Page 141 of Play Pretend

Words wouldn’t form. Thoughts wouldn’t form. All I could do was stare, watch as his face shifted from annoyance, to anger, to pure fury.

“We flew all this way just to be made fools of,” he continued. Ronan was vibrating at my side. I held my breath, waiting for him to explode. “You’ve lied and lied and lied—I told you this place was no good for you. I told you you’d never make it here.”

“She has?—”

“If she had made it, she wouldn’t fucking lie!” Dad snapped, interrupting Ronan. “It’s all you’ve ever done—take the easy way out. You left Daniel because it was easier than working through your problems. You left Ohio because it was easier than facing the mess you made by leaving him. All you’ve ever done is leave?—”

“Didn’t you leave first?” Ronan asked, and silence fell on the table. “Didn’t you walk out first? Maybe she learned it from you.”

I sank into my chair, not because I was embarrassed or because I wanted him to stop talking, but because the tension at the table was enough to suffocate me. Everything he’d said was true—some of it words I’d put in my journal I knew he’d read.

“I won’t listen to some—to some guy I don’t even know tell me what I should or shouldn’t feel toward my own daughter,” Dad seethed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know enough,” Ronan spat.

Dad scoffed, throwing his napkin on the table. “We’ve allowed yourboyfriendto speak to us the way he has—are you even the sheriff, or did you lie about that, too?” His gaze shifted back to me. “You haven’t changed, Willow. You’re the same stupid little girl you’ve always been. You think that just because you moved here, because you pretend to be someone else, it changes who you are? It doesn’t.

“Vanessa would never have done this,” Dad continued. “She’s never left us; she’s always done what we suggested to her. But, most of all, she’sneverlied to us.”

Ronan laughed bitterly. “No? So you know about her sham of a marriage?”

Vanessa’s smirk froze. Dad turned sharply to her, eyes narrowing. For the first time all night, she looked uncertain. And if looks could kill, Ronan would be dead right now.

I grabbed his hand, and he laced our fingers together, giving me the silent support I needed in that moment.

“What’s he talking about?” Lydia asked, her voice high-pitched and grating.

“Nothing,” Vanessa laughed dismissively. “He’s just trying to shift the focus from them andtheirlies to me. And it’s—it’s totally untrue and uncalled for. I haven’t done anything. She’s the liar here.”

Tears flowed from my eyes now. I was sure my makeup was smudged, leaving black streaks down my cheeks, but my dad didn’t care. He just continued.

“You’re seriously going to sit there and pretend like?—”

“This isn’t about Vanessa,” Lydia snapped.

“I’ve let you play this game long enough,” Dad said. “You need to come home immediately. It’s clear you can’t make the right decisions on your own.”

“She’s not going anywhere,” Ronan snarled. “She wants to live here, so this is where she’ll stay.”

Dad pushed his chair away from the table and got to his feet. Ronan followed suit, towering over him—over everyone. His chest rose and fell with his uneven, angry breaths.

The last thing that needed to happen was a fight. Ronan could lose his job, and he’d definitely put my dad in the hospital with one punch.

My knees shook as I got to my feet, putting my body between them.

“I’m done,” I said. My hand sliced through the air as hot tears continued falling from my eyes. “I’m done! Youdon’tknow me if you think I’d ever go back home with you. You’re—you’re impossible! I don’t want anything to do with you. Not now, not ever! You’re—you’re?—”

A raw sob pushed up my throat. I could feel everyone in the restaurant staring at me—at us. But all I could focus on was the way my father was staring at me. There was something burning in his eyes, something that made another sob escape.

It was fiery—it washatred.

He hated me.

At least in that moment, he did. And I couldn’t bear it.

I didn’t want his approval anymore. I didn’t want anything from him anymore. That single look, that fleeting expression on his face, was enough to pull me out of it. He wasnothingto me. He was no one.

I turned, grabbing my purse and dodging Ronan’s large body as I headed toward the door. I heard his voice rise behind me, then Lydia let out an incoherent, drunk shriek, but I wasn’t listening.

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