Page 29 of Seeds of Malice

"Don't worry about it."

I put my hand on my hip. "Don't tell me not to worry."

Dad's anger bubbles. His scowl intensifies. He warns, "I could lose my job, so stay away from him, Ivy."

Every fear I have, rises within me, but then I remember Dax telling me that he would never put my dad's job in jeopardy. But that was when I was starting to trust him. "I'm sorry. I would never jeopardize your job on purpose, you know that, right?"

My dad holds his hand in front of him and releases a stressful breath. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, Ivy. This isn't your fault. Don't worry. Everything's fine. But I want you to stay away from Dax Carrington. Do you hear me?"

I decide it's best to agree. Besides, I don't want any part of Dax. If he's going to play me and that other girl, I don't need to be around him again. "Okay."

My father stares at me for a moment with a mix of pity and anxiety in his expression.

"Please don't look at me like that," I beg.

His voice softens. "Ivy, we have to remember who we are and who they are."

After everything that happened today, I should agree with my father, but I still don't understand why we have to be so different. I admit, "I don't know why it has to be like that. It's just money."

My father scrubs his hands over his face, sighing. "Ivy, it's hard to explain. You'll understand when you're older, but this is how the world works. We aren't their kind, and they're not ours. Don't let that boy fool you," he warns, his gaze drilling into mine.

My cheeks heat. I swallow hard. I hate how my dad knows that I was starting to fall for Dax. He doesn't even have to say anything else.

I lift my chin and announce, "I won't see him again."

My father takes a deep breath and crosses his arms. "What happened between you two?"

Embarrassment fills me. The last thing I want to do is talk to Dad about it. I mutter, "Nothing."

"If he comes near you, I want to know."

"Why, so you can lose your job?"

Tense silence fills the air. My father grinds his molars.

I panic. "Dad, I don't want you to lose your job." Memories of how bad it was in West Virginia when he didn't have one and how we were struggling, plague me. Plus, my father was so excited to get hired by Dax's dad. He claimed this position was his dream job.

Dad shakes his head. "That's for me to worry about, but I'm not going to get fired."

"How do you know?" I question, then wish I could get Dax's voice out of my head, promising me that he would never jeopardize my dad's job. But now, I don't know what to believe. If he can kiss me after having sexual encounters with that girl the day before, how can I ever trust him again?

And what did he and Cindy do with others involved?

The thought makes me feel ill.

Dad responds, "Because I'm not, and that's not for you to worry about. Now, are you hungry?"

I shake my head. "No, I just ate a cheeseburger. Do you want me to make you something?"

"No, I can make dinner. Why don't you unpack your room?" He points to the boxes.

I glance at them, not wanting to unpack, already tired of the moving process. Part of me wants to run back to West Virginia. Yet, I don't want to lose my opportunity to go to Clifton University, which has one of the best botany programs in the country.

Dad adds, "They won't unpack themselves."

"On it," I claim.

My father leaves the room and I choose a box. I open it, and for the rest of the evening, I slowly make my way through every piece of cardboard until nothing is left to unpack.

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