Chapter 12 #2
All the dads were with him.
“You guys are looking intense,” Ramses said, squeezing Bru’s shoulder. Ramses was Bru’s adoptive dad. He looked nothing like him, but Wolf was like the man’s clone. Ramses towered over both Bru and me, just like Wolf did. Ramses glanced between Bru and me. “Everything all right?”
I wasn’t sure.
Bru avoided my eyes suddenly, with his dad there. Mine narrowed, but I let up when my dad made eye contact with me. I might look more like him if I didn’t dye my hair platinum blond and grow it out. He and my mom were both brunettes, which was my natural hair color.
“I’m sure Bru isn’t happy he’s being punished because of my son,” Dad said, eyeing me. I averted my attention to the ground. Dad may have shot laser eyes at me, but it wasn’t his focus that hit me right in the gut.
Knight was beside him.
Knight was Thatcher’s dad, which made him Bow’s dad. He was also huge as fuck like Thatcher and could easily pummel my ass. It didn’t matter if he had twenty years on me.
Knight, aka Mr. Reed, had nothing but a grunt for me once he entered the circle of dads.
All the dads were here now, except for Dorian’s dad, Royal, and my god-dad, LJ.
LJ didn’t have any kids, but he was good friends with the other dads.
Anyway, in the group text with my friends, Dorian let us all know his dad and LJ were out of town on business.
“Where’s my son?” Mr. Reed growled lowly, borderline sneering at me.
Shit.
Answer fast.
“Inside with the other guys,” I said and did try to smile a little at him.
The sentiment didn’t work.
The sneer became deadly, and I shot my sight to the ground again. I’d be a submissive little bitch if I had to. Thatcher’s dad didn’t play.
I was only glad he wasn’t my dad in that moment. My dad was already close to cutting me off, and I think the only reason he hadn’t was because he hadn’t gotten to it yet.
I wasn’t about to remind him of that shit though.
I started to stay behind so I could talk with Bru. He definitely was about to say something to me, but my dad got my arm.
He tipped his chin toward Mr. Reed. “You’re sitting with Knight this evening.”
Fucking brilliant.
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “And he’s also taking you to the restaurant after the show.”
My mouth parted. We always went to one of my dad’s fast-food chains, Jax’s Burgers, after the ballet. It was one of the only highlights actually. Not the conversation, of course, but the food. “Dad—”
He started to walk off. That signaled the end of the conversation.
And so my nightmare was just beginning.
I didn’t have a chance to talk with Bru.
I was mashed between my dad and Mr. Reed.
Mr. Reed simmered beside me the entire show and the only thing worse than that was the actual ballet.
I didn’t know what this one was called. I didn’t fucking care, but it would have at least been tolerable with my cellphone.
My dad took it.
Mine was the only one he took, so I just had to sit there between two pissed fathers. The only break I got was intermission, and Mr. Reed followed me to the bathroom. Of course he had to go to the bathroom too.
I was barely able to pee once I got there. Even breathing around Thatcher’s dad took effort. I screwed over his daughter.
And he definitely knew it.
I wrapped up my intermission quickly, then it was back to the show. I caught a glance from Bru during the second half at one point. He had that look in his eyes, telling me again that he wanted to say something to me.
What’s this about, kid?
I attempted to ask him with my eyes during certain points of the show, but whenever I did, I got a look from Mr. Reed or my own dad.
I also got occasional glances from my friends which were equally angry.
Those were bad, but Thatcher couldn’t even look at me.
His attention remained forward like he cared about this shit, and I could see him well since we were all in a private booth.
The dads always arranged for us to have the best seats in the house.
They didn’t want their sons to miss anything.
I wasn’t.
I was well aware of everyone looking at me all night. After the show, all I had to look forward to was a drive with Mr. Reed, but I thought my dad would be there as a buffer at least.
He wasn’t.
Dad literally left my ass at the curb when the valet pulled up in Mr. Reed’s Escalade. I slid my dad a pleading look on the street. “You’re not coming?”
“Oh, we’ll have plenty of time together, son. Don’t worry about that,” Dad said. He patted my back, and I was left alone. The other guys had already gone off with their dads toward their own cars.
“You getting in?”
I turned to find Mr. Reed already at the wheel. He faced forward as if he hadn’t spoken.
But he had, and I felt the energy of his words when I got into the Escalade. Outside of my own dad, I’d spent the most time around Mr. Reed when I was younger. Thatcher and I were really close, so that was a given.
Because I spent so much time with him, he had no problem treating me like he would his own son.
Our fathers were all incredibly close, so their sons were raised by a tribe of strong men. I always admired our dads, especially Mr. Reed. He was the badass CEO of several companies.
I felt some kind of way sitting beside him and definitely didn’t like disappointing him. He was like a father to me.
“I don’t know what to say, Wells,” he started, and I sighed. We’d barely gotten on the road.
Honestly, I thought he’d start with yelling. He was like a bear in a cave when Thatcher screwed up. My lips parted. “Mr. Reed—”
“I mean, you used to protect my daughter.”
I faced him, not expecting those words.
His hands gripped the wheel. “I obviously know what happened between you two and why you fell out with one another. That summer was terrible, tragic.”
I swallowed hard, saying nothing.
“But I know you know that summer was no one’s fault.”
This time I refused to speak for Mr. Reed’s benefit.
He didn’t want to know what I had to say about that.
He didn’t want to know how I felt because if he did, it’d make things so much worse.
Instead, I chose to sit with my anger and frustration with his daughter.
I held my fucking tongue, but I couldn’t help but look at him when he said what he did next.
“I urge you to stop all this, but not just for my daughter. For you, Wells,” he said, his lips turned down. “You’re hurting her, but you’re also suffering.”
You’re also suffering.
It was like his words were amplified in the air. This man cared about me just like my own dad.
Mr. Reed faced away, silent after that, and I studied the road too.
I didn’t say anything, but my mind was screaming.
I did use to protect his daughter. But that was because I was laboring under false pretenses.
I’d been the fool. His daughter made me the joke the moment she decided to play her little trick at the pool, and I made a promise to myself that day.
I wouldn’t be the fool. Rainbow Reed wouldn’t get anything else from me.
Even if I had fallen for it again that night she was on the balcony.