“Flowers with goddamn cameras in them, Dani!” he yells.
“Tone, Nate,” Lee reminds him.
“Shut the fuck up, Lee.”
“Would you both shut the hell up?!” I scream.
“What the hell is going on here?”
Oh great. I look over at my mom and smile sweetly. She narrows her eyes, and I know she doesn’t buy it for a second.
“Do you want to tell me now or wait until your father gets in from unloading the car? He’s always freaked me out with that sixth sense he has when it comes to his children. Imagine my shock when I’m trying to enjoy a glass of wine and a nice game of Candy Crush when your dad comes rushing in the room and demands we leave right this second because he knew you needed something. Of course, he couldn’t tell me what it was you needed, so we had to stop off for just about everything he could buy at Walmart, the only damn store that’s open at eleven on a Saturday. So . . . before he gets in here and I have to hear him gloat about being right, why don’t you tell me what has your brother doing his best Axel Reid impression? Hey, Liam,” she finishes with a smile. “Don’t you look handsome tonight.”
Jesus Christ, it’s going to be a long night, and all I want to do is go to bed.
“Don’t worry. His bark will be a lot worse than his bite,” Lee whispers in my ear on a laugh. He’s quick to move away before my dad walks in the room though.
“Hey, Daddy,” I smile when he pushes into the room. “Shouldn’t you be in bed by now? You know, past your bedtime and all?”
“Don’t be a smartass with me. What’s going on?”
“What makes you think something is going on? Nate and Lee were just watching a movie with me. Normal boring night.”
“What makes me think something’s going on? Besides the fact that a father always knows when his little princess needs something? How about your brother over there?” he states and points to Nate.
Nate, who is standing farther away in the middle of the living room, pacing back and forth and muttering to himself. His fists are clenched and his face is flushed with anger.
“Oh . . . poor guy. I told him that ’N Sync wasn’t getting back together. He took it really, really hard.”
Lee lets out a boom of laughter. My mom snickers to herself and rubs her hand down my dad’s back.
“Dani,” Nate warns. “You tell them or I will.”
“I don’t think—” I start only to be interrupted by Nate when he drops a bomb in the middle of the room.
“Why don’t you fucking start with you and Cohen and then get to the flowers and cameras, Danielle.”
“The hell is he talking about?” Daddy rumbles.
“Uh, about that.”
“There better not be any of that to be about,” he fumes.
“What does that even mean?” I ask.
“Don’t you be smart with me. Start talking.”
I sigh and look at my mom for some help, only to get a small nod and smile. Lee isn’t much help either. He walks over to the couch, sits next to Nate, and waits—the popcorn we forgot about in their hands.
“Shit,” I mutter.
“Mouth!” Dad explodes.
I narrow my eyes and have to resist the urge to stomp my feet.
“Start. Talking.”
“Ugh! This is ridiculous. Well, this is definitely not how I saw this going. Thank you, Nathanial. You might as well sit down, Daddy.”
“I don’t want to sit down,” he argues.
“Now who is acting like they’re a child,” I tease.
His face softens for a second before he remembers why he’s upset.
“Okay. So it’s probably best if I just rip it off like a Band-Aid, right?” No one speaks. “So . . . Cohen and I talked before he left and we decided that, when he comes home, we’re going to see where we stand.”
Daddy looks at me, his eyes blinking a few times as my words float around in his mind. I can see him trying to figure out what I just said, and then I watch when it finally sinks in. His tan face turns beet red and his nostrils start to flare. His eyes go even harder before he explodes.
“THE FUCK YOU SAY?”
Oh boy.
“Axel, baby, calm down.”
“I won’t calm down.”
“She’s an adult. You know Cohen, and I know that he would never do anything to hurt her. Ever. So your normal excuses of them being up to no good aren’t going to work. Not with him. You’ve known that boy since he was three years old. If there is anyone you shouldn’t have to worry about, it would be Cohen Cage.”
“I also remember all that boy would talk about was his dick, too!”
“I think you’re twisting those memories slightly. Plus, it was his father’s dick.” Mom burst out laughing when Lee and Nate start choking on their popcorn.
Serves those little shits right for trying to enjoy this clusterfuck.
“Izzy,” my fathers warns.
“Good lord, Ax. You were never this over the top when we were their age.” She laughs and then walks over to where I’m standing. Her arms come around me and her mouth goes to my ear. “He’ll get over it, but don’t back down.”
I get a big squeeze before she walks over to Nate and slaps him over the head.
“Don’t laugh at your sister.”
“Where are the girls?” Daddy asks when no one makes a move to further the conversation.
“Maddi is spending time with her sister. She said she’s been missing her lately. The twins are out. And before you even think about it, yes, they know and they’re completely okay with it.”
“I don’t like this,” he grumbles.
“And you don’t have to. But it won’t change anything, Daddy. I think it’s time to let me live my own life and stop acting like I’m a little girl.”
“That’s not going to happen. I’ll work on it, but I won’t make any promises that I won’t be having words with him when he gets his ass home. Long words, Dani. Words that may or may not involve me showing him my gun collection. Now sit down and tell me the rest.”
“Actually . . . I think YOU might want to sit down for this part.”
TWO NIGHTS AGO, I HAD to vaguely tell my father that I would be dating when Cohen came home. I think that, if had it been any other person, he wouldn’t have accepted it as well as he did. Well, I say, “accepted it,” but I heard him when he stepped in the kitchen to “get a beer” and boom into his phone at who I can only imagine was Cohen’s dad that his son was “going to violate my daughter and that shit better not happen.”