Page 145 of Promise Me Nothing
He knows exactly who she is.
My father is a fucking shark. He wouldn’t have come here and made a comment like that without having done his own research. Hell, his report on Hannah is probably more thorough than the one currently sitting in my office.
He just shakes his head. “You know, Wyatt, this whole thing is quite a little scandal. And I’m certain that the best way to deal with it is to…” he pauses. Smiles at me. “… deal with the trash?”
“Shut yourfuckingmouth,” I bite out.
He grins at me, something insidious weaving its way through his expression.
“Don’t tell me you actually care about her. Hannah, right? Is she the one who has been spending time in your bed recently?” He tsks at me, a repetitive little sound that echoes in the small space. “She’s not like the other girls you’ve fucked, though I’m assuming her cunt was nice and tight.”
In a flash, I’m across the room, faster than I even realize it’s happening, my fist connecting with his face.
My father has done and said some truly horrible things throughout the years. Things that have ruined the lives of people I went to school with, that have put my mother in embarrassing positions. He’s chalked my brother up as a lost cause and barely even talks to Ivy. And that doesn’t even include the things he’s said and done to me.
But this.
This is the time that I can’t hold back.
Because of Hannah.
I’m a little surprised at my own aggression, my own baser instinct to protect her from the sinister nature in Calvin’s bones.
He lays on the ground on his side, spits blood out onto the floor, and I shake out my hand.
I might have wanted to deck him for decades, but I never realized it would fuck with my own fist so much.
Assessing the situation, I know instinctively it was still worth it.
“Don’t youevertalk about Hannah like that, you worthless piece of horseshit,” I say as I stand over him.
He spits out another bit of blood, then raises himself back up to standing. His hand comes up to touch at the spot where I’ve split his lip.
“Quite the punch you’ve learned to pack in that fist, son,” he says.
“Say one more thing about Hannah, and I won’t hesitate to level you again.”
“Oh, come on now. Don’t think for a second that your threats mean anything to me.”
My nostrils flare.
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this type of rage before. Just the absolute, sheer arrogance in the way he talks. As if what he says is a decree that no one is allowed to confront.
Well, that’s not the type of life I’ve signed up for.
“I don’t know if you’ve picked up on this or not, but I’m done heeling at the sound of your voice. I’m not a dog you can command. I don’t need your money or your connections, and I definitely don’t plan to help you in your endless endeavor to get more.”
My father unbuttons his jacket, slowly slides it from his shoulders, then holds it over an arm while he dusts off the bit of dirt he collected while he was on the floor, not looking at me as he continues to speak.
“I haven’t said much while you’ve been gallivanting off in San Francisco, and working for your friend’s little app development startup. But you’re working on something different, now. Something important.” Then he glances up at me. “Right?”
I furrow my brow, not sure where he’s going with this.
“I know you don’t need my money and connections. That you can work on this little Elite X project with Otto and Lucas without any help from me.”
And then he steps forward, standing just a foot, maybe two, away from me, his eyes menacing.
“But can you do it…againstme.”
