Page 58 of I Should Hate You-but I Don't

"What are you talking about?" River never moved from the spot at the entrance of the kitchen. "What kind of request? He's dead."

"Sweetheart." He stepped toward her when Kenna flew past him, launching herself at Kingsley.

River gazed up at her, tears filling her eyes. "Y-You said his name like he was alive."

He reached for her. She backed up, shaking her head.

Holding his palms up, he let her know he wouldn't touch her. He stayed where he was, not wanting to upset her more.

Behind him, Kingsley struggled to pin Kenna's arms down. She wailed at him with both fists, grunting in her attack.

"God damnit. Will you stop?" Kingsley lifted Kenna off her feet, pinning her to his chest. "Jesus Christ, woman. You're going to hurt yourself."

Chaos filled the kitchen. He whistled loudly, stunning everyone.

"Both of you sit down." He pointed at the table. When Kenna struggled in Kingsley's arms and River refused to move, he growled. "Now."

Both girls walked to the table and sat beside each other. River looked to Kenna for answers. Kenna glared at Kingsley. Right now, the attention was off him, and he inhaled deeply, trying to think of how he would get out of the mess he'd created without hurting the girls.

He and Kingsley had thought they were asleep or at least upstairs in their room. They hadn't heard the door open or footsteps coming down the stairs.

Fuck.

They were screwed.

Chapter Twenty Six

River

––––––––

"Your father is alive."

River stared at Zane, standing at the end of the table. She heard what he said, but it was as if someone had tried to convince her that the tooth fairy was real. First Kenna tried to make her believe her dad was alive, and now Zane.

Tears blurred her vision. She couldn't move. Numbness had frozen her to the chair.

Despite Kenna's leg bouncing next to her and her sister's fist thumping the table, River sat, unable to process what Zane told her. He lied. That was the only reason he would say such a thing.

She couldn't understand why he would want to hurt her that way.

"Where is he?" Kenna placed her hands on the table to push herself to her feet and Kingsley, standing behind her, pushed her back onto the chair. "Don't try to lie your way out of this. We heard you."

"If you'll calm down, I'll tell you." Zane pulled out the chair across the table from her, turned it around, and straddled the seat all without taking his gaze off River. "Your dad is alive. He's in prison."

Prison? She looked at Kenna for answers.

"Where?" The strained words slipped through Kenna's tight lips. "What prison?"

"The state prison." He ran his hand over his face. "There's more you'll need to know."

She shook her head, wanting it all to go away. Her dad was dead. She loved Zane.

Pieces of her life were falling apart. She was at risk of losing him.

"There's no easy way to say this." Zane looked at her.

She'd seen the anguish in his eyes before, each time he walked out of the bedroom and refused to stay in the house with her. This wasn't his pain. It was her pain.

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