Page 64 of Wrapped in Hope

Chapter 23

“What the fuck, Jane?”Holden yells as he squeezes my hand as if he’s telling me he’s sorry.

I don’t squeeze it back though. I can’t. I’m lost looking at the hurt and confusion on my parents’ faces.

“What’s going on here?” my mom asks.

My dad is still frozen with a dead glare, shooting daggers at Holden.

“I’ll tell you what’s going on. My husband has been cheating on me with your daughter who’s half his age.”

My breathing stops as my mother takes a loud breath and clutches her chest, turning toward my dad. My dad is no longer frozen though. He’s rushing toward Holden.

“You son of a bitch,” he grounds out as he grabs Holden by the front of his shirt, yanking him out of my reach.

I yelp from the sudden jerk as his hand pulls away from mine.

My dad throws Holden up against the front of the garage door, making a loud crashing noise as the door dents with his weight. “You’ve been fucking around with my daughter?” he asks as he pulls back his fist.

Holden’s eyes flash to mine quickly as he raises up his hands. “It’s not like that,” he says, but he’s silenced with a punch to the mouth.

After seeing my dad punch Holden, without him even trying to defend himself, my feet are running in their direction. “Stop!” I yell as I latch onto his arm, trying to stop another blow.

My dad is lost to his rage. He pulls his arm forward, throwing me off him like I’m weightless as he throws another punch at Holden.

I’m thrown off balance from the quick movement, losing my footing on the uneven ground, and I fall forward, landing on my hands and knees on the concrete.

Holden sees the action just before my dad’s fist lands a solid hit to his stomach. He tries to catch me, but he’s held back, unable to reach me and doubling over from the pain.

I let out a painful cry that gets my dad’s attention, causing him to turn to see what happened. Holden pushes past him, rushing to my side.

“Are you okay?” he asks as he pulls me to my feet. The knees of my jeans now have holes in them as blood stains the fabric.

I nod, not concerned with myself but with him.

“Get your hands off her,” my dad warns.

Jane and my mom rush to my father’s side. My mom looks upset, like someone just ran over her puppy. Jane, on the other hand, looks completely satisfied.

She did this on purpose.

Holden ignores my dad and turns to face me. He places his hands on either side of my face and looks me in the eye. “I’m so sorry, Hope.” He plants a kiss to my forehead.

“I’m going to fucking kill you for ever fucking touching her,” my dad says, taking a step toward us.

I pull away from Holden and step between them. “Please, stop this.”

“Get out of the way, pumpkin. This is between me and someone I thought was my friend.” His face is contorted with anger. Deep wrinkles form across his forehead and around his dark eyes. His mouth is drawn into a tight line, and every muscle is flexed.

He pulls me back and positions himself in front of me. “Gary, just give me time to explain,” he says, hanging his head, still not trying to fight my dad.

“Explain what? How you’ve been using my little girl? How you’ve made her your dirty little secret while you cheated on your wife?” He scoffs. “You’re not the man I thought you were.” He waves his hand in front of his face as if he can wipe away the anger he’s feeling. “Let’s go, Hope.” He turns and motions for my mom to follow.

Holden quickly turns to me as I look between the two men in my life. This is the moment I’ve been dreading. Having to choose between them.

But maybe I don’t have to choose. Maybe I can let my parents settle down and talk to them calmly like grown adults.

I hug him. “I’m going to go with them,” I whisper in his ear while I’m against his chest. He pulls back suddenly, questions written across his face.