Page 1 of Riot Reunion
PROLOGUE
PAX
JULY
“You’reout of your goddamn mind if you think I’m letting youmarrymy daughter! She’s barely eighteen. She’s still achild—”
The last rays of summer sun cut through Robert Witton's living room in a shimmering blade of hammered gold and copper. The silhouettes of tree branches cavort up the walls, dancing. This place looks like something out of‘Farm and Table Magazine.’Rich, old money, country living. A home my mother would not approve of. It’s too plush. Comfortable. The couch Chase’s father perches on looks like a fluffed-up cloud. Meredith’s couches make your ass go numb after five minutes—the perfect way to ensure that no one gets too relaxed and outstays their welcome.
Chase’s dad blusters onward, his cheeks a weird, pallid color, but I’m too caught up on what he said a moment ago to keep up. She’s still a child? Presley Maria Witton Chase isnota child. Far,farfrom it. I keep that statement caged behind gritted teeth, though. A statement like that, with all the filthy things it might insinuate, coming out ofmymouth will not help my cause, and let’s face it. Right now, I need all of the help I can get.
Pictures in frames hang from the walls. Scores of them. They’re all Chase. Chase when she was five at T-Ball practice. Chase, seven years old or so, wearing a sparkly leotard, her hair fashioned into a prim bun on top of her head, holding up a pair of ballet shoes that look brand new. Chase at the zoo, her bright red hair popping against a blistering blue summer sky, a woman I assume to be her mother lifting her up so she can pet an elephant. Chase, in all of these pictures, grinning toothily at the camera; she can’t be older than ten in any of them. It isn’t surprising that her father still thinks of her as a kid. He’s turned this place into a shrine to her childhood. I understand why. She was safe in the past. Robert Witton’s son hadn’t assaulted her back then. She was just a happy, carefree little girl with no sinister shadows lurking behind those pretty blue eyes.
If the guy accepts that his daughter is an adult now, he also has to accept the fact that she’s suffered. That she’ll suffer again in her lifetime, just as we all do. He fails to realize that I’m sitting here, telling him that Chase’s suffering will be so much less than it could be, because I’m going to protect her. Until the day I die, I will defend and shield her against the harsh edges of the world that cut and scrape.
Or…maybe he does understand what I’m telling him, and it’s a bitter pill to swallow. In many ways, I’m telling him that I'll do better at looking after Chase than he did. He failed her on his watch. It’ll be a cold day in Hades before I make the same mistakes he did.
“There’s just no way. I can’t—” He shakes his head vehemently. “There’s no way that I’ll allow it.”
“I don’t want to marry her this second, Mr. Witton. I just want toaskher to marry me. We can wait for the actual ceremony—”
“I’m afraid the answer’s no, Pax. You can’t marry her. I’m all for you guys dating.Casually,” he adds quickly. “But—”
My temper is a fist jackhammering at my bones; I float above it, presenting a steady, calm front. “There’s nothing casual about Chase and I,” I say coolly. “We’re not a high school fling. College won’t be a relationship killer for us. I’ll have plenty of time off with the training I’ll be doing in Virginia. Iwillbe spending that time with Chase at Sarah Lawrence. She’s not just gonna forget about me—”
“You’re so sure of that, aren’t you,” Robert Witton says. The man is so…average. The slight dusting of grey at his temples is the only interesting thing about him. Everything else seems sobeige. He tugs at the cuff of his maroon, cable-knit sweater, his eyes boring into me.
“I am,” I tell him.
“Then why the rush? If you’re so sure of her feelings for you, then why push for an engagement so soon?”
“I know myself. On a fundamental, molecular level, Mr. Witton. I’m not a fickle beast. Chase is for me, and I’m for her. There’s no negotiation. No doubt or uncertainty. Your daughter pursued me pretty aggressively throughout our time at Wolf Hall before I noticed—”
“Well, I’m not sure I want to hear aboutthat.” Robert fidgets awkwardly. I carry on, regardless.
“I made her wait a long time before I gave her the attention she deserved. It kills me to think that she might ever doubt me or my intentions. I want her to know in no uncertain terms that I’m in this for the long haul—”
“But youdon’tknow that,” Robert objects. “Forgive me. I know what you did for my daughter outside the hospital. You looked after her in New York, too. I will always be eternally grateful to you for taking care of her. But I remember all too well what it feels like to be your age and think you’ve found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Those emotions are allveryfleeting—”
“I’m gonna stop you right there.” I have a stellar handle on my fury, but itisrising, and if it ascends any higher, there won’t be much I can do to prevent myself from boiling over. “You understand that this is a courtesy? Right?” I ask. “Chase is old enough to accept my proposal without your blessing. I’m here because I wanted to handle this in an honorable way,”—I’ve never handledanythinghonorably— “and I think it would make Chase happy, to know that you have given this whole thing your stamp of approval—”
“And I’ve told you, I can’t give it. I won’t. It’s too soon.” Twin spots of crimson stain Robert’s cheeks. By the looks of things, his anger is peaking too, but he’s fighting valiantly to keep it under wraps. Look at us, being grown-ups and shit, navigating a disagreement without shouting. Wonders will never cease. Just because I’m not screaming at the guy doesn’t mean I’ll let him turn around and say no right now, though; this isn’tactuallya request for permission.
“And what’ll happen when I ask Chase and she says yes, huh?”
“She won’t marry you if I forbid her from doing it,” Robert rushes out. A startled look forms on his face even as he says this. He knows he’s crossed a line. And worse, he knows that he’s wrong. Despite the terrible things she’s faced—the kind of trauma that would break most people—Chase is still strong. Independent and brave. She knows what she wants, and she won’t let anything stop her from getting it. Even if that anything is her father, telling her sheisn’t allowed.“That came out wrong,” he says quietly. “But Presley’s a smart girl. She respects my opinion. If I tell her that I have serious misgivings…”
He trails off, shaking his head, defeat carved into the lines of his face; he knows that he’d lose this fight. He takes a beat, releasing a soul-deep sigh that seems to echo with grief. After a long time, he starts over. “You say you want to ask her to marry you so that she’ll feel secure in you. So, she’ll know you aren’t going anywhere.”
“That’s correct.”
“It seems to me that the real reason you want to lock her down so quickly is because of you.You’rescared, Pax.”
“The fuck are you talking about? Why would I be scared? I have nothing to be scared about.” After doing so commendably, keeping my anger in check, it’s here that the cracks start to show.
“You’re the one who wants reassurance. You’re the one who wants to know she’s not going anywhere. She’s going off to college, right? She’ll be surrounded by all those new faces. Interacting with new people. Making new friends. Having new guys show interest in her—”
At this comment, my blood ignites. I want to leap up from my seat and throw a punch at Chase’s father for even mentioning something so inconceivable. Instead, I gnaw on the inside of my cheek, huffing down my nose as my tongue floods with the familiar coppery tang of blood. Apparently, my calming tactics aren’t fooling Robert.
