Page 51 of Unleashed

No, I will not.

I’ll rub my tits against his chest.

Nope.

Maybe I’ll accidentally lose my clothes.

Out of the question.

I’ll blow Greg so good that I’ll swallow our future generations while others trickle down my chin.

Never in a thousand years.

Fuck me. I’ll never get through this.

A knock at my front door interrupts my sad imagination. It’s most likely someone selling a religion. I’ll get to slam the door in their face while praying I don’t go to hell.

Before opening the door, I straighten my crop top and yoga pants. Finn will blow a gasket when he sees me, but who cares? He’s the worst brother on the planet. I can’t think of a family member I hate more right now.

Instead of peeking through the hole thingy in the door and risking being stabbed by a disgruntled mail carrier, I swing open the door and hope death is quick and painless.

“Simone. You look...” Disapproval and annoyance fill his eyes.

I try to talk, but my throat is a kinked hose. “Dad?”

“That’s what the DNA test insists.” And he’s not joking. He demanded a test from my mother, even though he was the one cheating.

I stumble backward as I hold on to the door, and he takes that as an invitation. As he walks into my entryway, I notice his suitcase. What the... Fuck, no.

I also notice his hair is all gray now, and he’s rocking a mustache—not well. It overpowers his face. He resembles an ill-tempered Colonel Sanders.

He sets down his suitcase and stares at me. I snap back to my horrendous reality and shut the door, staring at him, speechless. He sighs. “Well, are you going to hug me or not?”

“Oh. Sure.” I lean in and hug him like he forced me.

“My darling beauty. How are you, my dear?”

I pull away and take another step back from him. His judging assessment resumes, and I wish I were wearing footed pajamas.

I stutter, “I-I’m fine. You’re early. Graduation isn’t until Friday.” I glance around my messy apartment. My dad is a clean freak, and I’ve already pissed him off.

He frowns at my living room and then at me. “I thought I’d surprise you with a visit. You don’t seem pleased to see me. Did I come at a bad time?”

“Well, I’m just about to go to softball practice.” Fuck my hair, my clothes, my makeup, and my life.

“Don’t let me keep you,” he says with a stiff smile that screams how much of a disappointment and poor investment I am to him.

“You’re not. Graduation isn’t until Friday.” Quietly, I pick up the wrappers from my earlier takeout lunch and retreat to the kitchen to dispose of them, using the opportunity to unleash my silent screams into the void.

When I return, he says, “I thought I’d spend time with you. I planned to get a hotel room, but I thought I’d stay with you, as you mentioned that you have a spare bedroom. I’m willing to wager your mother ensured she’d have a place to sleep when she stays with you.”

I nod, feeling like a nine-year-old, and have nothing else to add. I can’t deny him a visit when he pays for my schooling. “Mom was...”

“Oh, dear. Did your mother plan to stay with you? I haven’t talked to her.”

“Yeah, but...”

“This time, she can stay in a hotel. Only fair.” His eyes drift to my stomach. “A navel ring? Is that allowed in softball?”

---