Page 59 of Claimed by my Bestie's Dad

“I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I care about Madison. I care about her more than I thought I would, and?—”

Aurora cuts me off with a sharp, bitter laugh. “Oh, of course. You care about her. That makes it all better, right? Because as long as you’re feeling something, it’s fine to screw over your daughter and screw her best friend. Is that it?”

I open my mouth to respond, but the words die in my throat. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to make this right.

Aurora throws her hands up in frustration. “You’ve made it impossible for me to look at either of you the same way. How am I supposed to trust her now? How am I supposed to trustyou?”

“Aurora, please, just let me explain?—”

“Explain what, Dad? That you’re selfish? That you can’t keep your hands off my friend? Do you even know what this is going to do to our friendship or my relationship with you? Or maybe you don’t care. That’s it.”

Her voice has dropped now, and I see the same hurt she felt when her mom left.

“I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Well, you did. You hurt me. And you hurt her, whetheryou realize it or not. This is going to mess everything up, and you don’t even see it.”

I can see the tears brimming in her eyes, and it tears me apart. I want to reach out, to pull her into a hug and tell her everything will be okay, but I know she won’t let me. Not right now.

Aurora steps back, her coffee cup trembling in her hands. “You’re supposed to be my dad. You’re supposed to protect me, not…not sleep with my best friend.”

Aurora stares at me for another second before taking a long sip of coffee. Then, she fixes her glare on me for another thirty seconds before storming out the front door.

I stand there, frozen in place. I’ve never felt so helpless. I need to talk to Madison. Aurora knows, and it’s going to affect both of us. The problem is that I don’t have any sort of solution. I don’t know how to deal with this. I just have to hope that Madison will know how to fix things with Aurora.

28

MADISON

Hey,can you come over today? I just got home from my shift, and I’d like to talk.

His text has a serious tone to it. I immediately don’t like it. Why is he texting me at eight in the morning that he wants to talk?

I rub a hand to my stomach. Whatever virus I have is persistent. I haven’t thrown up, but I just keep feeling like I want to. I almost want to throw up, just so I can get it over with.

I text back.Maybe tomorrow? I feel sick today.

Samson comes over and nudges my hand with his nose. He doesn’t care how sick I am. He still wants his pets. I pat his head gently. “I still love you, buddy. We’re just taking it slower today.”

Do you need help with the dogs? I can take them out if you don’t feel good.

Ethan’s offer is so sweet that it’s difficult to turn down. I just don’t want him to get sick. Plus, if I see him, I might blurt out what Mia and Zoe said. And I’d rather not talk about that with him, not yet. I don’t want to ruin thebeautiful thing we had going, even though I have a feeling it might already be ruined.

Thanks, but I’ve taken them out this morning already. They’re having fun with a few new chew toys.

Okay, I’m here if you need me. And I really do need to talk to you. It’s pretty important. I can go over there if that’s easier for you.

My stomach turns over. Does Ethan know that Aurora is spreading rumors about us dating? I thought she would have just told our friend group, but maybe she’s taking the rumors outside of our group. I imagine Aurora going to the hospital and dropping a few hints here and there.

What if her rumors get Ethan fired?

Could they?

Finally, I agree.I’ll come over. Give me thirty minutes.

I know that if I had worked an all-night shift, I would be heading to bed directly afterward. The fact that Ethan wants to talk to me and right now…it can’t mean anything good.

I think that’s why I drag my feet going over there. I know that something is up, but I’m not ready to face whatever it is.

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