Page 4 of Red River

"Should I just show up, casually asking for money to fix my own mess? Money! Not out of love or guilt, Sam—just because of fucking cash. What a prodigal son I would be!"

"River, calm down. That’s just your pride talking. You know how much your dad loved you. He would forgive you. They would help you."

The second he mentioned my dad, I felt my heart ache. I loved him so much, but when I met Thomas, nothing could stop me. I didn’t care about my parents’ feelings when their seventeen-year-old son disappeared with a man twice his age.

I couldn’t bring myself to ask for help. Calling casually?

Hi, it’s me, River. Would you mind giving me some money because the guy I ran away with turned out to be a loser? Yes, yes, the one you warned me about. The same!

It felt like pure insolence.

Just like Thomas, I had failed too—in my judgment. I didn’t have the courage to face my parents and admit I was wrong. Sometimes, I suspected that’s why Thomas and I were High Mates—we had the same fucking flaws. We ran from everything, especially from taking responsibility for our mistakes.

Sighing, I finally muttered, "Thomas was adamantly against me contacting my parents. He held a grudge. But maybe… if the safety enforcers start knocking on our door, I might have to. It would be like a gun to my head. I won’t let them take Igor."

"Dad?"

I froze. I hadn’t even noticed Igor coming into the room. When I turned to look at him, his pale face was set like stone, his narrowed eyes sharp with fury.

"Are you talking to Sam?"

"Igor, don’t interrupt me. That’s—"

Before I could finish, Igor jumped forward and grabbed the phone right out of my hand. My stomach twisted like I’d been punched, ice shooting through my veins.

"I heard you," he hissed. "You want to mock Father’s memory? He didn’t want you talking to your parents. He’s not even in the ground yet, and you’re already going behind his back?"

My hands shook as I stared at my son, unable to recognize him. His voice vibrated with anger and hurt.

"Igor," I said, trying to keep myself calm, "what is happening to you? I didn't say it was the first thing we should do. It’s just one of many options. We need to do what’s best for the family—"

"You’re willing to even consider it?" he snapped, jabbing the air with the phone. "Ignoring what Father wanted? Throwing away everything he stood for?"

"That’s not what I’m doing, Igor! I’m trying to keep you safe—"

"Safe?!" His laugh was bitter. "And you think calling your parents is the answer to our problems? The people who hated Father so much, who despised him?"

"They’re not bad people, Igor," I whispered. "They didn’t hate Thomas—they just… they were worried about his past. His previous business failed, and the age difference—"

"Stop lying to yourself!" he shouted, his voice breaking. "They hated him! Father told me everything! They did everything to separate you!"

"Igor, no. They just asked me to go to college and wait a little. I wanted to major in Music Education—"

"Exactly! They wanted to keep you apart! Father told me how they treated him like some crook trying to steal their perfect gem of a son! With suspicion and distrust! And now you… want to crawl back to them? To beg? You’re not even waiting a week after he’s gone before dissing Father like this!"

"Stop!" I snapped, spreading my arms wide. "Enough, Igor! That’s silly! I loved your father, but the fact is: he cut me off from my own family. They haven’t seen me in twenty years, Igor! You don’t know them. Your own grandparents. They deserve a chance to—"

"They deserve nothing," he growled through gritted teeth. "They pushed Father away, not the other way around. He tried to talk, to plead with them! If they’d just accepted him, none of this would’ve happened!"

I took a shaky breath. "Igor, you don’t understand. They had valid reasons—"

"You were High Mates, Dad! That’s the next best thing to True Mates. Your parents were spitting on Fate. If it were up to them, we wouldn’t even be born."

"Igor, they may take you! The enforcers! Don’t you—"

"No! I’ll be a legal adult soon! I’m not letting you ruin everything Father established. I’m taking this." He raised the phone in his hand, his jaw set like stone. "You’re not gonna call anyone."

In deep shock, I stared up at him, my heart pounding. Igor was already towering over me, even at fifteen. I had no chance of getting the phone back.

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