Page 118 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

A weight I didn’t realize was on my shoulders lifts off, and I nod. “Okay.”

“Second,” he says, slumping forward in his seat and folding his hands in front of him on the table. “I just want to see you, kid. That’s it. You don’t have to be thrilled about it. You don’t have to fake a smile and play catch with me in the yard. I just want to see you from time to time, maybe talk on the phone once a week or something. Just … connection.”

Defensiveness flares up inside of me. “I wasn’t the one who—”

“I left,” he says, cutting me off. “I left, and I shouldn’t have. I know that, and I’ve known it for years. I don’t know if you know this about me, but I tend to be very bullheaded. Your mom thinks you may have gotten that from my side of the family.”

I hear a feminine chuckle come from the hallway and can’t help but smile.

“As the parent, it’s my fault that we don’t have a close relationship. It’s my fault, Caleb, and I’m sorry if I ever made it feel like it was your fault. I’m sorry if I ever made you think I didn’t want to be around you or didn’t care about you. Because I do. More than I can ever say.”

He swallows down some emotion and clears his throat.

“But from this point on, I want to be more involved in your life. Like I said, you don’t have to be thrilled about it, but I want to be there. I can pay for you to go to a college closer to where I’m at, maybe? Or … or … my friend has a Mixed Martial Arts studio a fifteen-minute drive from my house, and I’ve told him all about you. If you want a summer job, you’ve got one. You could stay with me for a few weeks and make some money and—”

“Whoa.”

I wave a hand to stop him. Mostly because I need a minute to process.

For the last few years, I’ve hated my dad.

I’ve despised him because I thought he despised me.

I pushed him away because I thought he was pushing me away.

I denied how much I loved him because I didn’t want to be hurt.

Now, he is saying everything I’ve always imagined he would one day say to me, even if only in the deepest, darkest place in my heart. He is apologizing and righting all of our wrongs, and I need a second to get my bearings again.

I need a minute to take a breath and figure out how to proceed.

“It’s a lot to take in all at once,” he says, chuckling to himself. “I’m sorry. I’ve had this speech planned for a while. It’s actually what I imagined saying to you last weekend, but as you know … that didn’t exactly go to plan.”

“Not quite.”

“Take all the time you need to decide,” he adds. “There is no rush. I just wanted you to know that, more than anything, you’re my son, and I love you. I’ll be here for you however you need. However you want. Just say the word.”

Suddenly, there is something stuck in my throat. I swallow it down just as soft sobs come from the hallway.

Dad lowers his voice. “That’s what she gets for eavesdropping.”

“I heard that,” Mom says through the wall.

Dad grins, and I realize all at once that my parents are friends. Or, at least, not enemies.

I’d felt so at odds with my dad that I failed to see that he and my mom are no longer at war with one another. After everything they’ve been through, I’m sure they aren’t best friends, but they are friendly.

I can get behind that.

I’ve spent the last two years mourning the family I lost instead of embracing the family I have, and that is all my fault.

That is two years of memories and time lost.

And I don’t want to lose anymore.

“I’m sorry, too,” I say, hating how I still choke on the word. “For everything. All of it. I’m sorry, and I want … well, I don’t know what I want exactly, but I want to figure out what I want.”

“That’s all I want, too,” Dad says, sighing with obvious relief. “We can talk about all of the details later. It doesn’t all have to be done tonight.”

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