Page 99 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

I sipped my coffee. “Everything’s fine. I’m calling because I want to get together with you and Mom.”

“Do you want me to come pick you up?”

“No, I don’t want you to do that. Listen to me, Dad. Listen to my words. I want to get together with you two. Nothing more.”

He sighed. “Where at? We’re still in town, so we can meet you anywhere.”

“Under one condition.”

“Name it.”

“What I want from this meeting is to tell you guys what’s been going on in my life. How I met Max. What drew me to him. How I feel about school, and my life, and my future. But I can only do that if I’m talking with people who won’t pass judgment, who won’t jump in during the middle of a sentence, and who understand that they can’t dictate my actions by force.”

“Danika, your mother and I have never once--”

“Please don’t go down this rabbit hole. It’s going to end well for no one. Just agree to the terms. If not for me, then for Mom. Because you know this is killing her.”

He paused. “Yes. It is.”

“All I want is for you to listen to my life and not judge it. That’s all I’m asking you for. It’s not that hard.”

“It is when I want the best for my little girl.”

“That’s the first thing. I’m not a little girl anymore, Dad.”

“No matter how old you get, you’ll always be my little girl. No matter what.”

I sipped my coffee. “So do we have an agreement?”

“Are you still with that man?”

“If you mean Max, yes.”

“Just tell me where you are. I’ll come get you. We can talk in the car, and go anywhere you want.”

I rolled my eyes and threw back the rest of my coffee. I chugged it down, trying to get my mind right as my father kept rattling on in my ear. Something about just needing a drive and some fresh air to screw my head back on straight. How I was falling behind in schoolwork already. Things that only made me shake my head. Did he not listen? Would he ever learn?

Will they ever understand?

In some respects, I felt as if I were wasting my breath. And as I drew in a deep one, I thought back to that pool. The water washing around me as I sank to the bottom after Ashton pushed me in. The first thing to pop into my mind was Max. How sorry I was for putting him in that situation. The second thing that rolled through my mind were my parents, and the feeling of regret that came along with it. I regretted not letting them know about Max. I regretted not filling them in. I regretted dodging my mother’s phone calls and blowing off my father to roam the streets with a man I’d fallen in love with.

I regretted not giving them the chance to see this man as I saw him. Because I assumed the worst of my parents.

But now, I wondered if I had assumed right.

“Dad. Stop.”

“--I mean, your mother made me promise not to ping your phone. But if you’re being held against your will, it’ll be quick and--”

“We’ll meet you for dinner, Dad. Okay?”

His voice stopped. “We?”

I nodded. “Me and Max. Yes.”

He sighed. “Sweetheart, I don’t think--”

“This is your only shot, Dad. Take it or leave it. We’ll meet you at seven o’clock. At the hotel you’re in. Which one are you at again?”

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