Page 29 of In the Air Tonight

My dad comes in and shuts the door. He looks like hell, as if he hasn’t slept in days. His face is haggard from the strain, and his chin covered in scruff I’ve rarely seen on him. He’s always clean shaven and squared away, so it’s upsetting to see him this way. “Were you talking to Kane?”

“Yeah, I finally told him everything.”

Dad sits on the end of my bed. “How’d he take it?”

“He’s upset, of course, but he said all the right things.”

“I’m glad you have his support. Is he still coming next week?”

“That’s the plan.”

“I’ve been thinking…about the baby.” His expression is gut wrenching.

“What about it?”

“It’s not right that you should have to carry a baby conceived this way. If you want to seek out alternatives, I’d support whatever you decided to do.”

I’ve heard both my parents say that abortion isn’t something they would’ve chosen to do, but they’d never make that decision for someone else. So I know it’s a big deal for him to present that option to me.

“Would we still be able to check the baby’s DNA if we did that?”

“Yes, I believe so. I just want you to have all the options. In the end, it’s your decision.”

“Thank you for the support.”

“I feel sick that you were alone with this for weeks, Neise. You should’ve called me. I would’ve come right home.”

“I knew that. I needed some time to process it. I keep going over it and over it, looking for the point when he might’ve thought it was okay to do what he did. He said he wanted to talk to me about Louisa, so I went with him, away from the others. It never occurred to me…”

Dad’s warm hand lands on my cold one. I’m cold all the time lately. “You didn’t do anything to encourage him. Nor did you do anything to deserve what he did. A real man doesn’t attack a woman and force her to have sex with him.”

“Daddy…” I squirm as his hand clamping down on mine starts to hurt.

He immediately releases me. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m just so upset. I want to go over there and wrap my hands around his neck and show him what happens to animals who rape women.”

“Please don’t do that or anything like it. We have to let the police handle this. Don’t risk your career and your pension over him. He’s not worth it.”

“I heard he’s up for a commission to the Naval Academy. I can sure as hell do something about that. We don’t need his kind in the navy.”

“Promise me you won’t go to his house.”

He looks down at the floor, seeming to wage some sort of private battle. “I want to kill him for hurting you.”

“I know, and that means everything to me, but please, Dad. Promise me you won’t do anything to make this worse.”

After a long pause, he says, “I won’t do anything to physically harm him, but I’ll do everything within my power to make sure he pays for what he did to you.”

Chapter 6

Camden

THEN

Even with a full day to absorb the news, I can’t believe it. Neisy Sutton has accused Ryder of raping her. As if Ryder would ever do something like that, especially since he’s madly in love with Louisa and has been for as long as anyone can remember.

The police have asked Ryder to come in for another interview.

My parents are losing their minds. They’ve called in a high-powered attorney from Boston, who advised Ryder to stay away from the police station.

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