Page 81 of Cruel Devotion

“Go on. Try me.” I lowered to my haunches to stare him down as he glared at me. “You should know that I’m done just taking it. I’m not your punching bag anymore. You try me, and I’ll knock you on your ass again.”

“Fucking punk,” he slurred, rubbing his jaw where it seemed I’d wounded him almost to point that he couldn’t speak.

I stood, waiting for him to try again. While he sat there and glared daggers at me, more security guards showed up. A few cops came too.

“Come on,” I told Finn, backing into my room. “Time to go.”

Letting the cops and guards handle my dad out in the hallway, I got into my dorm room with my friends. “Are you okay?” I asked Davina.

“Damn.” She shook her head. “Haley told me a little bit about how much of an asshole he is, butdamn.”

I laughed once, mirthlessly. “Yeah. But he’s not my dad anymore.”

“That’s the spirit,” Finn said, clapping me on my back and seeming to try for some comedy relief with that sarcasm.

“No. I mean it. My mom and dad disowned me.”

“What the hell am I missing?” Finn asked. “You leave to go check on Haley, and before I know it, he’s here demanding I let him in and take all your shit.”

“He wanted to throw it outside. To make a point. To try to make my life as hard as possible because I never fell in line.” I paced, running my hands through my hair. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” I had to check again.

“We’re fine,” Davina said. “Butwhatis going on? Where’s Haley? Is she okay?”

“Haley will be okay,” I said. “She claims the morning sickness will get better in a few months.” I couldn’t help but grin at being able to say that. That she was pregnant. That I would be a father. It was the brightest silver lining to all of this.

They both showed surprise, then congratulations. I brought them up to speed with what had happened. As I told them what I came to find at Haley’s house, then all that my mom had said, I explained that I was no longer going to live here and finish out the semester in this dorm room. They pitched in, helping me pack, and not only that, but they also came with me to my parents’ house to pack up my things there. Finn contacted a couple of football team members, too, and they rode behind us as backup.

Just in case my dad didn’t get the message.

I didn’t have a lot, nothing like furniture or any big items, but with my friends, I had someone watching my back as I gathered my clothes and essentials that I could bring with me to Haley’s house.

Davina was a good fit for Finn, so stern and no-nonsense while Finn was prone to being quiet and nervous. She faced off with my mother while I got my things and left—for good. With one of our teammates driving his SUV, there was more than enough room for me to stash my clothes and other odds and ends that I could take without my parents claiming I took anything they’d given me lately. I bought most of my own things, anyway, using the spare money I made mowing people’s lawns in the summers and whatnot.

Before we could drive back to Haley’s, I checked my phone to see if she’d contacted her aunt. I didn’t want to show up without an explicit okay from the actual owner of the house. As I got my phone out, though, I realized I’d need to get a new one.

“Damn.”

My mom had already removed me from the plan.

“Hey,” Davina said, flagging me over to where she was about to get in the passenger seat. “Haley called me and said your phone is off.”

I nodded. “Just saw that now. They took me off the plan.”

Davina held out her phone to me. “Okay. But it seems that someone wants to talk to younow.”

I furrowed my brow, confused, and took the phone. Walking away, I saw that it was a video call with someone who looked like Haley’s sister.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Eli. This is Natasha, Haley’s older sister.”

“Ah, the Irish twin. Nice to meet you. You two almost could be real twins.”

She smiled, but she didn’t lose that edge of seriousness. “She called me and told me a fair share of what’s been going on.”

“Yep. It’s been…” I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. “It’s been a hell of a day. You’ll be Aunt Natasha soon.”

She smiled and nodded. “Sounds like it. My son will be thrilled to have a cousin. But I’m calling for a little more information before we can stick with congratulations and well wishes.”

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