Page 41 of Golden Rule

“When you’re ready, I’d love for you to meet her,” he says, and here I am, with this stupid fucking smile stuck on my face.

“Sure. Sounds fun.”

I don’t turn to look at Scar, but I feel her staring a hole in the side of my head. Which means I likelylookas unnatural as Ifeel.

“Good,” Dad says, then we’re plunged into awkward silence yet again.

But on a lighter note, I suppose I’ve solved the mystery of his incessant texting. In a nutshell, it wasn’t a work thing.

It was aHannahthing.

“There. Doesn’t that feel better?” Scar asks. “Now everyone knows.”

My father shoots her another sharp look, and she flashes a smile his way.

“I’d putyoursocial life out there to get picked apart, but you’d have tohaveone for that to work,” he counters, prompting Scar to roll her eyes.

“This again,” she sighs.

“Yes, this again,” Dad says. “Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy your company, honey, but you need to spend time with people your own age sometimes. There’s more to life than?—”

“School and work,” Scar jumps in, finishing that sentence. Her gaze flits toward the ceiling, and I’m pretty sure if West and I weren’t sitting here, she would’ve already left the room.

“I’m just saying, you’re young, you’re beautiful, you should be out there having fun. Not letting life pass you by because Sh?—”

“This isn’t about Shane,” she hisses, cutting our father off again.

The man’s never been one to mince words, so he may have just spoken out with more boldness than I ever could, but I don’t think he’s wrong. Ever since Ricky sent his brother, Shane, to live with family in Puerto Rico, Scar’s been… different. Theywere close, best friends, which I eventually learned equated to best friends withbenefits, but his leaving dimmed some of my sister’s light. Regardless of what label was or wasn’t slapped on their relationship, he meant something to her.

More than she cares to admit, I imagine.

Scar levels a look toward our father, and it’s telling of her frustration. It also leads me to believe this is a conversation they have often, making me happier than ever not to be living under the same roof as them.

“Anyway, you two didn’t come here to hear us bicker,” Dad says, lowering his phone after checking it again. “You just happened to be in the area?”

I take a deep breath to shake off the awkward tension that crept into the room. “Actually, we were doing a bit of recon.”

Dad smiles at that. “Sounds menacing.”

“Not quite,” I laugh. “We were checking out a building our realtor thought would be perfect for the center. And as it turns out, she was right.”

“You’re buying it?” His face lights up with the question. The look is so genuine, and I think I needed that. From him, specifically. I’ve been talking about taking this on for years, so to see that my friends and family are in my corner means the world.

I glance at West, and he hits me with a warm smile before I turn back toward my dad. “Yep!”

“No shit?” Scar asks, seeming to forget all about the bad vibe that snuck in a moment ago.

“We even got out of the car to see it up close. This is really happening.”

Scar is out of her seat the next moment, squeezing my neck. “This is awesome! I knew it would all work out.”

I don’t say it out loud, but I don’t know ifIalways knew it would work out.

She pulls away, lowering back into her seat, but her eyes don’t leave me.

“The place needs atonof work, but… I’m up to it. The community needs this.”

Dad’s nodding his head profusely before I even finish speaking. “I couldn’t agree with you more. As a matter of fact, I know a guy who can probably help you get the building fixed up. His dad’s a retired cop buddy of mine. He’s good with his hands, and he’s been looking for steady work. Give him a call when you’re ready.”

---