Page 124 of Marcus: Sins of the Father

“And I may have told him his life was no good for you, and he needed to let you go.”

“What?” I slam the palm of my hand to my forehead. “Jesus, Daddy, I love you, but I need you to stay the hell out of my love life.”

“Brandy, I was only looking out for you. I want you to be safe.”

“No, Dad. This wasn’t helpful at all. To tell you the truth, I’ve been lying to you.”

“Lying? About what?”

“Everything is not fine. I’m not fine. I hardly get any sleep. I’m constantly nervous about walking through my door. I turn on every light in the house as soon as I get home. I don’t feel safe at all. The only time I’ve ever felt safe was with Marcus. And on top of all that, I’m dealing with heartbreak because I love him. And he pushed me away and told me I didn’t mean the same to him. He said he didn’t love me. And now I don’t know what to believe. And this was all because of you?”

“Brandy, I’m sorry. I’ll talk to him.”

“No! You’ve done enough. I have to go.” I look at my phone to see Harley calling on the other line. “Love you.”

Harley and I have kind of bonded over our ordeal. We started doing Sunday morning coffees, and it’s been really helpful, like therapy.

“Hey, Harley.”

“Hey, I’m at the clubhouse. They’re having a big family grill out.”

“Oh…” I say sadly.

“Guess what? Someone spilled the tea. Big time.”

“You mean gossip?”

“More than gossip. This came straight from the source.”

“What did you hear?”

“Oh, just that Marcus loves you.”

“What?”

“Ha. I knew that would get your attention. He was moping around like he has been all week, and some of the ol’ ladies started asking about you. One thing led to another, and Cole flat out asked him if he loved you.”

“He did?” My heart is racing now.

“Yup. Want to know what Marcus said?”

She’s teasing me. She knows I do. I try to play it cool. “Sure.”

“He said he told you he didn’t love you, but that it was a lie he used to push you away. He said you’re all he thinks about.” She giggles. “Then Shannon called him a dumbass.”

“Really?” I huff out a laugh as relief spreads over me. Before I even hang up the phone, I’m grabbing my leather jacket and slipping it on.

“So?” Harley asks. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. But one thing I do know is I’m not going to sit around and do nothing.”

“Atta girl,” Harley cheers.

I hang up, grab my purse, and open the door, coming face to face with Marcus. My body locks up in shock.

We stare at each other for a moment, before I finally get my mouth to work.

“Hi,” I whisper, taking in his heaving chest like he ran to my door.

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