Part 4 (2/2)
”I thought you'd be happy to see me.” Dad shook his head as if he couldn't quite understand my coldness towards him. ”Teagan, I'm your father and I...”
”You haven't been my father since I was fourteen years old,” I snapped, furious at the audacity of this man. ”You killed my mother you almost killed me! You weren't there for me when I needed a father, and I sure as h.e.l.l don't need you now.” Throwing my chair back, I grabbed my bag and stood up. ”Have a nice life, Patrick.”
I RAN ALL THE WAY HOME as fast as I could, desperate to rid my body of the rage churning inside.
What the h.e.l.l did my father expect me to do?
Drop everything to go home with him and live in an unstable environment again?
Did he honestly think I could forget about what he'd done?
Maybe I was a heartless b.i.t.c.h, but I couldn't forget it, and I knew in my heart and soul that I would never let it go.
I would never forgive him.
When I got back to the apartment and saw who was sitting on our couch next to Hope, I could have cried. Like big, fat, raindrop sized tears.
”I'm not in the mood for you,” I warned him, closing the flat door behind me. ”I'm having a really bad day, so if you could refrain from the insults, I'd appreciate it,” I added, moving towards the kitchen to get a gla.s.s of water.
Mr. Carter stood up and seemed to dominate the room with his presence alone. ”Nice to see you too, Teagan,” he acknowledged coolly.
”Sure it is.” I rolled my eyes and fought the urge to poke my tongue out at him. Kyle didn't like me, and he didn't hide it well. He tried to be civil for the sake of his daughter, but I was fairly certain he thought about throttling me on more than one occasion. We tended to stay out of one another's way whenever he visited. I was still struggling to get past the c.r.a.p he'd spewed that night he arrived at the Harte's home, and Mr. Carter? Well, I guess I was big fat reminder of why his daughter was living abroad.
Turning his attention back to Hope, Kyle asked, ”Have you thought any more about coming home for Christmas?”
She shook her head and sighed wearily. ”We've already talked about this, Dad. I'm staying here with Teegs.”
”I know,” Mr. Carter grumbled. ”But Christmas is a time for being with your family. And the twins haven't met their big sister.”
”How are the little guys?” Hope gushed and I couldn't help but smirk. She had been dead set against her parents having another child, but when her twin baby brothers were born three months ago, she had gone straight out and gotten a picture of them blown up. That photograph was now pride of place on the wall in our lounge.
”They'd be a lot better if they met their sister,” Kyle grumbled. His gaze flickered to me and I reddened in embarra.s.sment. I could feel the anger radiating off him in waves directed towards me.
”Hey, don't look at me like that,” I found myself saying, dropping my gla.s.s in the sink before holding my hands up in defense. ”You can blame Jordan 'the d.i.c.khead' Porter for this.”
Mr. Carter's brows shot up in surprise and then he did something I didn't expect him to.
He actually cracked a smile.
”Jordan the d.i.c.khead Porter,” he snickered, ”I knew there was a reason I liked you, Blondie.”
Having Kyle Carter actually compliment me was a strange feeling. I wasn't stupid though. I knew full well the only reason he wasn't throwing jibes or snotty comments at me was because we shared a hatred for Jordan Porter.
Hope's ex boyfriend was number one on Kyle's s.h.i.+t list.
I was a close second.
”Thanks...I think?” I replied uncomfortably before returning my attention to making a sandwich.
”How long are you staying this time, Dad?” Hope asked, and I was as eager to know the answer to that particular question as she was.
Kyle checked his watch and sighed. ”I fly out later on this evening.”
”Oh, that soon?” I piped up, sarcasm evident in my voice Purposefully ignoring my comment, he focused on Hope. Pacing around the sitting room area, he began to speak. ”Your brother called me earlier,” I heard him say in a hushed tone, ”Logan's worried about Noah's frame of mind. He declined his visit again.”
That was where I checked out.
Leaving them to talk about Noah, I left my untouched sandwich on the countertop and headed in the direction of the short hallway towards my bedroom.
I couldn't listen to this.
I couldn't deal with him.
”You should hear this too, Teagan,” Kyle called out, stopping me in my tracks. ”Oh wait, I forgot, you don't give two s.h.i.+ts about Noah anymore.”
See, this was exactly why I didn't stick around when Hope's father visited.
He held a grudge against me.
”I'm not doing this again,” I warned him. ”I've told you a million times, what goes on with Noah is none of my business.”
”Hope told me what you saw that night; what you think you saw,” he countered steadily. ”But I'd bet every dime I have that you're wrong.”
I froze, unblinking, as I registered what Kyle had just said to me. ”Are you calling me a liar, Mr. Carter?”
Kyle folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. ”No, Teagan, I'm not calling you a liar. I'm telling you that you are wrong about him.”
”Dad, shut the h.e.l.l up,” Hope snapped, her voice a tone of pure disgust, as she leapt off the couch and stood in front of her father. ”Don't do this to her. She's been through enough already.”
”She needs to hear this, Hope,” her father replied evenly. ”Lee went to see him before the sentencing before he banned everyone who cares about him from the f.u.c.king prison and the kid was a total mess.” Straightening his spine, Kyle looked over Hope's head and directly into my eyes. ”My guess is that somehow that Tanner girl played you both, and you fell for it hook, line and sinker.”
A wave of hysteria burst to the surface, causing me to laugh humorously. ”Are you trying to ruin my life?” I demanded, delirious with a raging mixture of rage and heartbreak.
My whole body shook violently.
I couldn't seem to stop.
”It takes two to tango, Kyle, and from what I remember, Noah was more than a willing partic.i.p.ant,” I snarled, refusing to believe the bulls.h.i.+t dripping from his mouth. ”He f.u.c.ked her. Right in front of me.”
”I know how it looks, Teagan,” Kyle shot back heatedly. ”I know how it sounds too, but come on. That's not Noah. You know him. He wouldn't do that to you.”
”Why are you doing this to me?” I whispered, paling. ”It's been nine months. Why bring all of this up again?”
”Look,” Kyle sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. ”I'm not intentionally trying to upset you here. But if you could just visit the guy...talk to him.”
”No,” I refused, backing all the way down the short hallway to my bedroom. ”I won't do it.”
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