Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32770 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32770 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Sadie bursts out laughing. “Seriously? And what did Cooper say?”
“He laughed too and said he always played the top hits because he thought that’s what kids liked.”
“Did he say anything about you calling him Dad?”
“Nope, but he reached over and patted my head for like five minutes until I told him to knock it off because he was going to make me bald.”
“Cooper seems like a nice guy.”
“He is.”
She butts her shoulder against mine. “Van will come around.”
Her smile fades a bit. “But if you and Van are family, then that makes me and Dad…” She trails off.
“Not family,” I agree vehemently. Thank fuck for that. “You are definitely not part of the family.”
Some expression I can’t read flashes across her face, and all the warmth between us dissipates like water on a hot sidewalk.
“I think I’ll go inside now.” She jumps to her feet.
“Wait, I thought—” I grab her wrist.
“Take your fucking hands off her,” an angry voice bellows from the back deck.
We both turn toward the voice and see Van standing on the pavers with his hands jammed at his waist, looking like he’s Moses ready to throw the stone tablets at my head.
I tighten my grip, but Sadie twists her wrist and I let her go before I hurt her. “What’s the matter?” I ask, the words coming out more like a demand than a question.
“None of your business,” she retorts with none of the sweetness that colored her words before. She’s no longer staring at my mouth with interest. Nah, now she looks like she wants to slap me across the face. I don’t even know what I said wrong.
“You might run from me now, Sadie, but you live here. You can’t escape me,” I growl. She’s mine now. I’m not telling her that because I don’t want to scare her off, but I know how it works. Fischl was the only one for Cooper, and that was the way it was for seventeen years. No matter how long Sadie tries to deny me, the end result will be the same. She’s mine.
“It’s the twenty-first century, Dunc. Women don’t belong to anyone, especially men.” She darts off, heading straight for the house.
“Wait!” I chase after her, brushing by Van, who tries to stop me. “Fuck off,” I snarl and give him a shove.
He shoves me back, and we’re two seconds from brawling when Dad clears his throat.
“I think you’ve done enough damage to each other for one day. Why not save some fight for tomorrow?”
Over his shoulder stands a worried Fischl and behind her, Sadie’s dad. I let my hand drop from Van’s shoulder. Fighting Van in front of Sadie’s Dad doesn’t seem like the best idea. I need to impress him or, at the very least, not make him think I’m a worthless shithead who shouldn’t be standing within five feet of his princess, let alone taking her to bed with me.
“We were just horsing around,” I declare. “All good fun, right, Van?”
I smile thinly in his direction to get him to play along, but because he’s a fucking asshole, he replies, “The only good fun would be you on the ground after you ate my fist.”
“Van,” Fischl cries.
“Van nothing. I didn’t want to move here, and I know damn well that Sadie didn’t either. Forcing us to be a family makes no damned sense. Nothing good is going to come of this, and you all know it.” He stalks into the house after Sadie. I want to go too, but over Fischl’s head, Dad shoots me a disappointed look and silently tells me to stay. I rub my lips together. I need to fix this, but I’m not sure how.
The next day, Sadie and Van avoid me altogether. Dad and Fischl look pretty lovey-dovey, but Sebastian stands to the side all awkward as if he is aware he’s a fifth wheel. The atmosphere in the house is tense, and I’m treading lightly because I don’t want to cause problems.
I stopped outside of Sadie’s door last night, but Van stood in the hall like some rabid guard dog, and I knew that if I laid a finger on the handle, he’d be at my throat. I could take him, but it would make everything in this house worse. Sadie hates it when we fight, probably because it seems like she has to pick sides. I need to make it so she sees she can be with me with no drama. I figured I’d catch her at school, but Van has been glued to her side like a parasite.
After two weeks, I’m losing my patience, not that I’ve ever had a lot of it in the first place. I’m starting to go out of my mind.
I need to get Sadie away from this house, away from all the parents and Van. We need to be alone. It’s probably all happening too fast for her, and she’s getting confused about alliances and shit.