Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
My dad hovered at the edge of the living room, wearing a pair of blue hospital scrubs, and I couldn’t tell if he was just coming off a shift or getting ready to start one. The door to his bedroom opened, and Cassidy appeared. Her brown hair was pulled up in a haphazard ponytail, and she wore leggings, an oversized t-shirt, and zero makeup.
The commotion must have woken her, and when she saw the upset-looking Novaks and Sydney lurking next to me, her eyes went wide.
The tension in the room was so strong, no one seemed to be able to speak. Or maybe they were all just waiting for me to do it.
“I’m sorry. This is my fault,” I announced. “I fell asleep, and—”
Mr. Novak lifted a hand to tell me to shut the fuck up, and his voice dripped with disdain. “I don’t care.” His attention shifted to his daughter. “Your mother and I have been worried sick. You didn’t tell us where you were going, and then you didn’t come home last night. You couldn’t be bothered to call us, and then you turned off your phone, which you know is against our rules.”
She’d been silent as she lingered a half-step behind me, but now she surged forward and found her voice. “I didn’t turn it off. The battery died.” She lifted her chin. “I’m sorry I didn’t call and that you were worried about me, but there’s no need. I’m fine.”
“You are not fine, young lady,” her mother said. “This is so far from fine I barely recognize you. Let’s go. We’ll discuss it on the car ride home.”
“I can take her home,” I said.
“You stay out of this!” she snapped. “You and your family have done quite enough.” Her furious gaze swung to my dad. “Undermining us at every turn with Colin. Letting her spend the night with your son. I’d ask if you have any decency, but obviously,” she gestured to Cassidy, “you don’t.”
Mrs. Novak’s statement was a bomb detonating. Cassidy and Sydney gasped at the same time fire exploded inside me, and it burned so hot, the only thing I could move was my hands. My fingers curled into tense fists.
My dad’s reaction was similar. The muscles corded in his arms, and his face took on a dark cast that was so scary, Mrs. Novak literally took a step back. She exchanged a glance with her husband, like she was worried my dad might take a swing at her.
Thankfully, he didn’t.
His hands were balled into fists so tight, his knuckles were white, but as a man used to dealing with life and death pressure, he knew how to stay calm. His voice was as icy and deliberate as his scalpel. “You’re no longer welcome in my home. Leave.”
She sneered. “With pleasure.” Her focus turned back to her daughter. “Let’s go.”
Sydney was frozen in place, and her conflicted gaze bounced between me and her parents, which only angered them more. I reached out and curled my hand around hers, wanting to offer support. I didn’t do it to send them over the edge, because I didn’t give a fuck about them, but her dad’s face turned an ugly shade of purple.
“You come home with us right now,” he said, “or you don’t come home at all.”
All the air left her lungs in a sharp punch, and she pressed her free hand to her chest, as if she needed to protect her heart.
“Is that what you want?” Her question was soft, but as she spoke, she gathered strength. “To give me the same ultimatum you gave Colin? Cut us off and pretend we don’t exist because we couldn’t live up to your perfect expectations?”
Mrs. Novak had the nerve to look at her daughter like she was being unreasonable. “We never expected you to be perfect, but what we do expect is for you—”
“I’ve done everything you ever wanted,” Sydney said. “Followed every rule, and until last night, I’d never made a mistake. That’s what you demand from me. Perfection, and nothing less, because this is the very first time I’ve fallen short, and you’re threatening to kick me out. No room for error and no second chance.”
Her mother’s mouth opened, maybe to defend herself, but nothing came out. Her brow furrowed as she searched her brain for any other time Sydney hadn’t been perfect, and it looked like she was coming up emptyhanded.
“You let me think I need you,” Sydney’s tone was full of indignation, “but I’m realizing it’s the other way around, and I’m done living my life how you want me to. So, the ultimatum is this. Either I come home with you now, and you learn to deal with that, or . . . I go stay with Colin, and you’ll have driven both your kids away forever.”