you’ card on me. That will make Arch feel even worse. I know it worked on me. I’m still feeling guilty.
If Dad had come home any later, he would’ve caught us naked. In my bed. Probably having sex. We were well on our way there and I know we would’ve taken it all the way if we hadn’t been interrupted.
Arch:Think he’ll ever talk to me?
Me:What could you say to him?
Arch:That I’m not a piece of shit like he thinks I am. That I care about his daughter and I’m not just fucking around with her.
Swallowing hard, I stare at the words Arch just typed. I can’t deny that my father thinks exactly that, which when you think about it, is funny.
Arch Lancaster is smart. Handsome. He comes from a wealthy family. He’s got it all.
But he’s still not good enough for my father. And if Arch isn’t good enough…
