Page 150 of Worthy

Melanie sucks her lips between her teeth, then shakes her head, making no secret of how ridiculous she thinks I’m being. “Are you deaf?” she asks, looking back at me. “Did you choose to ignore the part where I mentioned our parents?”

“You’re looking for excuses.”

“No, I’m not. These are real problems to think long and hard about before acting recklessly. The popular kids will make you an outcast. Society may have come a long way in the last fifty years, but if you think we’re so damn progressive in our society that you’ll fit right in with the jocks when you come out of the closet, then you’re truly naive. This is high school, for fuck’s sake.”

“Shut up!”

“And what about me? Have you ever stopped to think about anyone else other than yourself? Do you think I want Dad to find out what we did? He already looks at me like I’m a huge-ass disappointment to him. I fucked his stepdaughter.Christ!”She spins around, kicking a desk chair out of the way. Then her angry eyes return, causing tears to prick the backs of mine. “This isn’t just about you, Jessica! It was a mistake. I should never have touched you. Dammit!”

She storms out, slamming the door shut behind her.

My tears finally fall, but I don’t bother to wipe them away. What’s the fucking point? I’m destined to be trapped forever, pretending to be something I’m not.

It sure as shit hurts to fall apart behind closed doors.

Chapter eight

Melanie

Jessica pokes at her food, not making eye contact with anyone at the dinner table. The atmosphere is tense.

Dad clears his throat. “Are you not hungry, sweetheart?”

A quick shake of her head.

His eyes skate to mine, but I avert my gaze. “How was school?”

I look up again, watching his tired face. Dad has aged a lot since our abduction. He no longer looks at me like an alien. Now he looks at me like I’m an alien that he’s scared will evaporate in the wind. “It was good.”

“Yeah?”

“Sure.”

Jessica’s mom picks up her wine glass and swirls the liquid. She’s two seconds away from downing it in one go.

“I think I’m bi,” Jessica blurts.

My dad chokes on his beer as the wine glass in Jessica’s mom’s hand starts to tremble.

Jessica’s defiant eyes hold mine. “I’m sorry if that ruins your perfect image of me. What can I say?” She cuts her glare to her mom. “I fell short of the daughter you wanted me to be.”

Squeezing the fork in my hand, I allow it to anchor me while she scoots her chair back. And then, when she’s gone, it’s just me and the destruction she left behind.

My father looks uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck. “Mel, uh, did you… did you know about this?”

I chance a look at Jessica’s mom, who stares at her empty plate like she wants the ground to swallow her up.

“No,” I lie.

For once, I don’t want their disappointment directed at me. Maybe that makes me a bad person, but I’m so damn tired of being the black sheep of the family.

“It’s a phase, right?” my dad’s wife asks him, and he offers her a weak smile that turns my stomach.

“I’m sure it is.”

I can’t fucking stand this. Sliding my chair back, I reach for my phone on the table. “I’ll be in my room.”

Neither of them asks me to stay. I think they’re secretly relieved to be left alone. I don’t blame them after Jessica threw that bomb at them.

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