Unconditional

“I knew I should have talked to him first. I knew you’d get him worked up.”

“Can you blame her?” Cal comes walking down the steps, in sweatpants and a t-shirt and for a second, I feel a flash of jealousy that Aria gets to see him like this. This is for my eyes only, goddammit. Flashes of dry humping him in those gray sweatpants because it allowed me to feel everything comes flooding back and I let out a breath.

She swallows and I can tell she’s nervous. “Cal…can we talk about this in private?”

“Maddie is old enough to be a part of this conversation. She’ll be eighteen in two days.” He nods towards me. His jaw is hard, the angles so sharp they could cut through almost anything, alerting me that he’s gritting his teeth hard. I want to reach out and rub his jaw to loosen the taut muscles before he hurts himself, but I keep my hands to myself.

“Which is exactly the point.”

His brown eyes that in the past week I’ve only seen filled with scorching heat, are now filled with a fiery rage. “I’m still lost.”

“You’re going to make me spell it out for you?” She blinks her eyes several times.

“Yep.”

She lets her head drop and moves into the kitchen. “It’s not going to matter if she’s eighteen, Cal. You’re her guardian. Everyone knows that. You raised her.”

“You’re talking to me like this is even an issue.” From Aria’s point of view, this might sound like a denial, but I can hear the true meaning. It’s not an issue because fuck everyone, Madeline is mine in every sense of the word.

“They’ll think…” She blows out a breath.

“What do you think?” he asks and I can hear the accusation. You think I’d ever hurt Maddie?

?

?I think Maddie is impressionable and young, but old enough to make decisions that can impact her life in a dangerous way. There’s an impulsivity and a sense of immortality that comes with being eighteen that’s dangerous and reckless and…”

“That’s never been me!” I exclaim. I wasn’t the rebellious teenager, I’ve never tried drugs, I don’t sneak out after curfew, I get impeccable grades…

“You’ve been experimenting with alcohol for how long now?” There is just that one little thing. But everyone does it! What else is there to do in this boring town?

“That’s so different!”

“You’re right, in some ways it’s even more dangerous than experimenting with sex.” She looks at me and sighs. “To my knowledge, you’re still a virgin, but who knows how long that will last.”

“You make it sound like at the stroke of midnight, I’m going to sneak into Cal’s room and seduce him.” I wave her off.

“The mere fact that you can say that with a straight face, and Cal barely reacts to it makes me believe it’s a very real possibility.” She crosses her arms. “To be frank, I think there’s already something going on, and it scares the hell out of me.” The tears are back in her eyes as she shifts her gaze between us. “Well, someone deny it.”

“Maddie, go upstairs.” He doesn’t look at me, probably knowing that a look shared between us wouldn’t be lost on Aria. He keeps his eyes trained on her, his stance combative and assertive. This is going to get ugly.

I should probably start packing.

MY EYES, ONES I KNOW to be blazing with fury and anger find the source and narrow slightly. I know that I need to reign in my temper before I explode all over Aria, but I’m livid, Maddie’s emotional, and I was seconds from tasting her cunt when Aria barged in without an invitation. I am ready to explode.

“Sit down, Aria.” I point at the table, and when she doesn’t move, it’s enough to push me over the edge. “I said, sit the fuck down,” I growl. I rarely use this voice and I’ve never used it on anyone in my family so I’m not surprised when her green eyes widen and she slowly lowers herself to the table.

“Cal, before you fly off the handle, let me explain—” Her voice wavers and I notice she begins to crack her knuckles. I’ve worked with Aria for over a decade so I know when she’s rattled and all of her telltale signs are starting to show but I hope she’s not expecting mercy.

“Explain what? How you’re stirring up trouble for no fucking reason?” I cross my arms and look down at her, continuing to stand to further assert my power and rattle her further.

She points at the chair across the table. “Can you sit down?”

Typical power play. “No.”

“Cal…”

“Tread lightly if you still want a job.”