Page 89 of Lilly

"What things? I don't know what you're talking about."

His eyes fix on mine. "You know exactly what I'm talking about." He uses a serious tone that would scare me if he wasn't my dad. "Do we have an agreement?"

I nod. "I won't tell him anything."

"Good. I'll be in my office if you need me."

When I get back to my room, Reed is sitting on my bed, going through his phone. He looks up when he hears me close the door.

"What was that about?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you the family secrets." I laugh as if it's a joke.

"I don't get it. Are you kidding or being serious?"

"Never mind." I go sit next to him on the bed. "So...we need to talk about something."

He sets his phone down. "I don't like the sound of that. What's wrong?"

"My dad..." I hate lying to Reed, and I usually don't, so this feels really strange. And wrong. But I guess part of what I'm saying is true. "My dad wants me to spend more time with the family before I go back to school."

"Meaning he doesn't want you spending time with me."

"Yeah," I say, looking down. "I've tried to talk to him about this but he won't listen. He thinks you and I are getting too serious and he thinks we need time apart."

"So this is less about your family and more about keeping us apart."

I nod.

"Well, as long as we're being honest, I might as well tell you what my dad said. I wasn't going to because it's not like I'd actually do what he says but you might as well know in case you're around him and notice him acting strange."

"What is it? What'd he say?"

"Yesterday he sat me down and told me he has concerns about your dad."

"What kind of concerns?"

"He thinks your dad's involved in something and he wants me to stay away from you."

"What did he say my dad's involved with?"

"He didn't go into details. He just said it was something bad. Something dangerous. Those were his words, not mine."

"Are you serious?"

"I know. It's completely crazy, to the point I'm starting to question his mental state. He's been acting really paranoid lately. When he said that stuff about your dad I wasn't even sure how to respond."

I grip his arm. "Okay, don't tell anyone I told you this because I'm not supposed to say anything."

"Yeah, go ahead."

"My dad said the same thing about your dad. He said your dad is involved in something dangerous and that he doesn't want me getting involved in it, which is why I'm supposed to stay away from you, at least until he knows what's going on with your dad."

"Wait, so that's the real reason you can't see me?"

"Yeah."

"Then why'd you make up that story about spending time with your family?"

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