With a nod, I rush upstairs and strip out of the lounge pants I put on when we got home, then put on jeans, and a sweatshirt over my tank top, before grabbing my sneakers. I sit on the steps to put on my shoes then go downstairs and grab my purse before I head outside. Tide is waiting for me next to the open passenger door of his truck, and once I’m seated, he helps me buckle myself in, then kisses me softly, closing me inside.
We don’t talk when he gets in behind the wheel, and the only sound on the way to the bar is the soft music playing through the speakers. I know my dad gets drunk a lot, but I can’t remember a time he’s been so out of it that he’s been at risk of having the cops called.
When we pull up to the bar and see the amount of vehicles in the parking lot, I remember there is a football game on tonight and a lot of people like to get out of the house to watch the game. After Tide parks, I slip off my seatbelt then wait for him to come around to my side to open my door. With the cold evening air making me shiver, we walk into the building, which is quiet except for the sound of my dad shouting belligerently about wanting another drink.
“Oh no,” I whisper, seeing my dad fall off his stool.
“Fuck,” Tide clips, taking my hand in his and dragging me across the room. When we reach the front of the bar, Colton’s eyes meet mine, and the look he gives me makes my heart stutter in my chest. Before I have a chance to process what his look means, Tide lets go of my hand to help my dad up off the ground.
“You can’t just cut me off.” My dad shoves Tide away, shouting, “I could buy this fucking place with the cash in my wallet.” Anger fills the pit of my stomach, and I rush him without thinking, planting my hands against his chest, shoving him back a step, and causing him to stumble. When his eyes meet mine, I can tell he’s surprised to see me. “Aria.” He blinks, and I shake my head as my chest heaves.
“What are you doing?” I swallow over the pain in my throat, then whisper, “What are you doing, Dad?”
“I’m sorry.” He looks around before meeting my gaze once more. “I… I didn’t know you were here.”
“What does it matter if I’m here or not?” I toss my arms out from my body. “Me not being here doesn’t give you the right to act like a jerk.”
“You…” He looks around before stumbling a step toward me. “You’re right.”
“How about you let us take you home?” Tide suggests, and until that moment, I didn’t notice he’s right at my side, right where he always seems to be.
“Sure.” My dad adjusts his suit jacket while Tide takes his arm to help him out of the bar.
When the three of us get outside, Tide helps me into his truck before doing the same with my dad, who is obviously three steps past intoxicated. Sitting in the front seat, I try to come up with a million excuses for my dad acting like he is, but I know they’re all bullshit. I also know me doing that is something I’ve done since I was a kid. Only now, I don’t need to lie for him or make excuses.
“How long are you going to do this?” I ask my father as Tide jogs around the front of his truck. “Aren’t you tired of this?”
“It’s a little more complicated than you think it is,” Dad says, and I look around my headrest at him in the backseat.
“You being drunk every night is not complicated, and I know you’re too scared to confront Mom about her affairs, which is your real issue. So instead, you try to drown your feelings with alcohol, which is obviously not working,” I snap, and he glares at me.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says as Tide gets into the truck and starts the engine.
“I don’t?” My laugh is sarcastic. “Fine. You tell me when you’re sober how Mom’s constant cheating doesn’t still affect you.”
“It didn’t bother me until I found out she was sleeping with Josh,” he says, and I feel Tide’s hand land on my thigh.
“What?” I spin around to face him once more, and his face pales.
“I… I—”
“Mom is sleeping with Josh,” I cut him off, my voice rising. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Honey, I didn’t…”
“You didn’t what? Didn’t want me to know? Didn’t want me to find out? I mean, seriously, what the hell?”
“Do you still care about him?” Dad asks looking like he might get sick, and Tide’s hand on my thigh gets tight.
“No, I don’t care about him, but I’m pretty sure there is an unwritten rule somewhere that states that a man should not sleep with his ex’s mother, and a mother should not sleep with her daughter’s ex.” My voice rises, as I yell, “Especially when the mother involved is still flipping married!”
“Aria,” Tides calls, and I look at him. “Calm down.”
“You cannot tell me to calm down when I just found out that my mom is sleeping with my ex-husband, my ex-husband—I will remind you—who is taking me back to court to get more alimony.”
“He’s what?” Dad asks.
“Oh yeah.” I nod franticly. “Josh is taking me back to court to get more alimony, so now I have to deal with that not so fun situation again.” I drag the last word out.
“I had no idea,” he says quietly, his tone almost reflective.
“How could you know? We don’t talk, and we don’t have a relationship, which is going to suck for you. Maybe not now, but someday, because Tide and I are going to get married, and you’re not exactly the kind of person I want around Olivia or any other children we have. And mom is definitely not someone I want around my family—now even more than before. I mean, you guys messed me up enough growing up, and there is no way I want my kids to think you two are normal.”
“Who’s Olivia?” Dad asks and I shake my head.
“Tide’s daughter.”
“You have a daughter?” Dad asks, sounding stunned, and I roll my eyes.
“See what I mean? I’ve been seeing Tide pretty much since I got back to town, and you guys know nothing about him.”
“You don’t share anything with me,” he says, and I shrug.
“You’re right; I don’t. When you’re sober, you’re not exactly Mr. Approachable, and when you’re drunk, it doesn’t make sense to tell you anything, because you won’t remember it anyway.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Maybe, but it’s still true,” I say as Tide turns into my parents’ driveway. When we pull up out front of the house and park, Dad doesn’t get out right away, and I turn to look at him. “Do you need help getting inside?”
“I don’t want to go inside,” he says quietly before scrubbing his hands down his face. “Do you think you can take me to a hotel?”
“You don’t have to crash at a hotel.” I sigh, and Tide takes my hand and laces his fingers through mine. “You can sleep on the pull-out in the living room at my house.”
“After everything you just said, you’re inviting me to stay with you?” His tone is filled with disbelief.
“Just because I don’t like the way you are, doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. You’re still my dad.”