Read Online Fire and Rain, Season 2, Episode 5 (Rising Storm) by R.K. Lilley - Free Book Online

getting louder by the day.
    What if you’ve always been wrong about Daddy?
    She shook off the thought because if she was wrong, and if everyone was telling the truth about her father, it meant he was a monster and that she was one for defending him.
    So she tried her best to quiet that voice and to cling to the hope that everyone else was wrong.
    Because the fact was, Hector was all she had.
     
    * * * *
     
    Mallory left her house wondering if she’d ever be able to make herself go back now that her dad was home.
    Things had gotten so ugly so fast, but that always seemed to be the case with Hector.
    And Dakota. She’d been turning into a downright pleasant person for a time there, but the second their father had come back, she’d become his vicious little puppet again.
    That fact disgusted Mallory as much as it baffled her. How could Dakota not see him for what he was? How was she that good at lying to herself?
    Mallory would never understand and frankly didn’t want to. In fact, she didn’t care if she ever saw her sister again.
    What she needed was to see Luis. He’d make her feel better. He always did.
    “What’s wrong?” her boyfriend asked as soon as he opened the door.
    She grimaced. “I don’t ever want to go home again. Can I come live here?” She was only half joking.
    He grinned. “Works for me. My sister would flip, but I could just sneak you in the window.”
    There it was. Already he’d teased a small smile out of her.
    “Yeah, because that went so well the last time.” They both smiled. “In the meantime, what should we do? I can’t go home right now.”
    “Hit up Cuppa Joe downtown? We could walk around. Or whatever you want.”
    “That sounds good.”
    They grabbed coffee and muffins from his sister’s coffee shop, chatting with Marisol for a time.
    Mallory just picked at her muffin, despite the fact that usually these were her favorite. “Not hungry?” Luis asked, pulling her attention from the growing pile of crumbs.
    “Not really.” She sighed.
    “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, his voice hesitant.
    For a minute Mallory considered lying to him, but then decided on the truth. “It’s the same thing it always is when my dad is here. Everything in my family goes to shit. Dad is the same. He hasn’t changed a bit, in fact he might be worse, and Dakota has taken on her other, eviler personality. I guess the worst part is that I feel so helpless, when for a while things were starting to seem like they were going to get better. Like my mom was going to get to move on with her life.” Mallory folded her napkin over and over, bitterness washing through her. “I wish Dad had never come back. I wish that more than anything.”
    “I’m sorry,” Luis said simply. “You and I will just have to spend all of our time together until he leaves again.”
    She smiled despite herself.
    After finishing their coffee, they took a stroll around town square. When they passed by the Storm Oak, Mallory stopped.
    “What is it?” Luis asked.
    “Lacey.” Mallory’s gaze collided with her ex-best friend’s and for a moment they all stood motionless—waiting for the other shoe to drop.
    Lacey recovered first, smiling at Mallory and handing her a piece of paper. She did the same to Luis.
    Mallory fought the urge to turn away. There was no point in dissing Lacey publicly.  Although Luis seemed to be perfectly willing to do so. His jaw tightened and he could barely look at her. Mallory forced herself to look Lacey in the eye.
    Lacey sucked in a breath. “I’m raising money for a memorial bench for Jacob. There’s no pressure, but if you want to help, there’s a list of places where you can donate.” She said the words so fast that Mallory had to concentrate to make sense of them.
    “A bench for your brother?” She shot a sideways glance at Luis. At least he wasn’t glaring at Lacey any more.  “That’s a nice thing to do, Lacey.”  She shifted awkwardly.
    “Thanks. I just