Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 87911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“You know I told my daughter to be fairer to you. To give you a chance and then I had to see what I did. I’m not going to force my daughter to do anything she doesn’t want to do, and you need to leave.”
“Lily, I promise you, my dad—”
“It doesn’t matter. My daughter will always come first, and if I were to marry Eagle, it would mean being close to you. Every time she sees Eagle, she’ll remember you. I’m not going to do that to my daughter, and neither are you. You will leave her alone.” Lily pushed past him, and he watched her step into the house.
This was useless. He knew that.
Leaving Chloe’s house, it tore his world apart as he didn’t want to leave her behind.
They were going to make this work. He’d stay at Satan’s Croft as a prospect to the club, she’d get her culinary qualification or whatever it was she wanted, and she’d come back here, open her own place, and it would all work.
Everything was perfectly mapped out, at least in his head, and now, it was all fucked up because of him.
Ian and Riley met up with him as he crossed the road heading into town.
“You okay?”
“No. Do I look okay?”
“You don’t need to bite my head off, just asking is all,” Riley said.
“You’re right. I’m not okay. Any of your folks talking to you?” Alfie asked.
“Nope,” Ian said. “My house is completely silent. Even my mom won’t talk to me, and she’s not even cooking for me either.”
“I’ve got nothing. Dad took my bike and my credit card,” Riley said. “I’ve already put in a couple of applications for a job. They won’t support me. I’ve got a bed, and that’s it.”
“My bike’s gone. Dad trashed it with a bat,” Alfie said. “It’s nothing but a pile of metal in the back yard.”
“Welcome to being the assholes that we are,” Ian said.
“I need to know who was at your party. Who had a beef with us, and who would film that shit,” Alfie said. “I’ve got to fix this one way or the other.”
“You know I didn’t exactly send out invitations. Anyone could have been filming us at any given time.” Ian shrugged. “I’ve gone all over my bedroom, and the only way they would have gotten away with that was by standing at the window, filming you guys. You didn’t see anything?” Ian asked. “I’ve got a little cabinet next to the window. Someone must have planted a camera on the cabinet, filming you. Then when you were asleep, they took the camera back. I don’t know. It sounds too perfect.”
Alfie rubbed at his eyes. “I can’t do this right now. I fucked up, but I never thought I’d lose her to this.”
“We’ll help you, man. We’ll get her back for you.”
He knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but he was more than willing to fight for it.
****
“I don’t want you losing Eagle because of me,” Chloe said as her mother entered. She sat on the bottom step, and it overlooked the doorway. She got another glance of Alfie, and he looked heartbroken.
She hated seeing him like this, but there was no way she could forgive this.
“I do.”
“No, Mom, you don’t. I’m not going to let you sacrifice your happiness for me or because of me. I love you too much to let you do something like this.”
“Sweetheart, it’s not your decision. This is mine, and you think I could stand to see you go after what happened?”
“You heard Alfie. It wasn’t Eagle.”
“I know, but I can’t do it. What would people think if I married him?”
“Who cares what people think?”
“I care what people think of you.” Lily put her shopping down and walked over to her, cupping her face. “Now, I know you don’t think all that much of yourself, and I don’t care. I really don’t because I love you, and I know how amazing, beautiful, sweet, and wonderful you really are. I love you more than anyone else in this world, and so, I’m not going to let a man or anything come between us.”
“Mom, you deserve to be happy.”
“And I will be.”
“You were falling for Eagle, don’t lie to me.”
“I was falling, yes, but I wasn’t there. I’m not going to budge on this. Now, did you do all of your school work?”
“Yes.”
“What are your plans?” Lily asked. “We’ve got your accommodation arranged. School is not far from graduation. You’ve done all your tests. It’s now just a formality.”
“After I graduate, I’m leaving town. Will you come with me? We can make a new life together away from here.”
“I wish I could, sweetie, but I’m going to stay here.”
“Mom?”
“No, listen to me, I love it here. Sure, it has some horrible people in it, but no matter where you go, you’ll find them, or they will find you. I love it here. I’m staying here.” Lily pressed a kiss to her cheeks. “Now, what next?”