Page 68 of Prince of Pain

“Luna’s never here, and Mom did that to herself!”

He shook his head, continuing to fill the bags with my belongings. “You need to get clean. I should’ve realized the signs earlier and maybe things would’ve been different.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

That made him pause, his voice lowering. “I love you more than life itself, but you’re out of control. Do you even care that you hurt your mom?”

“Why should I? She doesn’t care about me. Neither of you do.”

“If we didn’t care, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“You’re kicking me out! Where will I even go?” I screamed, beyond caring as I angrily threw the cup in my hand at him, making lukewarm coffee spill everywhere. I grabbed a shoe and threw it next, trying to reach for another one, but he grabbed me to restrain me. “Let me go! Fuck you! Fuck you!”

“Stop it,” he said calmly as I struggled against his hold, his voice becoming strained. “Tempest, stop.”

I could hear Mom crying, a door slamming, and I was pretty sure Luna had arrived since it sounded like her voice talking to Mom. I kept fighting Dad’s hold until he finally released me.

I returned to throwing things at him until he left the room and shut me inside, my fists slamming against the door when I realized he’d locked it.

“Let me the fuck out!”

“When you calm down,” he replied before walking away, ignoring my meltdown.

I had no idea how much time had passed before I stopped throwing things around the room and hitting the door, but by the end of it, I’d torn some of my stitches, trashed the entire room, and added a new scar to my thigh.

Ryder ignored my calls, so I had no idea where he was, and Mason’s phone went straight to voicemail.

I looked around the room at the mess, eyeing the two holes in the wall from my fists by the door.

Where was I going to go? Maybe they’d change their minds once I calmed down.

Dad finally unlocked the door, poking his head in to look at me. “So, rehab?”

“Go fuck yourself,” I bit out, but I didn’t have the energy to keep fighting with him.

He opened the door wider and stepped inside, grabbing the bags he’d packed. “I’ll help you get these in the car then.”

“You said you’d never kick me out,” I said quietly, making him sigh.

“Your attitude was frustrating but not dangerous. You scared the shit out of your mom yesterday, Tempest. You might not have meant to hurt her, but you did. It wasn’t a bruise, you literally caused her wrist to break. Until you realize how bad this has gotten, I can’t have you living here. You won’t get help, so that means you’ll keep lashing out and getting violent.”

“Are you going to give me money so I don’t starve to death?”

“No. You’ll only waste it on other things. Get a job like everyone else. I’m not coddling you anymore. You can come back when you decide to seek help,” he said softly, leaving the room with my bags in hand.

I grabbed a few more things before leaving the room myself, not running into anyone else on my way out of the house. The pit in my stomach grew at the realization that no one was going to stop Dad from making me leave.

He waited by my car for me, helping me to load the bags before reaching into his pocket and handing me one hundred dollars. “That should last you a while for food if you’re smart with it. That’s all I’m giving you.”

“It barely covers my coffee.”

“Coffee isn’t food,” he said patiently. “Alex and Harley are more than happy to give you a job. I advise that you take it.”

I didn’t reply as I climbed into the driver’s seat and shut myself inside, my heart cracking as Dad walked back into the house without a backwards glance.

They really did hate me.

Ryder

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