Chapter 17 #3
"You're already tired of the other one and had to bring a new man to my house?" my father asks as if I go through suitors like dresses at my shows.
I haven't been pictured with any men since I decided to become Empress, and the few trysts I had were as Reese with guys from matchmaking sites where I indicated I wanted one-night stands only. But that's not something anyone in my family knows about.
"I'm here to talk about the allowance," I say, getting straight to the point.
You'd think I just told them that I was planning on murdering Jeremy right here in front of them. My mother lets out a pitiful cry as she goes to Jeremy, who wraps her in his arms to comfort her, while my father's face turns ridiculously red in anger.
"I haven't even said anything else, and you're all already assuming the worst."
"What else should we assume from you?" My mother sniffles into Jeremy's shoulder. "You went and became famous and forgot all about us. What else are we supposed to think when you don't care about us at all?"
I take a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm. Usually, if my mother starts talking like this, I cave immediately, telling her I care about them and that I'll try to be better. Hearing it now, with Marr at my back, his presence heavy and looming behind me, her words sound ludicrous.
"No, let her take her money from whoring out her body," Jeremy says with a sneer. "We knew this was coming."
"I haven't said anything yet." I throw my hands up in exasperation.
"Don't take that tone with us, Reese," my father says.
My mouth opens, closes, opens again. And then I just laugh.
I have to laugh or I am going to cry because this is insane.
How did I not ever notice it before? Marr, as if sensing that I'm close to cracking, places his hand on my shoulder to steady me.
You'd think he was fucking me with how everyone's faces screw up.
They're cartoonishly villainous, and I was so stupid to think for so long that if I tried hard enough, they might like me.
"I'm leaving Earth," I say when I stop laughing. "I set aside a chunk of funds that should last you a while, but after it runs out, I won't be giving you more."
Jeremy rolls his eyes, patting my mother on the back as she tucks herself closer to him. "How fucking selfish can you be? You're going to cut off our parents?"
"No, I'm giving you more money than any of you have ever worked for in your lives," I tell my brother, speaking slowly like he's an idiot, because he is. He's a moron who hasn't worked a day in his life, and I've subsidised his lifestyle for him. I guess that makes me an idiot, too.
"Sorry, not all of us can be sluts for a living," Jeremy tells me. Again, it's nothing he hasn't said before, but it doesn't hurt as much this time. None of their reactions hurt, really.
"I just came to tell you all that I'm leaving," I say, shrugging. "Part of me hoped…" I let the words trail off. No need to sound pathetic to add on to how shitty this is going.
"When you decided to do this, we supported you," my father says, his face still burning bright red. "You went out there and made a fool of yourself and brought shame on this family with how you acted. Do you know what it's like to know that people think I raised you to behave that way?"
I don't say anything. When my dad wants to rant, it's best just to let him rant. Marr's hand tightens on my shoulder, though, a slight tremble in his grip that I know isn't from nerves, but something a lot more concerning.
"We knew she was going to leave us high and dry, Dad," Jeremy says, not paying me any attention. "Just let her go. She hasn't been part of this family in a long time."
And that's the truth of it. The truth I didn't want to accept for a long time.
My parents liked the money I brought in, but they didn't like me.
Was it because of Empress, or had they always preferred Jeremy?
If I hadn't chosen to do what I did, would our relationship be different, or would it still be absolutely horrid, they'd just still be broke too?
"We should get going," Marr's voice rumbles low and deadly behind me.
I don't argue with him. Even if I didn't want to leave, which I most certainly do, he sounds so close to losing it that I don't want to risk his shifted form being seen by my family.
Not because I care, but because they'll make it into something it's not.
Plus, we'll have to wait for him to calm down before we leave, since I don't know how to work the newer transport models.
"That's it then?" my father asks, as if he wasn't just lecturing me about how shameful I am. "You parade around like that for a decade, make a fool of yourself, and now you're just leaving us to deal with your fallout?"
"What fallout?" I ask, my voice higher-pitched, my will not to fight with them waning.
"What possible fallout is there for you?
I was the one whose information was leaked.
I was the one whose apartment was broken into.
I was the one who had all of her things violated, stolen, and auctioned off.
I'm dealing with a stalker. What could you possibly have happened to you that is anywhere close to that? "
My father's dark eyes are blacker than I've ever seen them, his face so full of blood he looks like he could pop at any moment. "We have to deal with everyone knowing that we're related to you."
"How fucking awful," I say, mustering up as much fake sympathy as I can.
I don't wait for a response, don't want to hear any more from any of them. I knew this conversation wouldn't go well, but I just didn't think it would be this bad. Marr stays glaring at everyone else in the room for a pause before his footsteps follow behind me.
I make it out onto the porch before I hear someone coming after us, but I don't want to hear anything else. I want to get back in the transport and go as fast as safely possible back to Zill so I can cry while he wraps me up in his shadows and tells me I'm strong and worthy.
"Lay a hand on her and I will break it." Marr's voice is a growl, and my warning that someone has approached us.
I've been speed walking back to the transport, trying to keep my emotions in check while still in view of the rest of the family. I stop for a beat to see what Jeremy wants, but I regret it almost immediately.
"Jesus," Jeremy mutters. "Honestly, not surprised you ended up with a beast. Probably the only one desperate enough to be with you after it came out, that you know, you do what you do."
I don't correct him on the fact that Marr and I aren't together, and Marr doesn't either. It's not like Jeremy would believe me even if I did, and it doesn't matter.
"I sing and dance," I tell him, my voice bland, my face attempting to look the same.
"Sure, whatever," Jeremy says, waving me off. "How much money are you giving us? I need to make sure it's enough."
"Enough for what?" I ask, and then think better of it, cutting him off before he can answer. "Never mind, it really doesn't matter. It'll be close to half a million credits. Mauve and the legal team will be in contact."
"Half a million?" Jeremy asks, his eyes going wide, and I think he might actually say thank you because that's a lot of funds, especially since none of them worked for them.
Sure, they live on the west coast, only a couple of hours from me, but they're in one of the small, human-only towns, and those run much cheaper than living in the more advanced towns and cities.
I wanted to give them more credits, but Mauve walked me through how much I would need to support myself and the lifestyle I want. This is a good amount to give them. Of course, it's Jeremy I'm talking to, and thinking he could be grateful for anything is a vain hope.
"That's not enough fucking money, Reese!"
My brows rise a fraction, the only reaction I have to his outburst. Everyone else is already looking at us, so it's not like Jeremy's yelling is drawing more attention to us.
"It's plenty," I tell him. "The house is already paid off, and this will support you all long enough for you to find a job. The retirement accounts I set up for mom and dad will be available soon, too. It's fair compensation."
"It's not enough!" he yells again, and I realize there's nothing I can do that will make him happy. It could've been a million credit, two million, and he would still be throwing a fit about how it's not enough.
"Talk to my legal team if you have any questions," I say before turning back toward the transport.
Jeremy keeps yelling about how I'm a heartless bitch, how it's my fault he can't have a real job, and how I should be giving them more money.
I'm embarrassed, and I'm not the grown man throwing a tantrum about free money.
When I close the door to the transport and look out the window at the rest of my family, they're all very pointedly not looking in our direction anymore, almost like none of them wants to acknowledge Jeremy's meltdown either.
"Why in the world do you put up with that?" Marr asks me as he starts the transport, his hands still shaking in his rage.
I shake my head, watching the family get smaller and smaller as he drives back down the dirt road.
"I thought I deserved it," I say.
Marr shoots me an incredulous look, and I offer him a small smile.
I continue, hoping to make him feel better. "I realized it was bullshit. With you behind me, angry on my behalf, I realized I was allowed to be angry about how they treat me."
"You should be enraged," Marr says, his voice booming in the tight space. "Sorry."
"It's fine," I tell him. "But you're right. I'm sure it'll hit me soon just how angry I deserve to be, but I'm still getting used to feeling like how they treated me wasn't right."
"It wasn't right at all," Marr says, glancing at me and then back to the road. "Reese, that's not family. I don't care if you think it is because you share blood. No family treats their own like that."
I chew on my nails as I let his words sit in my mind. The middle nail gives a little crack, and then the fake pops off.
"Oh," I say, looking at the nail now resting in the center of my palm.
It's not even that bad, and it didn't hurt. These nails were some cheap ones from the drugstore, and they hold no sentimental value to me. My mind is so twisted from everything else, though, that I look at the nail, a big frown on my face, and the tears start.
"Reese?" Marr looks to me, making sure I'm not hurt.
I hold up the pink nail so he can see it while blubbering, "I chewed off my fake nail."