Page 78 of Delayed Penalty

“Stop looking at me like that,” he mutters, shoving out of his chair and taking his plate to the sink.

I don’t even have it in me to be impressed he’s cleaning up after himself. I’m too busy being pissed. How dare he talk to her like that. How dare he shut her down so coldly. How fucking dare he make her feel like her father did!

“You didn’t even hear her out,” I say to his back.

“Because I don’t need to. We’re not getting a cat.”

“Why not?”

He sighs. “Because I said so.”

“That’s not a reason.”

He drops his plate into the sink, making a loud clang, then spins to face me. “Because I don’t need another thing to take care of, okay? I don’t need another responsibility, another thing to completely screw up.”

Is that what he thinks he’s doing?

“You’re not screwing up, Hayes. You’re doing the best you can with what you’ve been given. But those words don’t mean shit coming from me. You’re not going to listen to me until you believe it, and I’m telling you right now, you better start believing it soon. Right now, you have a hurt little girl in the other room, and the only reason she’s hurt is because you’re scared.”

I rise from my chair and go to check on Flora, leaving Hayes behind to clean up the mess.

He’s the one who made it anyway.

It’s nearly midnight when my door creaks open, and I’m not entirely surprised by it. I haven’t spoken to Hayes since I walked out of the kitchen. Flora hasn’t either. I put her to bed, only reading a few pages of her book before calling it a night. We were both too upset to continue. After, I shut myself in my room, resisting the urge to run back out to Hayes and give him a piece of my mind for upsetting Flora the way he did. It’s one thing to have a conversation with her and tell her no, but it’s another to handle it the way he did, especially since Flora doesn’t understand thatshe’snot the problem, he is.

I lie still as Hayes sneaks into my room, the door snicking shut softly behind him. He doesn’t walk in right away. He just stands there, like he’s waiting for me to kick him out.

I should. I really, really should. But I don’t.

I sit up in bed and flip on my bedside lamp, and a yellow haze illuminates the room. Hayes is standing with his back pressed against my door, his head bent low just like Flora’s was earlier at the table. It’s funny how much they look alike sometimes.

He sighs, then lifts his head, and I hate that even in this hideous light, he still somehow manages to look so damn good in a simple gray t-shirt and flannel sleep pants.

“Are you still mad?” he asks quietly.

I nod. “Yes.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

I shake my head. “No.”

And I hate that too.

He stalks toward me, sitting on the edge of the mattress. “Look, you were right. I was a jerk to her earlier, and she didn’t deserve it. It’s just…” He rubs a hand over his beard, then sighs. “This is hard enough, you know? Adding a pet… It’ll just be even more I have to worry about. Is she feeding it? Is she taking care of it? Is she making sure it doesn’t escape? And don’t even get me started on the inevitable vet visits with my schedule. It’s a lot.”

He looks stressed just thinking about it, and the urge to make him feel better overwhelms me. I crawl out from under my blanket and wrap myself around him until I’m sitting in his lap. He slips his arms around my waist as I wind mine around his neck, forcing him to look at me.

“Flora wouldn’t be doing it alone, Hayes. I’d be helping her.”

He shakes his head. “That’s not fair to you. Youshouldn’t have to take on more responsibility because I can’t.”

“What if I want to?”

“Then you’re crazy.”

“I mean, I am sleeping with my boss, so maybe.”

He groans. “That’s another thing I’m doing wrong.”

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