doesn’t have
to pay me for anything, and he can be rid of me forever. Does he really want me
gone? I push back on the chair, ready to gag any second. I can’t even speak. I
don’t know what to say beyond telling him to fuck himself and fuck his deal.
He
nods at Geoff. “Get Henry to take her home.” As I stand, my father’s eyes dart
to mine. The twinkle has turned to tears. He shakes his head and speaks in a
way I have never seen. “I just can’t keep letting you break my heart, Lana. If
you want the path to dead in a gutter or infected with diseases they can’t
cure, you’re on the right road. And I won’t watch you do this to yourself. But
if you want to show me you are the girl I have always believed you were, then
take me up on this offer and work harder than I think you can.” He stands and
wraps himself around me.
I’m
going to break. I have never seen my father cry before—ever. My legs feel
like they might buckle and there is a sob, but I can’t seem to reach it. It’s
lodged in my throat, stopping everything including my breath. He lets me go and
I literally watch the emotion wash from his face. “I love you, kid.”
Geoff
pulls me from the room, hugging me to him. He’s whispering things, sweet words
of encouragement. But I don’t want to hear it. I want to get high and let it
go.
We
leave the dining room and enter into the back lobby of the hotel. I almost fall
when I see her, the one wife I have liked so far—Rachel—or as Geoff
calls her, number five.
She
comes running, and I can tell immediately she knows what’s going on. She shakes
her bottle-blonde head and sobs. “I told him it’s too much. It’s too mean. He
gave you no warning.” She pulls back, revealing actual tears dripping down her
perfectly blushed cheeks. She’s five years older than me and has been his wife
for three. But regardless of that, I actually like her. I think of her as more
of a friend and a confidant. She’s the first one to accept the relationship, or
lack there of, that I offered her. She has never tried to be my parent.
I
look down, shaking my head. “It’s fine. I don’t even care. I have an invite for
the summer on a yacht to meet rich men and secure my future that way.”
Her
eyes well. “Everyone knows what you’ve been at, Lana. You have to be more
discreet. The papers are filled with you right now, and that party and the cops
getting called for your violent sex.”
I
shrug past the sting of that last comment. I hate that that’s what the world
thinks happened. I hate that I was violated and no one, not even me, believes I
didn't deserve it. “Maybe I’ll stumble upon the next big thing and win the
competition.”
She
starts to sob, obviously filled with the same amount of confidence in my
capabilities as I am. I can’t take another second of joking and shrugging
things off. I have to be alone. I kiss her cheek. “Try to convince him to give
me a second chance.”
She
nods, wiping her nose and tears. “I will but you know how much he listens. He’s
so stubborn.”
I
can’t be surrounded by people anymore. I push away from her, letting Geoff lead
me out the back door of the restaurant. I didn’t even notice we were going
through back doors both ways.
“Is
the press out front?”
He
glances at me and nods once.
“Wow.
So this whole scandal has become mine?”
Geoff
walks to the car and gets in when Henry gets the door. He’s riding with me? I
am in shit.
Geoff
clasps his hands together and rests them, staring at them. “You brought the
drugs, you supplied the liquor, you own the fake company that bought the
apartments, and the boy in the coma has angry parents. They were going to sue,
but your father is actually an old friend of the family of the other boy. They
convinced the Weavers to agree not to sue so long as you are punished
accordingly.” He shakes his head. “Lana, what were you thinking? The kid is a
minor.”
I
am stunned. Stunned silent and stunned by the
to pay me for anything, and he can be rid of me forever. Does he really want me
gone? I push back on the chair, ready to gag any second. I can’t even speak. I
don’t know what to say beyond telling him to fuck himself and fuck his deal.
He
nods at Geoff. “Get Henry to take her home.” As I stand, my father’s eyes dart
to mine. The twinkle has turned to tears. He shakes his head and speaks in a
way I have never seen. “I just can’t keep letting you break my heart, Lana. If
you want the path to dead in a gutter or infected with diseases they can’t
cure, you’re on the right road. And I won’t watch you do this to yourself. But
if you want to show me you are the girl I have always believed you were, then
take me up on this offer and work harder than I think you can.” He stands and
wraps himself around me.
I’m
going to break. I have never seen my father cry before—ever. My legs feel
like they might buckle and there is a sob, but I can’t seem to reach it. It’s
lodged in my throat, stopping everything including my breath. He lets me go and
I literally watch the emotion wash from his face. “I love you, kid.”
Geoff
pulls me from the room, hugging me to him. He’s whispering things, sweet words
of encouragement. But I don’t want to hear it. I want to get high and let it
go.
We
leave the dining room and enter into the back lobby of the hotel. I almost fall
when I see her, the one wife I have liked so far—Rachel—or as Geoff
calls her, number five.
She
comes running, and I can tell immediately she knows what’s going on. She shakes
her bottle-blonde head and sobs. “I told him it’s too much. It’s too mean. He
gave you no warning.” She pulls back, revealing actual tears dripping down her
perfectly blushed cheeks. She’s five years older than me and has been his wife
for three. But regardless of that, I actually like her. I think of her as more
of a friend and a confidant. She’s the first one to accept the relationship, or
lack there of, that I offered her. She has never tried to be my parent.
I
look down, shaking my head. “It’s fine. I don’t even care. I have an invite for
the summer on a yacht to meet rich men and secure my future that way.”
Her
eyes well. “Everyone knows what you’ve been at, Lana. You have to be more
discreet. The papers are filled with you right now, and that party and the cops
getting called for your violent sex.”
I
shrug past the sting of that last comment. I hate that that’s what the world
thinks happened. I hate that I was violated and no one, not even me, believes I
didn't deserve it. “Maybe I’ll stumble upon the next big thing and win the
competition.”
She
starts to sob, obviously filled with the same amount of confidence in my
capabilities as I am. I can’t take another second of joking and shrugging
things off. I have to be alone. I kiss her cheek. “Try to convince him to give
me a second chance.”
She
nods, wiping her nose and tears. “I will but you know how much he listens. He’s
so stubborn.”
I
can’t be surrounded by people anymore. I push away from her, letting Geoff lead
me out the back door of the restaurant. I didn’t even notice we were going
through back doors both ways.
“Is
the press out front?”
He
glances at me and nods once.
“Wow.
So this whole scandal has become mine?”
Geoff
walks to the car and gets in when Henry gets the door. He’s riding with me? I
am in shit.
Geoff
clasps his hands together and rests them, staring at them. “You brought the
drugs, you supplied the liquor, you own the fake company that bought the
apartments, and the boy in the coma has angry parents. They were going to sue,
but your father is actually an old friend of the family of the other boy. They
convinced the Weavers to agree not to sue so long as you are punished
accordingly.” He shakes his head. “Lana, what were you thinking? The kid is a
minor.”
I
am stunned. Stunned silent and stunned by the
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