Page 20 of Campus Crush
TWELVE
If I could’ve faked a head injury to get out of going home for the weekend, I would’ve. But the drive from Dunridge to Bozeman was only four hours, and my mom had already ferreted the truth out of me that I was completely free this weekend.
I was dreading going back.
Avoiding my home over the summers had become a skill of mine. In high school, I filled the time working construction jobs whenever I could. Going off to college had been easier because I could always find excuses to stay in Dunridge and work in nearby Missoula instead of going home.
But as much as I loathed being under the oppressive weight of my father’s attention, I still hadn’t managed to find the courage to stand up to him. And saying no to my mom wasn’t an option.
I’d always thought math was my only weak point, but I had to admit my father was my other.
He never failed to remind me that everything he didwas for me—so I could have the best possible future. But did he have to be such a dick about it? The future he was building wasn’t a future I wanted, but my opinion had never mattered.
Over the last two weeks working with Abby, I’d felt my confidence lift back up, but the closer I got to my parents’ house, the more that confidence was replaced with dread.
Keep the peace.
That had become my mantra for any interaction with my father. I never knew what would tip him over the edge, and while he wasn’t physically abusive, his mood swings were something I wanted to avoid at all costs—for my mother’s sake as much as mine.
The door had barely shut behind me when my father walked out of his office. He looked down at his watch and then back at me. “Was traffic bad?”
Irritation fluttered along my spine, but I kept my face neutral. “Not too bad.”
“Hmm. Thought you’d be here sooner.”
Before I could say anything, my mom popped around the corner, drying her hands on a dish towel. “Foster, honey, come have a seat. You’re just in time for lunch.”
Her smile stretched too wide to be real, her eyes a silent warning that I was all too familiar with—just play along.
I dropped my bag by the stairs and followed them into the kitchen, instinctively taking the stool farthest from my dad. His laptop sat open at the counter, filled with spreadsheets and blueprints, as if he couldn’t bear to spend five minutes unplugged from his job as a real estate developer—even on a Saturday.
“I have some good news,” he said, tapping the counter with the edge of his phone. He loved delivering announcements like they were blessings I should be grateful for.
“You know that Missoula project I’ve been handling?” he went on.
I nodded cautiously.
“Well, it’s going so well we were able to get another contract there. So, I bought an office space downtown—right in the heart of Missoula. I’ll be closing on it in a few weeks. Pretty soon The Kane Group will be a household name.”
The Kane Group was the real estate development firm my dad had founded in Bozeman before I was born. Most days I was pretty confident he loved his business more than he loved me or my mom.
His grin was self-satisfied, like he was waiting for applause.
“But you live here… Who’s going to run the Missoula office?” I asked, even though I already suspected I wouldn’t like the answer.
“Me, of course. Like I’d leave the setup of a new branch of my business to anyone else. I also bought a condo near the office building. I’ll be splitting time between here and Missoula until you graduate and can take over operations.” His tone shifted subtly—less suggestion, more command. “It’ll give you a head start.”
A head start on a life I didn’t want.
My fingers curled tightly around the glass of water my mom had set in front of me when I sat down, but the chill of the glass did nothing to cool the fire of frustration growing inside me.
Across the kitchen, she kept her back to us, wiping down the already clean counters. She hated these conversations as much as I did. She just wasn’t allowed to say so.
Neither could I because it would just start an argument that I would lose and that I didn’t have the energy for.
“That’s…great,” I said, voice even. Flat.
His jaw clenched and his eyes flashed. “You know, most kids would be grateful that their parents are setting up a legacy for them. I expect a little more enthusiasm when we start working on the builds together.”
