Pushing through the door, the very first thing I notice is that the house is in complete darkness despite it being the middle of the day. All the curtains are pulled and every one of the lights are off.
“The fuck?” I grumble under my breath.
I walk past all the windows and tear open the curtains. I get if dad wanted to get a good sleep in but this is taking it a bit far.
I come into the kitchen and have to stop myself as I find dad sitting at the stool under the counter with a bottle of whiskey and one hell of a sorry expression on his face.
“Dad?” I question, stepping into the kitchen to put myself on the other side of the counter to look directly at him.
It’s as though he doesn’t hear me. “Dad?” I repeat.
His only response is to reach for the bottle of whiskey and pour it down his throat. He swallows it like water and slams the bottle back down on the counter, surprising me that it didn’t shatter. “Dad? What the fuck is going on?”
His eyes flick up to mine making it clear that he’s been drinking since the second he got home. “What the fuck is going on?” he demands. “You’re not my fucking kid, that’s what.”
“Are you kidding me?” I shriek, unable to believe what I’m hearing. “What happened to that whole ‘you’ll always be my daughter’ bullshit you were spouting the other night?”
“Exactly that,” he tells me, taking another drink. “All bullshit. All the fucking work I put into raising you and you’re not mine. You don’t share my blood. You’re Anton’s problem now.”
The comments sting and deep down I know he’s just saying it because he’s hurt and had way too much to drink, but it doesn’t change the way his words are making me feel absolutely worthless.
I gape at him as he grabs the bottle once again. “I should have known. You look nothing like me.”
I snap and snatch the bottle right from his hand, launching it across the room until it shatters against the dining room wall. “Fuck you,” I yell. “Fuck you so goddamn much. Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that?” I step around the counter and get right in his face. “I get it. You’re hurt and the last few weeks have been absolute shit. It’s been hard for everyone, not just you. I lost my little fucking sister and I got nothing from you, just scowls or disgust every time you walked past me, but guess what? I was able to hold it the fuck together because that’s the way you raised me. I fucking love you dad, but right now, I couldn’t hate you more. Yes, Anton is my biological father, but you are my dad.”
His jaw clenches but I don’t give him a chance to fight me on it. “Your pity party is over. It’s time to grow the hell up and move on. If you can’t stand the sight of me, knowing I’m not yours, then it doesn’t matter anyway because I’m moving in with Anton, but that doesn’t change the fact that you need to man up and be there for Aria. She is your baby and she’s going to need you more than ever and I hope to God you can somehow manage to appear like the father I had growing up because right now, you’re nothing but a disappointment.”
I walk straight past him and turn in the kitchen doorway to look back at him. “I came home to tell you that Kelly was arrested and it’s most likely on me, but what the hell do you care? You’re too drunk to even remember this shit tomorrow morning. I’ll be keeping Aria with me tonight at Tully’s. Hopefully, by morning, you’ll have grown the hell up.”
With that, I walk straight back out the door, hating how my heart is breaking.
Chapter 11
Noah’s hand slowly trails up the back of my thigh leaving me wondering why the hell we’re still fully clothed as his lips move against mine. I sink into him. It’s been way too long since we’ve been able to fool around like careless teenagers.
Our lives have been crazy but now with Aria back and life going back to how it’s supposed to be, I feel as though we can finally get on with our lives. There’s no more stressing, no more school, nothing that could possibly come to tear us down. We’ve suffered through just about everything people our age could possibly suffer through and I love that we all seem to have come out the other end stronger, wiser, and ready to take on the world.
Noah’s hand slips up the back of my shirt and a breathy moan pulls from within me. There’s nothing quite like the feel of his skin on mine, even if it is just a hand on my back. No matter what, I absolutely love it.