He nods. “Y-yeah, she is.”
“I hated her to start with. She had everything I wanted. You.” I slump down in my chair, not really wanting to admit these things to him but at the same time knowing that we need to get all of this out. “I can’t even put into words how much I missed you when you left. And then I see pictures of you playing happy family with Lisa and Ruby. It hurt, Dad. It hurt so fucking bad.”
“When I came here last year, it was with the intention of hurting her. Of hurting you. Showing you that leaving me behind and starting over with a new family wasn’t going to be that easy. Only... she wasn’t what I was expecting and when I got her at her weakest, she spoke to me in a way no one had before. She affected me like no other and I freaked and—”
“Left,” he interrupts, nodding as if he’s putting the missing pieces of a puzzle together in his head. “It was you.”
“W-what was me?” I ask, my brows drawing together.
“After you left, Ruby, she... she kind of fell apart. She... changed. We thought it was just a teenage girl thing. She was acting out, getting drunk—shit, I probably shouldn’t be telling you this.”
“No, no go on,” I say with a smirk.
“Jesus, Ash. What do you want me to say here? She’s my stepdaughter. I love her almost as much as I do you.”
“Say whatever you like, we both know that if I don’t like it then I’ll just ignore it.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about.”
He blows out a long breath and scrubs his hand down his face. “Lisa is going to kill me for this,” he mutters to himself. “Is it serious?”
“Uh...” I hesitate because how am I actually supposed to give him a serious answer. We’ve had a couple of angry, emotional moments together. I doubt they could be classed as serious in anyone’s books.
“Is how you feel about her serious?”
I rub at my jaw wishing I was anywhere but here and having this hellish conversation with a man I feel like I don’t know anymore.
“I-I think so. This is all new to me, but I can tell you that I feel differently about her then I do any other girls I’ve fu—” I cut myself off when his fists curl on top of the desk. “Spent time with.”
“I can’t stop you doing whatever it is you want to do. I’m not stupid enough to even try. But I need you to promise me something.”
“Shoot.”
“Go big or go home, Ash. You either want her and you’re serious, in which case you need to prove yourself to her, to me—to us. Or... you walk away now before you cause any more damage, and you allow her to get on with her life while you restart yours. I want you both to be happy and I trust both of you enough to be able to choose the right thing for yourselves. But if you go after her and you hurt her, well... I might not be so nice after that. I want you here, Ash, but you’re eighteen soon...” He trails off, leaving his warning about being kicked out of his house hanging in the air between us if I do anything to fuck this up or hurt Ruby.
“I get it, Dad.”
“Good, because I’m serious. I want you here more than anything. I want everyone I love around me. But if you hurt either Lisa or Ruby in their own house, I’m not going to have a choice.”
“I know. I’ll do the right thing.” I hope. There’s got to be a first time for everything, right?
“We done?” I ask, pushing to the edge of the seat. We’ve just talked more than we have in years and I’m more than ready to go and hide on my own in silence once more.
“Yeah.” I’m at the door before he speaks again. “I’ll talk to Lisa about this but maybe don’t repeat exactly what I said to you.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “Sure thing.” I can just imagine how his go big or go home statement would sound to Ruby’s mom.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“I want to trust you, Ash. Please, don’t let me down.”
I nod, unable to make any promises. The one thing I seem to be good at is letting people down and fucking things up.
I pause at my door when I get there. I desperately want to keep going and knock on her door to see if she’ll even talk to me, but I don’t.
There’s going to be plenty of time to talk. I owe her a little space after everything.
I might not have made any promises out loud to Dad, but I fully intend on at least trying because she deserves it. She did everything she could for me when I was at my lowest, the least I can do is what she asks of me.
For now, at least.
“Ashton Fury, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Principal Hartmann says after introducing himself and inviting me into his office.
I might have only walked through the admin part of Rosewood High but already the differences to my old school are glaringly obvious. For a start, the staff I’ve seen look like they actually want to be here, the buildings don’t look like they’re about to crumble to the ground and the students look... happy. It’s weird.
“All good, I hope,” I reply, dropping down into the chair in front of his desk and shoving my hands into the pockets of my hoodie.
“If we’re talking about on the field then yes, in the classroom... not so much.”
“Huh, I’m surprised the teachers noticed,” I mutter, looking around his office before my eyes land on the photograph of his family sitting on his desk. My old principal didn’t dare do something like that for fear one of his students would go after his kids. It just proves that this really isn’t Seattle.
“Your GPA leaves something to the imagination, young man. If you think you’re going to come in here and wow us with your football skills and we’ll ignore your academic progress, then you’ve got another thing coming.”
I nod, knowing that his words are right.
“I’ve spoken to Coach and he’s more than willing to let you attend his conditioning sessions starting this afternoon if you’re up for it, but getting a place on his team is going to require dedication and an improvement in your grades.”
“You got it.”
“Okay,” he says, studying me, probably wondering why I’m making this so easy for him. It makes me wonder exactly what he has heard about me. I might not have been the best student in the past but I was far from the worst.
“I’ve got your schedule here, there is some flexibility should you need—”
“I’ll be great, thanks.” I lean forward and tug it from his fingers. My past performance might lead people to think I’m not capable of achieving anything, but that’s far from the truth. I’m not stupid, just bored.
I run my eyes over the piece of paper, spotting all the usual subjects and nothing I can’t cope with.
“Okay, so... do you have any questions for me?”
“Nope. Just point me in the direction of...” I glance back to the schedule to see how my week is starting. “Chemistry, and I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Actually, I’ve arranged for someone to give you the grand tour.”
“Great.” I just about manage to hold in my groan. I really don’t need someone to hold my hand, I’m sure I can navigate my way around this place without too much effort.