Page 30 of Lifebound

“I know.”

“I thought you…I thought you made it up. I thought you were so selfish—I thought you made it up.”

Stabs at my gut. “It’s okay, Dad. I don’t blame you.” Or at least I wouldn’t once I calmed down and made an actual attempt to understand him.

“Are you sure about this? One hundred percent sure?”

“Yes,” I said, and again, the word came easily. This was the right thing to do, and no part of me doubted it.

Finally.

It felt so, so good to know what to do. To know that I was going in the right direction for once. To just know.

Suddenly, Dad moved.

He leaned in and grabbed both Fi and me between his arms, and he hugged the shit out of us.

Like that, we stayed for a few moments, crying and smiling, and just healing together, I guess. Just mending what was broken between us through the years—not all, but some. Half.

And who knew—when I got back, maybe I could postpone my trip to New York for a few weeks. Maybe we could continue to mend all that remained broken.

It was a sign, I thought. This entire night was a sign that things were going to turn around for us at last.

For now, I had to wipe my tears and smile at my dad, remind him again that I didn’t blame him. And when I went upstairs to grab a backpack with some necessities, he came with and asked me to reassure him that I would be back in eight days another three times.

I did. As soon as the prince of the Seelie Court—I mean seriously, a prince?!—was all healed, I would be right back here where I belonged.

When I walked outside,I found the man, the uncle whose name I couldn’t even tryto remember, sitting on the porch with Fiona, reading a book.

Not just any book, but her math textbook.

I stopped by the threshold as Fiona looked up at me, the man completely focused on whatever equation he was looking at, and from this angle I saw his pointy ears clearly. They looked like a very well-made Halloween accessory.

But the energy coming off him couldn’t be mistaken for fake. It had been inside the kitchen before, and now it was outside, apparently, too.

“I’m just showing him how we make calculations,” Fiona said, and the man seemed to finally realize that I was there, and Dad was right behind me. Ahead, the five guards were spread out around the driveway, looking at the quiet neighborhood.

“This is all truly fascinating,” the man said. “But if you’re ready?—”

And he made to close the book.

“Actually, can I have another moment? I need to talk to my friend real quick. She’s just over there.” Because if I left without telling Betty, she was going to follow me—somehow;she’d figure it out—find me, and she was going to kick my ass.

“Oh, certainly,” the man said, almost happy that he had another moment to look at the book.

Meanwhile Dad rested his shoulder against the doorframe and watched me in a way that broke my heart to pieces all over again.

“I’ll be right back, Dad,” I said, and he barely gave me a nod.

Before the tears came back, I moved down the porch stairs, focusing on my breath, counting in my head, until?—

“Hey!”

Betty must have snuck out of her bedroom window because she was just coming from the side of the house, and I thought she washey-ing me. Instead, she was looking at the men stationed around my house—and she was running.

Oh, fuck…

“Betty, no!”

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