Page 54 of Always Knew It Was You

“I didn’t cheat on you, harpy!” my father yells back and sounds of crashing echo. “But I should have!”

I exhale. I’m so tempted to leave them to it and go somewhere else, but the last time I did, my father ended up in the hospital and it was on me to take care of that bill.

So I climb the porch stairs and open the door, in time to see a lamp go flying. My father crouches to avoid the projectile and the ceramic crashes onto the wall.

“Mom!” I yell. “Stop.”

She ignores me. “You drunk imbecile. Good for nothing. You ruin everything. You ruined my life!”

“You ruined your own life, Imogen.”

Mom picks up another lamp to throw, and I rush to stand in front of her, grabbing her wrist.

“Let me go, Carly!”

“No,” I say. “I saw Officer Jensen riding around the neighborhood. He hears a commotion like this and he’s going to come right over. Do you want to spend another night in jail?”

That finally reaches through the rage and she reluctantly drops her hand, her dark angry eyes turning to me.

“Where have you been?” she says in an accusatory voice.

“I was sleeping over at Emma’s,” I lie. “I had to work a late shift and didn’t want to wake you guys.”

Emma doesn’t talk to my parents, so it’s an easy lie to get away with. Besides, my mother doesn’t even care to confirm the story. She simply glares at my father for the last time, before storming upstairs.

I stare at him too, at his haggard looks and his red eyes. I shake my head and go upstairs too to get ready for work.

At work, I’m still feeling the whiplash of returning to Laketown. It’s just been a stark difference from the past few days that it’s almost like I have a hangover. But I ignore my feelings and just keep moving and working. When I take a break, I notice a text on my phone from an unknown number. But I already know who it is.

Call me back. It’s serious.

I stare at the text Nate sent, apprehension and guilt tangling in my gut. It spreads through my mind, peppering it with questions.

Should I call him back? I probably shouldn’t. How did he even text me from jail? You know what, I don’t even want to know.

I battle with myself for minutes, but before I can decide, another call comes in. From Micah.

“Bad news,” he says. “My grandfather wants to meet you next weekend.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

MICAH

The call from my grandfather comes sooner than I expect.

I’m on my way back to the hotel from dropping Carly off when my phone starts ringing again. I glance down at the caller ID flashing on the dashboard screen as I drive, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

I answer with the click of a button. “Yes, my dear old man?”

“I’m told that you’re seeing someone.” My grandfather of course gets straight to the point without bothering with formalities. “A European princess?”

Damn, Ally. You move fast. Not even a day?

“Who told you that?” I ask.

“Is it true?”

“No. At least for the purposes of this conversation, it’s not true.”

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