The anger flashes like wildfire inside of me. Part of me wants to rip the door open and scream at him, or shove and kick him off my porch. But instead, I take a deep breath, centering myself.
Forget him. Forget his lies and bullshit and horrible opinions. I know his lies now.
I swing the door open, and our eyes lock through the mesh of the screen door.
“Leanna—”
“If you’re here because of why I think you’re here, you have five seconds to turn around, get back in that car, and get the hell away from me.”
Anger flashes over my father’s face. He’s not a man who’s used to ever hearing anything even close to what I just said to him. But he steels himself, jaw clenching.
“I’m here, Leanna, because I won’t watch you make the same damn mistake all over again!”
I shake my head, tears brimming as I shove the screen-door open. My father jumps away, narrowly missing catching it in the face before he glares at me.
“The only mistake I ever made was listening to you,” I spit at him. “You and your bullshit!”
“Leanna, honey—”
“You lied to me!”
I know he did, but I want to see the truth on his face, even if he’s too much a coward to say it. But, his face says everything he won’t.
“So, you’re back with him, huh? Fallen for his smooth bullshit all over again?”
“You need to leave,” I hiss.
My father scowls, looking away.
“He’s wrong for you, Leanna! Always was and still is! Sending him away was the best thing I ever did for yo—”
“Fuck you.”
My voice is ice as I hug my arms around my torso, glaring at him.
“Leave, dad.”
“He left you, honey.”
I roll my eyes. “Your lies are pathetic, you know that? He didn’t leave me, dad. I know all about what you did.”
“He was unfaithful, Leanna.”
My teeth clench. “He was not.”
My dad smirks at me. “How blind are you, honey? You need proof right in front of you?”
“What I don’t need right in front of me is you, so leave.”
“Honey, believe him if you want, but I’m telling you there was another woman.”
“Dad!” I yell, my hands clenching to fists. “I said get the fuck—”
Suddenly, he’s turning, and reaching for the door to the limo. I almost think he’s just about leave, when instead he opens the door, reaches inside, and comes back holding someone’s hand as he helps them out.
A thin, dainty, red-finger-nailed hand.
The girl steps out of the limo fully, and when she fixes me with this sneering face through an inch of smokey eye makeup, I swallow thickly. She’s got dark black hair with pink streaks in it, with full, pouty lips and tits that defy gravity in a tiny little tank top.
“You want proof, Leanna?” My father mutters icily. “Well here she is. This is Lindsay, Brooks’ other woman.”
“It’s true,” the girl says flippantly, shrugging as she grins wickedly at me. “Brooky was all mine for a year. Every. Single. Night.” She blows me a kiss, really trying to twist that knife.
And oh, I’m angry alright. Furious. But I’m not mad at her, because I don’t believe her for a second. Brooky? Please. The day Brooks lets someone call him Brooky is the day the Earth stops turning. That and everything about Lindsay screams “overdoing it.” She’s trying too hard—trying to act too mean, too entitled about the whole thing. She’s over-acting it, and it’s failing.
So yeah, I’m mad alright. But not at her, and not at Brooks.
I’m mad at my dad, because here he is trying all sorts of underhanded shit just to tear me away from the man I love.
“You’re pathetic,” I spit out, wrinkling my nose in disgust as I shake my head at my dad. “Truly, truly pathetic.”
He stares at me, and even if he tries to hide, I can see the shock on his face that this hasn’t worked. And it hasn’t because as always—as he’s always done when it comes to us—he’s underestimated how deep Brooks and I are in each other. He doesn’t understand how strong our love is, because he’s never had something like that before. You almost want to feel sorry for him.
Almost.
“If you’re not gone in one minute, I’m calling the police. After that,” I reach down and heft up a rock from the edge of the driveway.
“After that, I’m throwing these at her until you do leave,” I mutter, glaring at Lindsey, who goes white as she whirls and dives back into the limo.
My dad holds my gaze, shaking his head. “Leanna—”
“Forty seconds. And don’t ever call me or write me or visit me again,” I spit, venom and ice in my words. “Not ever. We’re done, dad.”
He stares at me a minute more before he shakes his head. “You’ll come around—”
“No.” I smile thinly. “I won’t.”