by Holly Renee
"I am your father."
"You are nothing more than a man who thinks he's entitled to whatever he wants." She balled her fists up at her sides. "Now leave."
He stared at his daughter, but he didn't say another word. He ran his hand through his hair before looking back at Cami. He didn't say a word to her as he pushed through the door and left.
Josie let out a shaky breath, and I knew that Cami was about to say something. And I didn't know if Josie could handle anything else. Not today. Not after what she had just witnessed.
And I knew she probably didn't want to talk to me either, but I couldn't walk away from her. Even if that was what she wanted.
"I need to get out of here." She looked back at me, and I didn't give her a moment to second-guess what she was saying. I reached out and grabbed her hand in mine, and I pulled her away without a backward glance at Cami.
Chapter Twenty-four
Josie
I felt like I was numb.
I couldn't wrap my head around what just happened or what I should be doing or saying. All I could think about was Beck and the words I heard him say over and over in my head.
"I love her, and I will do whatever I have to, to protect her."
None of it made sense. Not anything that he said or did. His push and pull. It gave me whiplash, and I didn’t think I could survive another round of it.
Because despite everything, I was in love with Beck Clermont.
But he was responsible for so much. Even though Lucas had told me that he was the one who had given Cami the video, Beck was the one who gave him access to it. If I had never met him, it never would have happened. I wouldn’t be in this situation where my dad was fucking a girl from my school who I hated.
But it wasn’t fair to blame Beck for that.
Because he didn’t know.
He thought he knew Cami. She was his friend, and I had to believe that he didn’t know. If he did, I would never be able to forgive him. But I saw the look on his face when I walked in that room, he was as shocked as I was.
Because who would believe a man like my father would do something like this? I knew the man wasn’t the best father, and I had my own built-up hate for him, but this was beyond what I thought he was capable of.
But I knew he was guilty.
If I hadn’t heard it with my own ears, that fact would be laminated by the fact that I received a large sum of money in my bank account this morning. A sum that was the exact same amount that my mother had left me.
But there were no calls or texts from him. No I’m sorrys or checking to see where I was.
My dad handled his business in money, and I guess I was no different.
And if the deed to my mother’s house was waiting on me when I finally went back to his house, then I would be glad.
He could do whatever he wanted, and I would have nothing else to do with him.
Even if that meant that I had to leave Clermont Bay.
Even if I had to leave Allie and Frankie and Beck.
My chest tightened just at the thought.
Beck had held to his word when we arrived at his house last night. I walked behind him as he led me up to Frankie’s bedroom, and once she opened the door, I didn’t see him again.
I knew that was what I should have wanted, but I couldn’t lie and say that I wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t come back for me. That he didn’t demand I talk to him.
Because as much as I wanted to be nowhere near him, there was an even bigger part of me that wanted him to make me listen. I wanted him to make me understand.
Now, the whole house was asleep, and I was sitting by their pool wrapped in a blanket I stole from Frankie’s room. And I was just replaying everything that happened yesterday over and over in my head.
I wondered if Lucas knew. If he was aware that his stepfather, who he worshipped so much, was cheating on his mom with someone his age. I doubted it would matter to him.
And that thought made me sick.
It probably wouldn’t matter to most people because they feared the power that my father held.
But I was just disgusted by him.
He was nothing that he should have been, and I couldn’t understand how my mother could have ever loved a man like him. Because she did, even when they were no longer together she had loved him.
And he wasn’t worthy of her love. Not one moment of it.
“Can I join you?”
I jumped at the sound of Mr. Clermont’s voice. “Of course.”
He took a seat next to me in one of the pool chairs and stared out toward the ocean. We were both quiet for a few moments before he finally spoke.
“You’ve had an eventful few months since you moved to Clermont Bay.”
“You can say that again.” I snuggled into my blanket and watched him. He looked so much like Beck, or I guess Beck looked like him. His usually clean-shaven face was covered in salt and pepper stubble, and he looked so peaceful. Like he hadn’t had time to consider the rest of the world and their problems.
“I’m sorry about your father.”
I winced. “Beck told you?”
“He did.” He nodded and looked over in my direction. “He’s scared that what he did is going to force you to leave.”
I thought about what he said, and he was right. There was a good chance it would force me to leave because I had no other choice. There was no way in hell I was going to stay in that house with him. I hated it there before, but now? I didn’t think I could come to terms with everything he was doing.
Especially with her.
And how was I supposed to look Amelia in the face and not tell her the truth? It wasn’t something I was capable of, and once I got the deed to my mother’s house, it wasn’t something I was willing to live with.
“He’s right.” I nodded and stared down at the calm pool water. “I don’t think I can go back to living with my father, but he’s supposed to be giving me my mom’s house back. I will figure everything out."
"What about school?" His question wasn't condemning. It was as if he had genuine curiosity about what my plans were.
"I don't know." I answered honestly as I shrugged my shoulders. "Hopefully, I can finish back home, or I'll have to get my GED. I'm not sure."
He nodded his head and sipped from his coffee, and for a moment I thought he was finished talking to me. The silence rode out before he finally said, "Both of my children will be really upset if you leave, and as their father, it is my job to ensure their happiness."
I knew he wasn't intending for them to, but his words were like a stab in the chest. He was right. That was what a father should do. "I'm not sure both of them will be upset. Frankie, yes, but surely you'll let her come visit me."
"I'd be much more likely to let her visit you if you stayed in the pool house." He tipped his coffee in the direction of the pool house that stood to the right of their pool. It was small in comparison to their massive home, but it was probably still bigger than the house my mom and I shared.
"What?"
"That is if you want your privacy. You're more than welcome to stay in the house with us. We can fix up the room next to Frankie's for you."
"Mr. Clermont, I can't stay here." I couldn't wrap my head around what he was saying.
"You most certainly can." He turned to face me more fully. "I know that my son has made some really poor decisions when it comes to you. Really stupid decisions, as a matter of fact, but he cares about you."
I shook my head, because Mr. Clermont was wrong. I thought that Beck had cared about me too, but he wasn't there at school when he treated me like I was disposable. After everything at the cabin, he had just pretended like I meant nothing.
"He does." He tried to reassure me.
"Your son likes to play games. That's all I am to him."
"Did he tell you that your father threatened him?" I sat up straight at his words and he nodded his head. "Right after you all got back from your cabin trip that I didn't know
you were going on, by the way." He tapped my armrest with a smile. "Your father threatened to take things from you if Beck didn't keep his distance. He was using whatever leverage he had over you to keep Beck away."
"That's why he was pushing me away?" I asked out loud, but I was talking more to myself.
"Mmhmmm." Mr. Clermont took another drink of his coffee. "I didn't say he was making smart decisions. He should have just come to you and told you about your father, but he was doing what he thought was best for you." He studied me for a moment before speaking again. "He told me all of this last night, but he also told me something I'm not sure I should tell you."
"What's that?" My chest felt tight, and I wasn't sure if I could handle anything else.
"He told me that he's in love with you."
I opened my mouth to argue, but Mr. Clermont held up his hands. "My son may do a lot of things, but this isn't something he says lightly. If he says he's in love with you, I believe him. But I didn't need to hear him say it to know. His mom and I have known for a few weeks now."
I shook my head because I didn't know what I was supposed to say. Beck loved me? I knew that what I felt for him was beyond anything I had ever felt before, but it was so hard to understand.
"Now, my question is do you love him?" He asked the question like my answer was simple. But it wasn't. The answer to that question was earthshattering and confusing and beyond overwhelming.
"I don't know."
"Yes. You do." He looked at me with so much sympathy in his eyes. "It's just hard to say it out loud. I remember when I realized I was in love with Beck's mom." He chuckled as he rubbed his chest. "It hit me like a ton of bricks, but I was so damn scared to say it to her. It took me far longer than it ever should have, but every time I was with her or I thought about her, I had this feeling in my chest that I just couldn't brush off. I was so damn obsessed with her."
I thought about all the times I was with Beck and when I thought about him, which was always, and I knew the exact feeling he was talking about.
"Yes." I nodded my head. "I'm in love with your son."
Mr. Clermont's smile took over his warm face. "Then that's the only thing that matters. Everything else can be worked out."
"Mr. Clermont, I really appreciate you offering to let me stay here, but I don't know that it's the best idea. I don't think I can afford this place," I pointed to the pool house, "and I don't want to be a bother to you all."
"I didn't ask you to rent it, Josie. I told you that you can stay there, and you could never be a bother."
"But…" I didn't get to finish my argument because the sliding door opened behind us, and both of us turned around to find Beck coming outside. He was watching me with a guarded look on his face, and the urge to get up and kiss him was overwhelming.
The cabin felt like weeks ago, and I felt like I hadn't touched him in far too long. But Cami had, and I wanted to wash every bit of her off of him. It was irrational, but I hated that she had ever touched him at all.
"I think you two need to talk about some things." Mr. Clermont stood and patted me on my shoulder before he passed his son and walked back into the house.
I sat there in the quiet peace of the morning as the sun rose, and I stared at Beck. He looked so hesitant as he approached me. So unsure.
"Hi." He took the seat next to me and didn't move his gaze away from me for a moment.
"Hi."
"Did you sleep okay?" He ran his fingers through his unruly hair.
"I did. What about you?" I pulled my knees up against my chest and wrapped my arms around them.
"Not really." He chuckled. "I was a bit worried about you."
"You didn't have to worry. I'm okay."
"Are you?" He searched my face, and I knew he was looking for some sign that I was about to break.
I shrugged my shoulders because I didn't really know. In this moment, I felt okay. I felt like I could breathe and that the rest of the world wasn't crashing down around me, but I knew that I wouldn't feel that way for long. I was going to have to face the real world, and I was going to have to make decisions that would affect the rest of my life.
Decisions that would be so much simpler if my mother was still here.
"I'm sorry." He ran his hand over the back of his neck before taking a deep breath.
"For what?"
"For everything." He chuckled. "For hurting you, for not coming to you when your father threatened me, for what he's done to you."
For what my father had done. Beck was apologizing for the man he hated, and I knew how hard that had to be for him.
He leaned forward until he was close enough to touch me and his hand hovered over my jaw, and I knew he wanted to kiss me. But he was holding himself back.
"Beck." I shook my head because I didn't know what I was trying to say. I didn't know what I wanted or needed or how to tell him that I just wanted him.
After everything, it was just him.
"I love you." He tilted my jaw until I was looking up at him. "I know that things are crazy right now, but I need you to know that."
He looked so nervous as I stared up at him without a word. "Please say something." He searched my face. "I'm kind of freaking the hell out here."
I couldn't help but laugh at that. This man who was so cocky and fearless was looking down at me with so much uncertainty, and this should have been the thing he knew about above all else.
Surely, he had to know.
"I love you too, Beck."
The small smile that took over his lips was so devastatingly handsome, and I knew that even though everything seemed stacked against us, I would never be able to walk away from him.
He leaned his forehead against mine, and his breathing mingled with my own. "Then nothing else matters. Not what your father did. Not Lucas, not Cami. None of it matters."
But he was wrong. It did matter.
And I knew that things would be different going forward. I didn’t know where I stood or where things would lead, but I knew that they would be different.
Because my father had made far too many selfish decisions that would affect us all.
And a huge part of me felt so bad for Cami.
Because he had no right to be with her. Even if she made stupid decisions, she was a teenager and he was an adult.
My father was an adult.
And he had taken advantage of her.
And I couldn’t just take what I wanted from my father and not have him pay the consequences for his actions. I would never be able to live with myself.
"It does matter." I nodded and buried my hands in his t-shirt. "But we’ll get through it, right?"
"Right." He kissed me then, pressing his lips firmly against mine until I could think of nothing else but him.
Everything seemed to be falling apart around me, but here he was with his hands buried in my hair and his lips pressed to mine and everything was going to be okay.
But anger still stirred inside of me and I dug my nails into my palms. "My dad…"
"Is not your future." Beck pushed my hair out of my face and stared down at me. "He doesn’t get to decide who you become. He threatened to take your future, and I believed him. I couldn’t be the reason you lost everything you had left."
Tears fell as I clamped my eyes shut, and I knew that I was crying for far more than what my father had done. I missed my mother and the security she brought. I missed being so sure of my future with her.
Beck wiped away tears from my cheek as he cradled me closer to him.
"I don’t know what will happen from here," I said my biggest fear out loud. I had no idea what was to come. I had no clue what my future held.
"You are my future, Josie." He leaned forward and kissed me. "Nothing and no one will be able to change that but you."
"I don’t want to change it." I shook my head before burying my face in his neck.
"Good." He chuckled. "Because I’ve already fallen far too hard."
"Your dad aske
d me if I wanted to stay here." I had no idea why, but I was so scared to say that out loud. I was scared that I was actually considering his offer.
"I know." He nodded. "We talked about it last night."
"I don't think it's a good idea." I looked up at him and searched his eyes. "You'll probably get tired of me if I'm here all the time."
"That could never happen." He pushed some hair back out of my face before cradling it in his hands. "Who do you think came up with the idea? You can't go back to living with your father, Josie. You're miserable there, and there's no way in hell I'm letting you leave me."
"So, this is it then?" I looked around his parents’ massive house. "Me and you?"
"Me and you." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my jaw. "And when school ends, you can decide where you want to go to school, and I'll be here."
"You'd wait for me to finish college then come back to you?" I scooted closer to him and ran my nose along his neck. He smelled so good.
"I'd wait for you forever, princess."
The End
Epilogue
You don't really realize how hot guys look in baseball pants until you're in love with a baseball player. Don't get me wrong, they've always looked nice, but now that I sit here watching Beck run home and slide into the plate, I realize that I never knew their true power.
Because all I can think about is how to get them off. Well, not off exactly, but pulled down enough that Beck can easily lift me against the wall.
I hadn't even been able to keep up with whether our school was winning or losing. All I knew was that Beck looked so damn hot in those pants, and he was far better at baseball than I ever realized.
I thought that every single time I was at one of his games. I had no idea how someone could be that good at a sport. I could barely walk most days, and here he was diving toward balls and throwing them halfway across the field.
Of course, being at his baseball game meant that I also had to see Lucas, but I tried to pretend like he didn't exist and he did the same to me. It was pretty much the only way we functioned since the moment I moved out of my father's house.