Page 70 of Owen

And find lost family members.I don’t mention that. It’s an open wound that I don’t want to rub salt into.

Violet hums with delight. “You’re too cute for your own good sometimes, Linc.” Then she kisses him on the cheek.

“I know, I’m adorable.” He rolls his eyes, wearing a cheeky grin, and I smile at how perfect those two are for each other. Lincoln’s right. I think meeting Jade is why I am here, too.

Finishing what he was saying, Lincoln continues. “Take the pressure off. Don’t go on a treasure hunt. Just let whatever is meant for you come your way.”

“Like kismet?” I ask, using Jade’s words the night we swam around Aphrodite’s Rock.

“Exactly like that.” He nods. “If you push too hard, you’ll end up back here. See what happens and let nature do its thing.”

“Okay.” I raise my chin, feeling more confident and not worried that I’m still piss-farting around. Although… I look down at the adorable girl who’s covered her cloth book in slavers and is dribbling all over her hands… I love taking care of Poppy. I’ve been enjoying every minute of every day with her. The last few weeks haven’t felt wasted in the slightest. It’s felt meaningful, and I seem to be a natural at this nannying malarkey. Although I have had to speak to Mari twice over video call to check if I have Poppy in the right outfit and make sure if she likes certain foods. Cheese and ham are her favorites; she’s a girl after my own heart.

Another call comes through on my phone and I eye it suspiciously as I lean forward to check the displayed number I don’t recognize.

“I think that’s my bank calling. Can I call you later?” I ask Violet and Lincoln as I reach for the phone to answer the incoming call.

“Of course, go and I’ll sort out the DBS form,” Lincoln reassures me.

“Thanks.” I wave them off and hang up, then hit accept on the other call and place the phone against my ear cautiously to greet the unknown caller. “Hello?”

“Well, it’s good to know you’re still alive, son.” My father’s callous voice sends chills down my spine, and I freeze, not knowing what to do. Do I hang up, stay on the line, speak?

I’m at a loss.

I squeeze my phone between my shoulder and ear and lift Poppy off my lap.

“Still can’t find the balls to speak to me?” His tone has its own brand of liquid sarcasm, making my heart thump in my chest.

I carefully sit Poppy down on her circular playmat covered in a zany robot print, then run my hands through my hair as I figure out what to say.

I’m not prepared, nor do I have a clue how to reply. I hit the speaker phone icon on my screen and stare at it.

“I thought you’d be home by now, Owen, begging me for your money to be returned. You’ve surprised me, and I can’t deny, I’m almost proud of you.”Almost.It’s the only time he’s ever been proud of me, and even then, it’s “almost”.

I listen to him while watching Poppy stack her fabric cubes one on top of the other.

And then he says, “You’ve broken your mother’s heart.”

“She doesn’t have one.” I snap back faster than a lizard catching flies.

“Oh, so he speaks.”

“I’m not coming home.”

“Interesting.” I picture him lounging on his black leather desk chair while rolling his cigar between his fingers. He confirms my suspicions when I hear thesizzleas he pulls a dragfrom it; he’s exactly where I thought he would be: at work, at his desk. He spends more time there than at home.

Although why would you want to go home to the woman who gives a whole new meaning to Arctic?

“You know you can’t stay wherever you are forever.” He drawls as if bored with our conversation.

“Of course I can. I’ll start over. I’m smart, not that you would know, since you’ve never taken the time to get to know me. I’m also incredibly resilient.” If anything, my mother’s love, or lack of it, made me grow a skin so thick it’s almost impenetrable.

Until Jade broke through it.

“That’s not true, son. I know more about you than you think. I know that last year you were just a couple of nights away from pickling your liver to death at that dive bar in town.”

He’s right, I was, but it’s not a dive bar. The Vault is an upmarket nightclub run by respectable members of the town. My father is a presumptuous cunt.

---