Page 56 of A Little Jaded
What the hell am I supposed to do? What does shewantme to do? She just saw her dad pushing me against the wall with my shirt fisted in his hand. She has to say something or defend me.
Doesn’t she?
With a fake-ass smile, Raine moves closer to us, but even I can see the rigidity in her muscles. The way she looks like she’s been blindsided—join the club, Raine—and left uneasy,trying to come up with a lie that doesn’t create an even more tangled web than the one she’s already made for herself. “Uh…”
“I’m sure your mom would love an introduction,” the behemoth adds. “And Penny. And Dodge when he gets back from his tour. You should bring this guy to dinner next week.”
“Everett’s going out of town for an away game,” she rushes out.
“Away game?”
She tucks some loose strands from her braid behind her ear, her gaze darting everywhere around the room. “H-he plays hockey, actually. He’s really good, too.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he is. Shame he’ll be gone next week.” Her dad doesn’t even bother hiding his sarcasm. “Dodge will be home at the end of the month. You can bring your boy to his concert at SeaBird.”
Raine opens her mouth to argue but closes it quickly, forcing herself to nod. “Uh, yeah. We’ll have to look at our schedules, but that sounds…like a lot of fun.”
“Good,” he grunts. “Can’t wait to hear all about the bar fight from last week, too.”
Raine blanches, and I wait for her to defend me. Instead, all she chokes out is, “Sounds great.”
Seriously? We’re gonna ignore the part where he thinks I hit his daughter? Ignore how she walked in on him threatening my own fucking life and completely sweeping his not-so-subtle remark about her swollen lip under the rug like he wasn’t insinuating I was the culprit behind it?
What. The actual. Fuck?
I turn my stare on Raine beside me and wait. For what? Honestly, at this point, I’m not even sure. I feel like I entered the Twilight Zone, and now, I’m just along for the bumpy-as-shit ride.
Raine must sense it, too. The tension. The assumptions. The haze of miscommunication twisting around us. Because she looks like she’s about to puke.
“Raine,” I prod.
Rocking back on her heels, she murmurs, “You’re totally right. We, uh, we should probably get going, so…”
“We?” her dad challenges.
“Uh, yup. It’s late, and…my boyfriend here is probably tired from his game, so…” She loops her arm through mine and rests her head on my shoulder. “It’s, uh, it’s best if we head out. Thanks for today, though.”
“We,” he repeats, as accusatory as before.
“Yup,” Raine says, though this time she tacks on a smile as if it’ll erase the fact she’s about to walk out of this door with anassumedabusive boyfriend.
Seriously, at this point, I’m convinced the girl istryingto get my ass kicked by her old man. Still, I keep my head held high and tuck my hands into the front pockets of my jeans, attempting to look like Idon’tbeat women on the weekends despite knowing it’s exactly what Raine’s dad has pegged me for.
“Well, don’t let me keep you, I guess,” he growls.
My brows hitch, but I stay quiet.
With another frigid look at me, he grunts, “Drive safe. Understand?”
Touch her again, and I’ll hunt you down, is what he’s really saying. Not with his mouth, but rather with his eyes. Honestly, I’m surprised I’m still standing at this point. This guy wants to rip me limb from limb, and if the roles were reversed, I would, too, so all I can do is dip my chin in response.
Yeah, old man. I hear you loud and clear.
“Night, Dad.” An oblivious Raine lets me go to give him a quick side hug. Then, she rushes toward the back corner ofthe large room. Thanks to the half walls spread throughout, it's broken into small spaces. She reappears with her purse and a notebook tucked beneath her arm. Without looking up at me, she slips past and out the door like a bat out of hell, leaving me no choice but to follow.
What. The actual. Fuck?
CHAPTER NINETEEN