Page 71 of Dare You to Run
Danté tries to get away from the cops and he gets wrestled to the ground, a knee jamming into his neck. “Go to hell. Picking some chick over your family.”
His words are choked and I’m barely able to understand him. He gets cuffs that match mine, then he’s lifted and thrown in the back of a car. I get tossed into another and my chest heaves with exertion. Blood continues to drip down my face and I hang my head to see how it stains my white t-shirt.
I curse myself for not being able to control my temper. But hearing Danté talk about Dagen like that lit the fire keg that exploded in me.
An officer sits in the passenger seat and begins typing away into the keyboard that extends from his dash. After calling something in on his CV and speaking with the other police officers, he speeds off towards the police station where I’m booked and thrown into a cell where I remain for hours.
I never get to call Dagen to let her know I’m home and that I’m thinking of her. My one phone call goes to the only brother I have left. Apparently Danté makes him his one call, too. Fucking great.
TWENTY-EIGHT
“Dagen Rayne.I cannot believe you. I have no words.” Dad and I sit in the back of Zio Luca’s car while he lectures me on my newly discovered relationship. “That man is almost thirty years old.” Apparently he does have words. “And he is definitely not the kind of man you should be forming a relationship with.”
“Not the kind of man. That’s a horrible thing to say. Especially after you thanked him profusely for taking such good care of me.” I cross my arms and turn to stare out of the window.
“Well, had I known the kind of care he was giving you, I would’ve flown my ass out there and dragged you home by your ears.”
“I’m not a child anymore. You can’t just force me to do what you want.” My eyes and ears are burning with fire.
“You sure as hell are a child. You’re my child. Whom I support. So if you think for one minute that you are going to use my money to go and see that boy, think again.” Dad’s voice continues to climb.
“Wow. Okay. Well, don’t worry. I won’t use one dime of your money. I’ll figure it out on my own.”
“And your trust is off limits.” My jaw drops, fury turning into tears.
“What? You can’t do that. That’s my money. You can’t stop me from using it.” Both of us are now screaming at full volume.
“I’m the executor so I sure as shit can. Wait until I tell your mother. I can only imagine what she’ll have to say about this.”
I smirk. “She said to be careful.” His eyes are full of rage and his jaw clenches. “Mom figured it out because she’s a bit more observant. She also said Hendrix was hot.”
Hot breaths billow from his nose and he digs into his pocket, retrieving his phone and stabbing at the screen. He lifts it to his ear and waits for the other end to pick up.
“You knew about Dagen and that man and didn’t say anything to me?...I don’t care when you found out, you should’ve told me immediately…Oh, and Dagen told me you think he’s hot. Really Camille? He’s a child…To me he’s a child…We’ll talk about this when I get home.”
Dad’s face grows pale as I hear mom shouting, “Don’t you dare threaten me like that Vaughan Asa McCallan. I’m not your dog and if you want to raise your voice at me again, you better have a fucking bag packed and ready to run your ass out of this house.”
Dad gulps and his hand shakes. “I’m sorry, Sunshine. We’ll be home soon.” He listens for another moment then says goodbye.
Well, he tries to say goodbye but I have a feeling Mom hangs up without another word.
He sticks his phone back in his pocket and I scoot as far away from him as I can, practically melding into the car door, and don’t speak another word until we’re home.
When we arrived home after our blow up car ride, Mom was waiting with her hands on her waist and a scowl on her face. We stepped through the front door and she told us Sloane and AJ were with Uncle Hayes and that we were having a family meeting immediately.
We followed her to the dining room, both with shaky steps, and we each sat on our side of the table with mom at the head.
“I know this is not what you expected to find out, or how, but it’s happening and the best we can do as parents is support our daughter and ensure she is being safe.” Mom was very diplomatic in her speech while dad and I sat ready to return to our screaming match.
“Ensure she’s safe? Aw Christ, Camille. Are you saying that she needs to go on…on–”
“Birth control? News flash, Dad. I’m already on it.”Dad’s head dropped to the table with a groan and I took great satisfaction with that.
We continued to argue back and forth, each of us throwing out an accusatory comment which Mom would quickly shut down. At the end of it all, we were nowhere near a truce and I stomped off to my room where I began to throw all of my clothes in my bag, and readying myself to return to school.
Then I threw myself on my bed and waited for Hendrix to call.
And waited.
