Page 14 of One Night Rendezvous

“Lower your voice!”

“I think you should go,” Lizzie says. “Or do I need to call Troy and have him make you go?”

Doogie looks at me and his eyes are colder than ever. I’m gonna pay for this. The only question is how. But none of that matters as he turns and walks away. I finally feel like I can breathe again.

“What the fuck is his deal?” Lizzie demands as she refills our glasses.

I shrug. “He likes to control people … and he can’t control me. Not anymore. That makes him scared and when he gets scared, he gets mean.”

—-

An hour and a half later, buzzing from the tequila and the company, I stumble out of Cassie’s pink caddy and up the rickety steps to my front door. I’ve got the key in the lock, waving her away before it registers that something is wrong. The key went into the lock but it’s not turning. Because it’s already unlocked.

I can’t yell, I can’t grab my phone out of my pocket. I’m not hammered, but I’m not exactly sober either. As the door gets yanked open from the inside, I stumble, falling inward and landing on the newly laid linoleum.

“What’s the matter, Ash? Did the cat get your tongue or are you afraid to mouth off to me without your friends around?”

I roll onto my back and start scooting backwards away from him. Being on the ground leaves me vulnerable and being vulnerable in front of Doogie is always a mistake. “Get out of my house!”

“House? Nah, kiddo. This isn’t a house. This is a shitbox of a trailer and you’re the trash living in it. Your choice, if you remember. You could still be working for me. Still living in your grandma’s house.”

My shoulder blades touch the wall and I push back against it, using it to leverage my way to at least a quasi-standing position. “Oh, yeah. And I could still be robbing people blind on your behalf … it was one thing when I didn’t know. But now I do, and I can’t be a part of that. I won’t.”

It was the wrong thing to say to him. I know that immediately. I’m not being appropriately subservient the way his narcissistic ass demands and his temper is explosive.

“Are you threatening me, girlie? He demands. “You got to anyone and run your mouth then you’re an accessory. You’ll go to the pen just like I did … But I won’t be going back there. If you try to make that happen, you’ll never see the light of day again.”

“They can’t arrest me for being your daughter.”

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about you getting arrested,” he replies coldly. “If you run your mouth, Ash, the only thing it’s going to get you is an early grave. You understand me?”

He turns to leave and the minute he’s gone, I sink back to the floor. It’s like that every time I have to deal with him. I’m back to being that little girl hiding in the closet while he and my mom scream at one another.

I don’t even realize I’m crying until I hear the door open again. I’m scrambling to my feet, that flight-or-fight response he triggers in me coming to the surface. But it’s not him. It’s Ford. He’s standing in my open doorway, and he’s got murder in his eyes.

“Who hurt you?” he says. “Tell me, and I swear to God, they won’t do it again.”

TWELVE

Ford

The sobbing outside the door, and it fucking tears at my heart. What's left of it anyway. The truck that peeled out of her driveway held what I assume to be her father, considering everyone in this town knows the situation between the two of them.

And let's be honest. Like attracts like. The shit I used to do, and am doing isn't exactly illegal. I know more about Doogie than I really should.

“Who hurt you?” I ask. “Tell me, and I swear to God they won’t do it again.”

She doesn't say anything, just looks up at me. It's reminding me too much of Felicity and how broken she appeared to be when I took over custody. "Nobody."

"Try again. Was it your piece of shit dad?" I crouch down beside her, offering my hand. "C'mon, don't sit here on the floor over him. He ain't worth it." Ashley is way too fucking quiet for my liking. If there's one thing I know about this woman, she's a fighter.

"Yeah," she mumbles. "It was him. He threatened me."

"What do you mean he threatened you?" I grab her hand with mine, and pull her up, hating to see her with this sad look on her face.

"I know a lot that I shouldn't." She pushes her hair back from her face. "I cooked his books. I could destroy him. But he could destroy me too."

Reaching out, I take her chin between my fingers. "The fuck he will. That's not who you are. You're not scared."

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