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“I know,” I say, feeling small and fragile under the weight of her disappointment already. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you all.”
“Where the hell are you?! Are you in the city? Drop your location and I’ll come and get you. I won’t trust that you’re okay until I can my hands on you and pinch you for doing something so fucking stupid!”
I take a deep breath.
This is it.
“I’m not in the city, but I’m okay, I promise.”
“Are you shitting me?” she practically screams. “Where are you, Felicia?”
I bite my lip. Olivia takes my silence as reason for concern.
“Your dad said you’d done something stupid. Why won’t you tell me where you are?”
I’m starting to think I don’t have the guts to tell her that I’m in love with her father, that he bought my virginity at an auction held in an illegal-but-otherwise safe sex work establishment, and that he’s the love of my life and can’t make myself give him up. “I’m fine, I’m just out of town—”
Suddenly, I feel a warm hand on my shoulder. I jump, startled so much that I drop my phone. It falls down to the wooden planks of the deck with a clatter. Before I can pick it up, Brock’s reaching for it.
He faces the screen with a neutral look. I hear Olivia on the other side of the call, sputtering in confusion. He waits for her to be silent before giving me an even look over the top of my phone.
I can’t read his expression at all, but my heart stops when he starts to speak calmly to his daughter.
“Olivia, sweetheart, we need to talk.”
Chapter 9
Brock
Waking up without Felicia in the bed was jarring, to say the least.
And then when I didn’t find her in the house, it went from jarring to terrifying.
It wasn’t until I heard a tinny but familiar sound of my daughter floating on the air that I realized Felicia was standing outside, talking on the phone. My world tilts on its access as I hear Felicia trying to assure my daughter that she’s okay and safe.
I don’t expect her to jump like she does when I put a hand on her shoulder. I only meant to let her know I was behind her. It backfires so badly she drops her phone with a squeak.
I school my features as she looks at me, even though my heart is racing just as much as hers must be.
It’s now or never.
I need to talk to my daughter about what I feel for her best friend.
“Olivia, sweetheart, we need to talk.”
“Dad? What the fuck? What are you—Whyare you—”
I watch as her expression changes between shock, confusion, and fury.
Finally, she says, “I’ve been texting you for days. I’ve been worried about Felicia. She’s been with you this whole time?” Her voice is almost terrifyingly calm, but the anger is evident on her face, even over the video call. Over the top of the phone, I see Felicia shift her weight guiltily from one foot to the other.
“It’s been a hectic few days,” I say, sticking as close to the truth as I can without giving too much away too soon.
“That’s not a good enough excuse,” Olivia snaps. “Why didn’t you tell me you were with her?”
I take a deep breath. “Because we haven’t figured out how to tell you what’s happened.”
“Tell me what? What could possibly have happened that’s so important you had to ignore me??”
