Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“Did I know they were fucking?” he snaps. “No.”
These Parks are so damn exasperating sometimes.
“You know what I mean,” I say patiently. “Was she behaving strangely?”
He grows quiet for a moment, features darkening as he remembers the past. Then he darts his eyes my way, confusion swimming in them. “I don’t know. I was busy with basketball and college admittance applications. We never fought.”
“What was she doing while you were so busy all the time?”
“Hell if I know.” He shrugs his shoulders, glaring at me like a petulant child. Then the facade melts away and guilt flashes in his eyes. “Her family were assholes to her. In high school, I beat her brother’s ass quite a few times for laying hands on her at home.”
Now we’re getting somewhere…
“Did her mom and dad not protect her from him? Why did this land on your shoulders?”
“Her stepdad was a fucking pervert,” Callum growls. “Her mom was always too high to notice or care.”
“So she spent a lot of time at your house because it was safe?”
He nods, sadness seeping into his expression. “My house was more like hers than anywhere. She spent the night a lot. Everyone knew she had a fucked-up home life, so no one gave two shits that she stayed with us most of the time.”
“How did your dad feel about what was happening to her?”
“Typical Dad, I guess. Wanted to ruin her stepdad in some way. He’d get on one of his rants anytime she’d show up crying about how he was going to destroy them all.”
“So he cared and worried over her a lot then, huh?”
He shrugs, not meeting my stare, so I continue.
“When did you notice them getting closer?”
His jaw tightens visibly, and then he sweeps his hand across his face, as if attempting to erase the raw emotions etched there. Unfortunately, he can’t. The pain, confusion, and fury are painted clearly and in shades of red and purple.
“It was a lot,” he admits. “Trying to get through high school, prep for college, and also protect your girlfriend from her own family. Dad was just better at it.”
“Better how?”
“Hugged her when she needed it. Cheered her up and showed her attention.”
“Did she start pulling away from you?”
“If you mean, did we stop sleeping together? Yes.” He trembles with anger. “She was closed off and I figured it had something to do with her stepfather. I didn’t want to pressure her.”
“Did you try asking her if her behavior was because of her stepdad?”
For a brief moment, his hardened face transforms into something more boyish and youthful. I can almost see the teenaged version of Callum sitting before me, trying to figure out his overly complicated relationship that he clearly had no idea how to navigate.
“I just said I didn’t want to pressure her.”
“Into sex, yes. Got that. What about conversation? Opening up to another person is different.”
“That’s what she had Dad for,” he says with half a shrug. “He was better at having those conversations with her.”
I lean forward, pinning him with a questioning stare. “Do you really think they maliciously started sleeping together in an effort to hurt you?”
“They did!” he roars, flinging his arms in the air. “That’s exactly what they did!”
“Consider this scenario,” I say gently. “Jamie was scared. At your house, she felt safe, cared for, and loved. She had a confidant in your father and someone who viciously wanted to protect her. But she also had a loving boyfriend who was an appropriate match for her. Falling for your father would have been forbidden and wrong. It would have jeopardized everything for her and landed her back on her ass at her house with those horrible people.”
I continue with a sigh, “You were a good boyfriend until you weren’t.”
He glowers at me.
“I’m just saying that when the going got tough, you used life as an excuse to avoid her and her problems. Am I right?”
A one-shouldered shrug is all I get.
“It was easier to let your dad comfort her and deal with the hard stuff. And, in the end, you weren’t even interested in pursuing an intimate relationship with her.”
“But she cheated on me,” he croaks, voice soft and broken. “With my dad.”
“Which is terrible, Callum. It’s a horrible betrayal. I’m not saying what they did wasn’t wrong. I’m just saying things aren’t so cut and dry. How did you find out?”
Disgust tugs his lips down into a cruel curve. “I had a feeling something strange was going on, so I stayed up one night to listen.”
“I bet what you discovered was heartbreaking.”
He closes his eyes and grits his teeth. “She was in her bed in the guest room.” He pauses and then lets a rush of breath escape. “But so was Dad. They were…”
“Having sex.”
He nods. “It blew up after that.”
“How?”
“I told them they were both dead to me, slammed the door shut on them, and spent the night at Grandpa’s house.” He scowls. “Mom heard all my screaming, I guess, or Dad just decided to confess to her because after that night, he moved out with Jamie and filed for divorce.”