I never in a million years thought his dad would show up. I made my point abundantly clear. Stay the hell away. What did he think he would gain? He has already hurt Wes enough. What a piece of shit. I hope he goes straight to hell and becomes Satan’s sex slave. As for his stepmom, hell is too good for her. I want her to rot. I don’t carry anger like this in my heart, but for those two, I carry it fiercely. Because I love him. I love Wes so much, and I’m so worried.
Emery, on the other hand, is annoyed.
“Why didn’t you just break in?”
I don’t even look at her. I press my forehead into the counter, growling loudly. My dad is highly unaffected by my distress and agony. I’m pretty sure he isn’t a Wes fan. “Because only psychos break in to their boyfriend’s houses.”
“I would have.”
“That doesn’t make it better, honey,” Dad calls to her, and Emery snorts at him.
“He locked her out and wouldn’t answer the phone, when she was only worried about him.”
I look up as Dad glances over at me. “So, dump his ass.”
Typical.
“If he hasn’t dumped you first,” he adds, and I glare.
“We are fine. I made a small mistake. Everything is fine. I’m just worried about him,” I insist, but Dad doesn’t seem convinced.
“I don’t like you dating anyway. Why don’t you become a nun?”
Emery hoots. “Don’t you have to be a virgin to be a nun?”
Dad’s face turns white, and I push her off the stool, the cacophony of her crashing to the ground alarming my mom.
“What in the world!”
I look over at her innocently. “She told Dad I’m not a virgin.” Mom glances over at Dad, who is still standing there gawking at me. “Dad, come on. I’m nineteen! What were you doing at nineteen?”
Mom grins at him. “Not what, but whom?”
“Fallon!” he cries, and she laughs. “Baby, they’re growing up.”
He then whips his gaze to Emery. “You could be a nun, right?”
After sitting back on the stool, still laughing, she nods. “As of today, yes. Tomorrow is a new day.”
He looks back at Mom, who is practically bent over laughing. “Fallon, we’re locking her up. I can’t handle this.”
Mom rolls her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Why don’t we go grill the steaks, then? We can pretend it’s the man meat of all future suitors for our daughter.”
He exhales loudly. “Fine, but dump that Wes kid’s ass, Stella.”
Confidently, even without knowing what Wes is thinking, I say, “No way, Dad. I’m in love with him.”
He looks to Mom. “She loves him?”
Mom nods. “She does, just like I loved you at nineteen.”
He doesn’t seem convinced or even pleased by that answer. “But I am cool.”
“Of course you are—and were,” she says as she pulls him away. Thank God.
I roll my eyes as Emery says, “Yeah, I deserved that. But come on, it was the perfect time to say that.”
I give her a dry look. “Emery, there is never a perfect time to tell our father I’m not a virgin.”
She shrugs. “You’re probably right.”
“I am,” I snap as I look down at my phone. With Emery over my shoulder, I write Wes quickly.
Me: Just tell me you’re okay. I’m so worried about you. I know I should have told you, and I get why you’re upset with me. But the silent treatment when this is a serious issue is not okay. We love each other, Wes. Just tell me you’re okay.
I lay my phone down, frustrated. “I may have to go back over there.”
“I mean, I can call him if you’d like.”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t want him to think you know anything.”
“I don’t. Only that you didn’t tell him something and he’s shutting you out.”
“That’s all you need to know,” I say, clicking my phone to wake it up. Unfortunately, there is no text from him. Not even a text bubble. “Ugh, I don’t want to stand outside his door, banging on it. His neighbor gave me such a weird look.”
Emery looks bored at this point. “Dude, I can get you in.”
“Em,” I warn, shaking my head. She shrugs, and I almost consider her offer. But I don’t know how he would feel about it. When Aiden’s voice echoes through the house, announcing his arrival, I almost go to my room. I am in no mood for a family dinner, but I know my mom would get pissed if I hid out in my room. I sure as hell don’t want to hear Aiden’s comments on anything related to Wes. Though, I wonder if Wes reached out to him.
I look up as Aiden comes in with Shelli. My sister-in-law looks beautiful in a little sundress, her belly poking out only slightly. She comes over, hugging me, and I pat her belly, to which she grins at me. She told us she loves it when we do that. As she hugs Emery, I ask, “Got any names yet?”