“It’s not an idle threat, she’s done it before. Once she threw a paintball bomb in there and covered everything in paint. Best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had.” He wraps his arm around me and pulls me into him.
“That was nothing, my boy, two months ago, I threw a couple stink bombs in there. It took nearly a week before he could go in there without retching.” She laughs a melodious sound and I can’t help but smile.
“Yes, my wife, the prankster.” A man follows the voice, he has caramel skin, with black hair and dark eyes. He must be at least six one. He looks fit, but I don’t get the impression that he’s obsessed with the gym.
“Hey, dad, living in the office again,” Tuck says with a grin, and his dad returns it full force.
“There he is, it’s been too long, my boy. You know we need to see you at least once a month, or your mother turns into a monster.” He grimaces and she laughs… hard.
“Dad, this is Luna. Tiny One, this is my dad, Ben.” He squeezes me a little tighter and his father stares at me.
“Hello, Luna.” He glances at his wife and she shakes her head slightly before he turns around and walks out.
What the fuck was that about?
“I’ll be right back,” Tuck says as he stares after his dad, and his mom just stands there.
Clearly, I don’t get his approval, but what did I do wrong?
“It isn’t you, Luna, he was looking forward to meeting you. It’s just… Ben wasn’t a welcomed addition to our family, but I’m stubborn and I basically told them to screw themselves. They eventually came around, but he’s always felt like an outsider,” she sighs, before taking Tuck’s seat. “He wants our boy to be happy, but he knows the cost of that being able to happen. You’ve found yourself right in the middle of a shit show and he doesn’t want anymore issues to rise up for Tucker. Seeing you tucked into his side… I think it just made him realize that you could be more than a passing fling.” She pats my knee but her words aren’t making me feel any better. Her mouth is turned down at the corners and her eyes are surrounded by lines that weren’t there before. She looks so… worried, but why?
I can’t tell them that I plan to stick around, but I also can’t promise to turn around and disappear. I am so far down the rabbit hole, I don’t think any amount of climbing back up will get me back to the entrance. Here’s hoping I have better luck than Alice.
“I really don’t think it’s like that between us, and I don’t want to cause your husband any distress. I can go,” I say with a weak smile, but she shakes her head.
“No, it will be okay. He just needs to calm down and realize we can’t protect Tucker from everything, it will be okay.”
Her words feel hollow, I find it hard to believe that she even believes them herself.
Harsh Truths
Tucker
“Dad, seriously? What is going on?” Way to go at making me into a liar. You’re supposed to be the nice one.
“You were holding her, T, like she’s precious to you. And you can deny it, but I know what I saw. It’s the same way I hold your mom. Like I would walk through fire just to be with her, and I want that for you but…” He’s pacing and rubbing at his chest.
Precious? I was not holding Tiny One like she was precious, I don’t do precious. Unless it’s Belle, but there’s no point arguing with him.
Maybe he’s right.
No, I can’t let him get in my head. Tiny… Luna isn’t precious, I don’t think. Ahhh, shit!
“See, I know you, T. You may think you’re a closed book, but you’ve been with us since you were six months old, I know the signs. You were never like that with Rachel.” He has kind eyes, but even the mention of her name has my blood heating up in my veins. Manipulative bitch!!!
“She’s a nice girl, dad. You’ll like her if you give her a chance.”
“I know I will, but you know you can’t keep her. We all know what happened with Selene. History has a nasty habit of repeating itself.” He places a hand on my shoulder, and I don’t have it in me to shrug him off.
“It’s different. Emmet isn’t as bad as Arthur and she has more people in her corner than Selene did.” I move away and stare out of the window.
“What about Rachel?”
“Will you stop bringing her up? It’s bad enough I’m stuck with her as the mother of my child, she isn’t going to get in the way of me being with someone. Not that I’m going to be with Luna… but it’s still a valid argument.” I can feel my skin growing hot, as my hands twitch at my sides.
“Forget about Arthur, Emmet, the entire fucking Harkwright name. Rachel is your main concern. She’ll use whatever she can get to keep Belle from us. If Luna will make you happy then great, go for it. Just… wait until the court case is resolved.” He pulls me into him, before walking further into the house.
I don’t know why I’m following him. I am so done with this conversation.
“I can’t be with her, Dad, even if it means she drops the custody issue. The thought of touching her makes me want to fucking puke.”
“I know, my boy, I know. Just like I know you would walk over jagged glass for Belle. I don’t want you back with her and neither does your mom, but we have to figure a way out of this mess. Before Arthur stops whatever game he is playing and gets involved. You have our support, you just have to be willing to let us help you.” He clasps my shoulder and I smile… kind of.
A grimace is more apt, but I rarely smile unless it’s for Belle. I guess even Luna can draw one out of me and that’s more than a little concerning. Fuck, I’m going to introduce Luna as my girlfriend to Belle. What if she tells her mom?
Fucking Rachel. Will she ever remove the claws she has firmly pushed into my body and life?
I walk back into the living room to see mom fussing with her plants and Luna sitting awkwardly and staring at the family photo we have hanging on the wall.
“Is your dad okay?” she asks, biting down on her bottom lip.
“Yeah, it’s nothing to do with you, Tiny One. He just needs to take a minute. I swear he really is a great guy.” Why do I feel the need to prove this to her? I’m not going to keep her around, so what are my motives?
I really need to stop lying to myself, but until I can figure out what it is I feel where she is concerned, I need to try and keep her a separate entity to my personal life.
I really should have thought this through, but I wasn’t going to leave her at the Academy with everything going on. What other choice did I have? I could have released her, but damn it, I don’t want to.
“I’ll go check on him, make sure he stays out of his office,” mom says with a smile, but it’s more forced now.
It must be hard being married to a man who hates your family and everything your name stands for. It makes me wonder if dad was just giving me excuses or if his aversion to Luna really for her. Does he regret marrying into our family? Even though it gave him mom, the woman he says is the other half of his soul.
I’m definitely not as sappy as he is. I’m not even sure who I act like. The romantic fool or the jokester, and I’m neither. I’m the pessimistic recluse, who would rather stay away from the camera and run things behind it. I’m a bastard and yet no matter how hard I try, I still allow people to walk over me. I give them the power to fuck with my life, will I never learn?