Page 182 of Debts and Desires
“I’mnothin’like you.”
“But you are. Deep down you are.” He laughed. “I watched you chase her around that godforsaken house. It felt incredible havin’ that power, didn’t it?”
Fucking creep. Howdarehe watch? How dare helookat what was mine?
“Get out,” I snarled. He raised his hands in mock surrender.
“Fine. I’m goin’.” He turned to leave, staggering. Was he drunk? Not surprising. He stopped, eyes meeting mine. “One more thing. Apparently, you have a half-sister,” he added. “I was told she’s just theprettiestlittle girl. Just turned legal and looks just like your whore of a mother. I wonder if she acts like her, too.”
“Get. The fuck. Out.” I threw the wrench in my hand, my father moving just enough that it nearly had him. He gave a smirk and walked out, leaving me standing there, my chest heaving. I was glad when the fucker drove off, afraid that I would’ve gone to jail before Emmy returned.
Cursing to myself for not trusting her, I checked my phone again, ready to call her and see where she was. A pang of guilt hit me when I saw that she’d texted me five minutes ago, when I was in the middle of trying not to catch a felony charge.
Buttercup
On my way.
Sorry. I lost track of time, we were talking.
Carter
It’s ok. Be safe, baby.
I love you.
Buttercup
I love you, too.
She also shared her location with me. I looked at where she was; the screen telling me she was about an hour out. I felt like such a dick for not trusting her.
Your mama’s dead.
Well, missing. Officially declared.
Fuck.
I wondered what she was like, my mama. I only remembered her as the young girl desperately trying to get away from my dad.
I wondered what happened, why she went missing?
You have a half-sister.
What was my sister like? Would she like me? Would she even know I existed? A surge of the need to protect washed over me after remembering the rest of what Jed said. He wouldn’t really go after her. Would he?
He would.
What the fuck was I supposed to do now? Would it be better for me to pretend she didn’t exist, keep my distance, and live my life without thinking about her? I’d never be able to do that. And that right there wasexactlywhat I knew my father was trying to do. For all I knew, he could be lying. I started looking into it.
I lost track of time being consumed by my thoughts and search that I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone until Emmy was standing in the open bay door. I looked up, immediately knowing something wasoff.I stood. She looked nervous and as if she’d been crying.
“Sorry. Mia and I were talking and then packing took a while. There’s still a bunch there we’d have to get, but I got most of it.” She paused, looking away. “There’s, uh… when we unpack, um…” she sighed. “I’ve been thinking the whole way here. And there’s…” She looked scared all of a sudden and I wondered why. Had something else happened? I stiffened, realizing it probably had something to do with my father and I swore… She stared at me, thinking, looking terrified. I was going to rip that son of a bitch to pieces.
Emmy swallowed, eyes wide, and I realized I was staring her down like I was going to tear intoherinstead. I schooled my face and cleared my throat, looking at her feet instead.
“What is it?” I began imagining pummeling my dad’s face in until he bled out. She was paler now, wringing her hands together, avoiding my eyes.
She changed her mind.
