Page 55 of Can't Take My Eyes Off You

‘William Alexander!’ Dad scolds me.

Man, I didn’t expect to be this pissed to be here, but I am. I knew I’d be standing up for myself today, for the first time ever, so I expected to be angry. But hearing the name Alexander as Dad middle-names me for harassing my dickhead brother isn’t helping.

Do what you came to do and get the hell out, Will. Keep. Your. Cool. You can only control your reaction. Not theirs.

‘That rehab didn’t have a manners class?’ Mike asks.

‘It was more morals, less manners. Morals means you have a fucking soul, by the way.’

Mom rolls her eyes.

‘It did teach me thou shalt not kill,’ I continue. ‘And if I were you, I’d shut the fuck up before you force me to choose whether that sin is worth it or not…’

Cool.It.Will.

‘Fuuuuuuuck…’ Mike groans. ‘Now he thinks he’s better than us.’

Dad lets out an exhausted sigh, a hand to his forehead. ‘My God, it’s like you two never left middle school! Can we haveoneconversation where you act like adults and where Berkley doesn’t come up?’ he asks, glancing between us but settling on me. ‘She’s a piece of your past you need to leave behind.’

I shake my head. ‘I will never leave that girl behind.Ever. And how do you three feel no remorse? You helped ruin our relationship.’

‘Doesn’t affect us now, does it?’ Dad says as if I should see the light and ignore her too because she’s but a bumpkin in the Adler kingdom.

‘It affectedme.’ I touch my chest where my heart used to be as I stand from the couch. ‘You’ve been preaching this same ridiculous “you’re too good for her” bullshit since I was a teenager, and I’m not taking it for another second,’ I say, my voice raised. I’ve never yelled at my father before – but it feels good.

‘I’m nearly twenty-six years old, and the last three years I’ve discovered what never meeting her might have been like and I never want to know what that’s like again. Losing Berkley ruined me! I can only hope I’ve still got a chance because she makes me a better person. And with that being said, I’ve concluded that I’d rather give up being an Adler than lose her forever.’

‘Pfft.’ Mike sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong, as usual. ‘Pr-ettysure you’ve already lost her, dude,’ he says with an arrogant laugh. ‘She dumped you and moved on to a professional soccer player. Alex Donovan, at that. He-he, that guy hates you so I doubt you have a fighting chance now.’

‘I’mthisclose to murdering you,’ I say, pinching my fingers together closely.

‘William!’ Dad says, frustration in his voice, approaching me with his hands out as if he’s going to comfort me. We all know that won’t happen.

‘You don’t mean that,’ he says, his voice low, now stopping in front of me. ‘Giving up being an Adler would also mean giving up your inheritance and trust.’

Notonemention of giving up the three of them. Maybe they think they’re excluded from this deal. Or more likely they just don’t care.

‘Take it. I’m here to ask to be cut off.’

I’ve done the work to build my accounts over the last three years. I was taking outside job after outside job. If someone wanted my presence for their brand, as long as it wasn’t offensive, I did it. I’ve built up the same amount of money I had in my trust to begin with. I’ve also done my research. Yes, I spent a lot of time drunk over the years, but I’m not acompletemoron unless it comes to love. When I started all this, I hired a financial guy who’s the best in the city. Lloyd Marino. A guy known for dealing with large amounts of money and not ending up in the slammer.

He’s read through the trust fund details extensively; they can’t take back the money already given to me. They broke it into two payouts rather than giving it to us all at once, so if we blew through it like coked-up rock stars, they could hold back on the next payment until they had us under control. That next payout is my twenty-sixth birthday in three weeks. But I don’t want it. Since the day I was born, I’ve been under their control, and today, I want out. Out of my trust. Out of the will.Out of my family.

‘Ah.’ Dad laughs. ‘Hewantsto be cut off,’ he tells my mom obnoxiously.

‘Do you have any idea how that will make uslook?’ Mom asks, concerned only with their reputation.

‘He hasnoidea how lucky he is to evenbehere right now. That’syourdoing!’ Dad barks at Mom.

She furrows her brow, her lips pinched together uncomfortably as she shakes her head.

‘What the hell does that mean?’ I ask.

The two of them are now in the middle of some weird stare-down. If we were in the old west and it was sundown, I’d probably look away.

‘On second thought, I don’t care what that meant. Just know, I’ll start leaking info to the press if you want to fight my request. What should I start with?’ I ask Mom, glancing at my father, kind of enjoying the panic on their faces. I rub the scruff growing on my face like I’m deep in thought as I await their answer.

My mother’s eyes go wide. The look of horror that they’ve raised a son who might go against them.

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