“Nate,” I scold in shock. I mean, I knew he was pissed at my father for dropping everything and leaving me and mom behind, but never in a million years did I expect him to let loose on him.
Nate ignores me as my dad narrows his eyes on him. “The details of my relocation are none of your concern, Nathaniel,” my father says. “Now, please leave. I need to check on my daughter.”
Nate looks back at me with a question in his eyes and I know just the smallest hesitation from me and he won’t move a muscle. He’ll fight like hell to stay here if it meant I was comfortable, but I don’t want a fight. Not now. Not after everything we’ve been through over the past few days. And besides, maybe it’s time I got myself some answers.
I give Nate a nod and with that, both he and Jesse leave. My father waits until Nate has closed the door behind him before making his move. He steps up to the foot of the bed and looks down at me as I press the button to raise myself into a sitting position.
“How did you get yourself into this mess?” he finally says with a sigh.
I shake my head as tears start to well in my eyes. “I don’t know, we were in the boat shed and before I knew it, there were flames everywhere.”
“Tora,” he says. “I’m not referring to the fire. While I’m sure it was awful, the mess I’m referring to is Nathaniel.”
My face scrunches up as I repeat what he’s just said a few times over in my head. I couldn’t have heard him right. I swear, he just referred to my boyfriend as a ‘mess’. “What are you talking about, dad?” I ask cautiously.
“Don’t you take that tone with me, Tora,” he demands while trying to remain calm. “Go get yourself dressed and ready. I’m having you discharged and taking you home. We have a lot to discuss and we can start with why you’ve been acting out.”
“Acting out?” I grunt. “What makes you think I’m acting out?” I mean, where’s my ‘Hi, Tora, it’s been a while. I’ve missed you. How are you feeling? Oh, golly wolly, you were in a fire. Did you get hurt?’
“Tora, we’ll speak about this at home. Now, get dressed.” With that, he turns and stalks out of the room, leaving me gawking after him.
“Nate?” I call out, hoping he’s still out there. He steps back in and before he has a chance to say a damn word, I hold out my hand. “Phone.”
His eyebrows furrow but he does as I’ve asked. He places it in my hand not a moment later and I get busy typing in my mother’s number. It rings twice before she accepts the call. “Hello,” she says cautiously, not recognizing the number.
“Mom,” I rush out. “Get back here. Dad showed up and he’s not happy.”
“What?” she gasps before pulling it together. “I’ll be there in a second.”
She ends the call and I hand the phone back to Nate. “Are you ok?” he asks, searching my face.
I shrug my shoulders. “Honestly, I’m too pissed off to know,” I tell him. “Did you hear what he said?”
Nate presses his lips together and nods. “Don’t worry about it. He’s probably just pissed with me because of the fire. The same way your mom is. They’re looking for someone to blame and until they have answers, I’m their target.”
He sits on the end of my bed and takes my hand in his as we wait for either my mother or father to walk back through the door. Lucky for me, it’s my mother who decides to show first, though, from her breathlessness, she was desperate to get back here and probably ran. “Are you ok, sweetie?” she questions before glancing around the room. “Where is he?”
I don’t bother answering her first question. It’s just a formality. “He’s looking for a doctor to discharge me. He says I’m acting out and kicked Nate out.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie. You know how he gets sometimes.”
“Why would he say that?” I question in confusion.
“Oh, honey,” mom sighs. “I assume this is because of your suspension a few weeks ago.”
“What?” I grunt. “That was ages ago.”.
“You know he likes to handle these kinds of things himself. He wasn’t happy when I first told him. He gave me a list of demands on how to deal with you.”
“What kind of demands?”
“You don’t need to concern yourself with that.”
“Did you implement any of them?” I question with a raised brow.
Mom looks back at the door before grinning at me. “What do you think?”
I can’t help but smile back at her. Mom has always had my back when it comes to discipline. It’s probably the only thing mom and dad don’t see eye to eye on. Mom was raised as a free spirit, while dad had a father in the military, so you can only imagine.
The door opens and my father walks in. Nate stands as Mom turns to face him with a beaming smile. She hurries forward and throws her arms around him. “Oh, Tobias. I’ve missed you.”
Dad holds her for a second before noticing Nate is once again in the room. “I thought I made my intentions clear. You were to leave.”
“I thought I made my intentions clear,” Nate replies, still so clearly pissed off with my dad for leaving. “I’m not leaving unless Tora tells me too.”
Dad narrows his eyes on Nate and takes a step closer. I feel like I should warn him who he’s about to challenge, but then, dad’s ego could stand being knocked down a bit. “Tobias,” mom reprimands, realizing dad is about to take on a teenager. “What’s going on? What are you doing here?”
Dad lets out a heavy breath before looking back at her. “I am taking my daughter home.” With that, he turns those angry eyes on me. “I thought I told you to get dressed?”
“I’ll get dressed when I know what’s going on,” I challenge him.
“What’s going on is that your mother has dropped the ball and you’re acting out. I need to set things straight so I can get back to London.”
Anger pulses through me and I’m about to give him a piece of my mind, but mom beats me to it. “Excuse me?” she scoffs. “What did you just say?”
“Alyson,” dad sighs. “Now is not the time. Let’s get Tora home and we can discuss this in private.”
Mom steps closer to him. “I will take my daughter home when the doctor has signed her off properly, not when you deem it a good time according to your schedule.”
“Tough luck,” he says. “She’s already discharged. Time to go.”
Mom shakes her head at him before turning around to me. “Come on, darling. There’s nothing we can do here. Let’s go home before we make a scene.”
Dad scoffs behind her back and it takes everything in me not to grab my glass of water off the table and launch it at him. Instead, I narrow my eyes on him. “A little privacy, please?”
He scowls and looks at Nate. “Out.”
“I don’t think so,” I scoff. “As he said, he leaves only if I ask him too, and right now, it’s you I need space from.”
He looks at me as though I’m some sort of stranger before he turns on mom. “Look what you’ve allowed her to become.” With that, he stalks out of the room and I let out a heavy breath.
Mom falls back into the chair and Nate comes to me. “Are you ok?” he asks. “Just say the word and I’ll handle it.”
“Nate,” I groan. “You only know how to handle things with your fists. He’s the kind of asshole to sue and I’m not letting you get arrested because of him.”
“I give him the ok to try his worst,” mom grunts from the chair. I know she’s joking. She truly loves dad with every fiber of her being but she has a habit of letting a few things slip out when she’s pissed as hell at him.
I roll my eyes and Nate helps me to get out of bed, even though I’m pretty much fine now. He goes through the bag mom bought and finds me something to wear before heading into the bathroom and packing up the few things I have here.
“Let me get my things and I’ll come home with you,” Nate says once my room is packed up.
“You’ll do no such thing,” my mother scoffs. “If Trish found out that I let you
walk out of here without being discharged to get in the middle of our family drama, she’ll eat me for dinner.”
“She’s right,” I tell him.
He lets out a heavy sigh. I see the desperation behind his eyes to fight my mom on this but he won’t disrespect her like that. “Here,” he says, handing me his phone. “I’ll steal Jesse’s. Call me.”
“Ok,” I murmur before he bends his head and kisses me. Mom clears her throat and he reluctantly pulls away. He winks before flashing me a cheeky grin. “I’ll sneak through your bedroom window tonight.”
“Again,” mom gasps. “You’ll do no such thing.”
Nate laughs before kissing my cheek and grabbing my bag. He walks out of the room and we follow behind. Nate steps up to my father and drops my bag at his feet before stalking away. Dad groans and reluctantly picks up the bag before leading the way out.
As we step into the parking lot, dad indicates for me to follow him. “We’ll talk in the car.”
“No,” I tell him, staying by mom’s side and showing off a united front. “We can talk at home,” I say, which can be interpreted as, whatever you’re going to say to me will be said in front of my mother.
He lets out another huff and stalks towards his car which must be a rental before mom and I walk towards hers.
“Why couldn’t he have just checked that I was ok and given me a hug?”
“I don’t know, honey,” she says, putting her arm over my shoulder. “He’s clearly upset about something, so I guess we’ll go home and figure it out. Maybe he’ll give you that hug once he gets it off his chest.”
I let out a low sigh. “Hopefully.”
Chapter 11
When mom pulls up at the front door, dad is already there waiting. My jaw clenches and I sit in the car for a moment too long, trying to calm myself before I hurry up the steps and slap the douche canoe across the face. I mean, how dare he come and treat us all like crap after the shit he put us through? If anything, it should be the other way around. He should be apologizing for being away too long. Saying how he should be calling more often.
And to accuse me of acting out? I’m offended. On what grounds would he assume I was acting out? I mean, yes, I did get an in school suspension for violence but that wasn’t acting out, that was protecting Nate.
“Here goes,” mom says, cutting the engine and pushing the door open.
I try to channel her bravery as I get myself out of the car and walk around to meet her by the steps. We walk up to the door with an attitude I wasn’t aware either of us possessed, but to be honest, I really like it.
We stalk straight past dad as though he doesn’t exist and I scoop my bag up off the floor before pushing through the door. Mom stops to enter the alarm code as I continue up the steps to my room. I haven’t been home since Friday morning and all I want to do is relax in my own bed but instead, my father wants to start a family fight about what a douchebag he is. Don’t get me wrong, most days I absolutely love my dad, apart from the whole Russian sex site he was visiting.
I mean, I was in a fire two nights ago and my chest is still sore from where Puck desperately kept my heart pumping. Is it too much to ask that he just check up on us and have a nice visit before going back?
I’m in my room for all of two minutes when my dad’s voice comes sailing up from downstairs. “Tora, come down here, please.” Well… at least he said ‘please’.
I let out a loud, frustrated groan. I just want this over. I’ve got so many things to say but with the mood the three of us are in, it’s not going to go well.
I make my way downstairs being careful not to jostle myself around too much as my body still hurts a bit. I walk into the dining area and find mom and dad standing at either end of the room and from the look on mom’s face, I’d dare say that dad has already said something.
“Take a seat,” dad says, indicating to a chair that faces him head on.
I do as I’m told and from the way he’s looking at me, I can tell this is going to be more of an attack than a discussion. The second I’m settled in my chair, he lets it all out. “Your actions over the past few months have been nothing short of a disgrace,” he starts.
“Really?” I cut him off. “You’re going to start this whole thing by attacking me?”
“I’m not attacking you,” he says. “You made it clear at the hospital that you’re not happy with me, so I’m ripping it off like a Band-Aid. I’ll say my piece and then we can all move forward.”
“Just like your work,” I grunt.
“We’re not here to discuss my work,” he snaps. “I know me not being here is hard on you. On both of you. But right now, we’re here to discuss the fact that you’re slipping. Your grades are down the toilet, you’re getting suspensions for fighting, you’re attitude sucks, and you’re spending all your time with a boy who has never shown an ounce of respect in his life.”
“Leave Nate out of it. He has nothing to do with this.”
“He has everything to do with this,” dad argues. “He’s the reason you’ve turned into this atrocity. Him and your mother.”
“Watch yourself,” mom scold from across the room as she watches him with fury.
I push myself to my feet. I refuse to have him looking down on me, treating me like a misbehaving child while he’s the one who’s having a tantrum. “Did you consider I’m such an ‘atrocity’ because my father up and left without even a goodbye the same week we buried my Nanna? Nate and mom are the only people holding me together.”
“You’re going to blame this on daddy issues?” he scoffs. “Get a grip, Tora. This is all on your new boyfriend. He’s changed you, or maybe it’s you changing for him?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I grunt.
“Are you trying to be someone you’re not so he won’t get bored and move along?” he questions. “I know those boys, Tora. The real ones, not the bullshit, good boys your mother thinks they are. I’ve bailed them out of more trouble than you will ever know and let me tell you, Nathaniel Ryder is not good enough for my daughter. I don’t care that his father is an upstanding member of the community. He’s not to step foot in this house again.”
I scoff at his comments about Caden Ryder while mom steps in again. “You’re out of line, Tobias.”
“Am I?” he questions. “This is my home too and I certainly get a say in who steps foot inside it,” he says before focusing back on me. “You want to amount to something? Then quit messing around and lose the boyfriend. You’ll never be a lawyer if you keep going this way. Your grades are hardly getting by, you’re starting brawls, you’re drinking and partying far too much. Should I go on?”
The sting of his comments hits me hard and fast and I call on every ounce of my strength to not let him see just how badly he’s hurting me. That is until he slams the knife right in and twists it. “No child of mine is going to embarrass me.”
“That’s enough,” mom demands. “You do not get to waltz in here after months being away and blatantly attack our daughter like that. She is doing the best she can with the circumstances.”
“You see,” dad scolds. “This is why she’s slipping. You’re allowing it to happen. You should have nipped it in the butt at the first sign of Nathaniel hanging around.”
“I might not be very pleased with Nathaniel right now,” mom defends. “But he is a good boy. He’s been good for her.”
Dad scoffs but I cut him off. “Leave Nate alone.”
“I will do no such thing,” dad demands. “Now, call off this ridiculous relationship and start pulling yourself together.” With that, he scowls across the room at mom and disappears, probably to the study where he’ll no doubt, boot up his computer and get back to work as though he didn’t just tear me apart.
I fall down into the chair and turn to face mom with tears in my eyes. “He can’t make me,” I beg her. “Tell him no. I love Nate.”
“No one is breaking up with anyone,” she tells me. “I’m not particularly happy
with Nate at the moment, but it’s not a secret that he loves with you everything he’s got. I’d never make you walk away from something like that.”
The tears begin to fall and mom comes forward to wrap me in her arms. “It’s ok, sweetie. This will pass. You’ll see. Everything will work out for the best. It always does.”
“He was mean,” I sob into my mother’s shirt, cringing as the sob rips up through my sore throat.
“He was particularly harsh, wasn’t he?”
“Harsh?” I scoff. “He was brutal.”
“Come on,” she encourages. “Don’t let it affect you. He’s angry and he’s taking it out on you. Give him the night and he’ll come around.”
“Yeah,” I sigh before looking at her. “He’s right though, isn’t he? My grades are slipping.”
“Yes, honey. He was right, but he didn’t need to word it like that. You’ve been getting in a lot of trouble at school and your grades aren’t what they used to be, but you’ve been going through a lot. You lost your Nanna and then your dad went away in the same week. It’s a lot for a young mind to deal with.”
I think it over for a while. I thought I was doing ok, but maybe I’m not. “You don’t think it has anything to do with Nate, do you?”
She presses her lips together. “Don’t get me wrong,” she starts. “I’m sure he has a small part to do with that, but that’s normal with your first boyfriend. You’ve fallen in love for the first time and it’s only natural for your mind to be consumed by him. But that’s all. Your father was wrong to blame Nate. This change has come from the other aspects of your life, if anything, Nate is the one holding you together.”
I give her a small smile. “That’s what I thought.”
“Why don’t you head upstairs and have a nice bath? It will help make you feel better,” she says. “I’ll get you some of my bath oils and make you some chamomile tea with a drop of honey for your throat.”
Broken Hill Hurt: The Broken Hill High Series (Book 3) Page 10