"Can we keep her? Let's just keep her and not let her go back to New York. How about we lock her in her bedroom. She's still young enough to be grounded. Right? We'll just ground her for a few months."

"Dad," I laughed, curled up on the sofa on Sunday afternoon.

Flynn dropped me off last night and I'd spent the night in my bedroom.

Dad must have been wandering past in the morning because I woke up to the sound of him shouting. "Dallas! Dallas, my princess is sleeping in her fucking bed! What the fuck is going on? What year am I in?!"

So dramatic.

Lucas, Milly and Flynn would be here for lunch soon. We were having roast chicken and potatoes. Sort of like an early dinner.

I had to be on a flight home at six. As much as dad was protesting that I ever leave his sight again.

After I'd been honest with Flynn about what happened, I felt a bit lighter. A bit more capable of deserving forgiveness and rebuilding bridges.

I was still terrified of hurting dad. Disappointing him. Putting him through heart ache all over again.

But I missed him. So much. He scooted over on the couch and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Would you listen if I grounded you?"

"Probably not, dad," I winced. "I'm kind of having a good time in New York. I think that's where I need to be right now. You know Amalia's little sister?"

"Mhmm, Bernie?" He put his feet on the coffee table and ignored mom who glared at him. "She's a riot."

"Yeah, well, she's like, amazing at designing. It's mind blowing. I feel like I could introduce her to a few people. I think someone would be interested in working with her."

Dad smiled. "Well, since you want to use your powers for good, I suppose I can deal with that. You have someone in mind?"

"I might know someone that's interested," mom piped up from her love seat on the other side of the coffee table. The sun shone in and she had a direct view of the drive. "Whenever we have larger contestants on the show, we have a designer that comes in and custom designs the dresses and suits. Her work is beautiful. That's what Bernie does, doesn't she?"

"For the most part. I think it's just body shapes that aren't as 'common' or standard in the fashion world. She does a lot of custom designing I think."

"Get her to put together a folder and email it through," mom said, twisting the string of her hoodie— or dad's hoodie— around her finger. She was wearing his cap as well.

"Isn't that your agent?" Dad said and gestured at the television.

It had been on in the background with the volume down. But when I peered up and saw Avery's headshot in the background of the E! news presenter screen, I sat forward and told mom to turn it up.

"Avery Hale of Hale and Link agency was found severely beaten outside of a popular bar in New York in the early hours of the morning. A source said that he was out drinking with a group of friends when he excused himself to use the bathroom. Friends grew concerned when he didn't return and couldn't be found an hour later. The initial police report claimed that he was unconscious behind the bar dumpster and the extent of his injuries hadn't been determined but he is in hospital and in stable condition. Police are questioning potential witnesses and say that there are no suspects in custody at this time."

"Shit," I mumbled and stood up, sliding my cellphone out of my back pocket.

My hands shook as I found Flynn's contact number and dialled.

"What's wrong?" Mom asked.

I waved at the television while I listened to the phone ringing. "What do you mean what's wrong? That's— I know him."

"Yeah but mom said he's a cunt," dad sounded indifferent, still seated on the sofa while I paced the living room. Flynn wasn't answering. "Probably pissed someone off and got what he had coming. Moving on. Where the fuck is Lucas? He said he'd pick me up a bag of sour worms before he came over."

"Drayton," mom sighed. "There's like three bags in the cupboard."

"What?!" He stood up and he was gone.

"Abby," mom tipped my chin up while I stared at my phone screen and tapped out a furious message to Flynn demanding that he call me back. "What's going on? Tell me. Now. Before dad comes back and realises there are no sour worms in the cupboard."

"There's nothing going on?"

"Don't lie to me," she stressed and pushed my hair back. The long blonde strands were turning into a nest from having done almost nothing with them all weekend. Self care was sort of evading me. "You've always been uncomfortable whenever he came up in conversation and now this has happened and you're concerned as hell? What's going on?"

I swallowed and very nearly considered telling her too. Mom would have known exactly what to do.

But she couldn't keep something like that from dad.

She'd tell him. And dad would be broken knowing that he couldn't protect me from having a man touch me against my will. He'd be broken and then he would kill Avery.

And that wasn't an exaggeration. Like the classic, my dad will kill him, line. Which was just a threat in passing but you knew that they wouldn't actually kill someone.

Oh no. Dad would murder him. Find him, strangle him to death until he's cold and probably get away with it too. But that wasn't a risk I wanted to take. I didn't want dad to end up in prison.

"He just said some things, mom. About my weight and appearance. I kind of did some reflecting and perhaps that was the root of where it all started to go downhill. I told Flynn last night and I think he might have reacted badly."

"I fucking knew it," mom snapped, ripping dad's cap off. She pulled the ends of her hair like she was a second from screaming and then she put it back on and exhaled. "I knew it. He is such an asshole. I'd heard that from other people too. Do you really think Flynn would do that?"

Just then, we caught site of Lucas' Jeep pulling into the drive. I watched the sunlight reflecting off the windshield, throat thick, nervous as hell until he stepped out of the driver's side. Mills followed and there was no sign of Flynn.

I cursed under my breath and tried to call him again.

Mom winced. "Oh dear."

"Woman," we heard dad's voice echoing in the foyer as he came back from the kitchen. "Were you fucking with me?"

"Your oldest son is here and it looks like he's got your fucking sour worms!" She shouted back.

Flynn still wasn't answering. The frustration got to me and I threw my phone at the couch before I slipped past mom and met Lucas in the foyer.

He and Mills were just slipping out of their shoes and as soon as my best friend saw me, she threw her arms open wide.

Dad swiped his sour candies from Lucas and disappeared again.

"Get in here you minx," Milly's long red hair was pin straight and she pursed her pillow lips as if she was holding in tears. I knew better though. Mills wasn't the most emotional girl I knew. "You are so hot. Babe, you smell amazing. What is that?"

"Um stale vomit?" I answered with amusement, holding her tight.

I'd spritzed with a little perfume that I found in my bedroom this morning but I could use a shower. Still, I appreciated her over enthusiasm. I'd missed her so much.

"It smells divine," she kissed me on each cheek. "I won't lie, I haven't slept and I think I might still be drunk."

I burst out laughing as she stepped back and smiled. That was so her. The hangover would hit her in a few hours and she'd crash.

I'd almost forgotten how gorgeous she was regardless of how much sleep she'd had. She stepped aside and Lucas moved into her spot, giving me a hug.

"I don't know what Mills was talking about. You smell rank. Shower."

"Thanks Luc," I sighed, giving him a pat on the back. "Where's Flynn?"

He leaned back. "I thought he was here?"

"No," I said. "He dropped me off last night and said he was heading back to the dorms."

Lucas winced. Even Mills looked like she was cringing on the inside.

"Well," Luc said. "It's Flynn. I doubt he doesn't have a reasonable excuse to be missing. He definitely won't be cheating on you. He wouldn't risk his life like that."

"Thanks for that," I tousled my hair and wanted to gag at the state of it. What an actual wreck. "Yeah no. He did tell me that he wanted to see his parents. I'll check my phone. He might have sent me a text."

There was a serious panic flaring in my chest. Flynn hadn't told Lucas. There was no chance he could have told him because if he had, my brother wouldn't be here.

He'd be in New York committing pre meditated murder. With dad who was standing at the living room threshold with Lucas and Milly.

"Yep," I lied. "At his parents house."

"What a fuck knuckle. He didn't even tell me," Lucas scoffed and folded his arms. "You two have a good chat last night? In love again? Look, I'm going to need you to bounce on him real fast because his moping is getting out of hand."

" His moping?" Milly folded her arms and faced him with a raised brow. "You called me eighteen times in the span of three hours when I went back to my dorm to study last week."

Dad laughed and made a whip noise. As if he wasn't wrapped around mom's finger.

Lucas stared down at Mills and his frown slowly turned into a grin. "Yeah because I love you."

"Mhmm," she smiled and turned on her heeled bootie.

She wandered over to where I was still clutching my phone, waiting with desperation for a call or message from Flynn to let me know he hadn't been arrested for assault.

"How is New York?" She threaded her arm through mine and we started wandering out of the living room.

Dad and Lucas were discussing sports and when I wandered past the kitchen, mom was staring at her phone screen with a look of determination. I wasn't sure I wanted to know what she was up to.

"It's not awful," I admitted to Mills. We wandered around the house while we talked. "Max and Amalia are making it comfortable I guess. I saw Marnie yesterday too."

"Marnie sent me her book. It's hilarious. Well, perhaps hilarious isn't the right word. Arousing and heroic would work."

"I get the feeling I wouldn't be able to stomach the sort of content she's written."

"It is a bit intense," she confirmed as we wandered. "I'm working on a book at the moment. It's not for a class. Just a bit of fun."

"Mills," I beamed at her. We did another lap of the ground floor and passed the kitchen again where Lucas and dad had joined mom. She looked fed up. "I can't wait to read it. What's it about?"

"It's a dark romance."

"Yeah that sounds like you."

She grinned. "Lucas is such a laugh about it though. He loves helping. He will sit there and brainstorm dialogue and plot and character traits."

"Aw," I could imagine them hanging out late at night, ideas pouring. To be fair, Lucas had a great imagination and a never ending list of strange one liners that would fit well in a book. "That's sweet that he's supportive and wants to help."

"Yeah," she seemed chuffed. "He loves to get hands on with inspiration for the intimate scenes too, but I'll keep that to myself."

I sighed. "Wouldn't have expected less from either of you."

"That might be the one downside to the fact that I'm shagging your brother. I can't boast about it with you."

"To be fair, he over shares so much, it'd probably be nothing that I haven't heard before."

"He's just fantastic. Like, his strength. He held me up under the thighs in the shower for so long the other morning. Pounding me into the oblivion. He didn't even break a sweat. And he loves to experiment with new positions. But in general, he's just such a man. He's so. . . hot. Ya know? All tatted and tanned. He looks so good holding himself above me with those arms—"

"I am going to barf."

"Well I'm going to bust a fucking nut."

We both turned around and saw Lucas standing beside the rec room door.

My brother stood with his arms folded and watched his girlfriend like a damn predator.

"I have to go and pour acid into my ear holes," I kissed Milly on the cheek and slipped past Lucas.

Those two could deal with their pent up tension while I tried to eradicate that conversation from my mind. I didn't begrudge Mills though.

Talking sex with your best friend was one of the best parts about having sex. It just so happened that her delectable dickings were courtesy of my brother and I did not need those images in my head.

Dad saw me wandering into the kitchen and smiled. The breakfast bar was covered in piles of hot food, steaming bowls of vegetables and roast.

There was a lot of food here. Too much for our small group.

"We thought Flynn would be here too," Mom explained when she saw me pointing at it, about to ask what small village we were feeding. "Besides, now we have spare dinners for the next few nights."

"Fair point," I nodded and slid onto the stool next to dad. He'd been occupied on his phone but locked it and faced me as soon as my bum hit the seat.

"How's Coleman handling parenthood?" I asked.

His old team member had become a father and didn't realise until it was about two years in. Max seemed worried about the chances of the child surviving another year under the care of Coleman.

"He's doing alright," dad rubbed a hand across his stubbled jaw and shrugged. "He's a fucking moron but he seems to be warming up to the child so there's that."

"He sleeps over here once in a while," mom added leaning on the bench top. "We should put this food out in the dining area. Babe, give me a hand?"

She picked up a ceramic bowl of beans and carrots and wandered out into the dining room attached to the kitchen.

Dad didn't move. "It's sort of like having a grandchild that's not ours," he was still talking about Coleman's son. Tommy. "I kind of miss having a small child around the house."

"Well I'm sure it won't be long before one of the twins starts popping them out," I stood up to help mom.

"How about you, huh?" He followed along behind me. "You and Flynn gonna make some adorable little Asian babies?"

I laughed but still felt a little pang in my chest at the mention of my complicated relationship.

We'd reconciled to a point last night. But things still felt strange. Especially considering he'd disappeared without a word and most likely beat the shit out of my old agent.

"I don't think I want to have kids, dad."

"What? You always wanted a family."

He watched me with concern as I set down a dish of cheese sauce on the table mats that Lucas gave them for Christmas a few years ago.

They had his face on them and now we all had to deal with Lucas staring at us whenever we ate dinner together.

"These are still the most conceited things I have ever seen," I scoffed. I sort of loved them though. He was such an idiot.

"Where is that kid," dad mumbled stretching his arms behind his back. "And Mil— oh."

"Yeah," I sat down and smiled with sarcasm. "Charming isn't he?"

His grin was laced with guilt. "Can't be too hard on him considering that was something I would have done when I was his age."

"You'd still do that, dad."

He laughed and pulled out a seat, the legs dragged along the wooden floor. Mom wandered back in with the last of the food and sat beside dad on the other side of the table.

She took off dad's hat and slipped it onto his head as she glared at the two vacant seats beside me and looked up at the ceiling.

"Lucas get down here now!"

"Good luck," I mumbled, not bothering to wait.

I started dishing food on to my plate and looked up in time to see dad watching me with a smile.

He quickly averted his gaze.

"He called me after you showed up last night. He was thrilled as fuck that you'd come to tell him that you love him."

"I don't think I said those words."

"Well that's the message he got."

"Good," I grinned. "That's what I wanted him to know."

He twisted his cap backwards and took the serving spoons that I handed over the table. "I like it when you three get along. Makes me feel like I did something right."

"You did a lot of things right, dad."

Mom nodded and rubbed a hand across his tatted bicep. The same one that had his sisters tribute in dark ink.

He'd had it touched up in the recent years. The road. The little boy and girl holding hands as they walked into the sunset. I couldn't imagine the pain he felt over losing his twin.

If Max or Lucas died, I don't think I would ever be the same.

He smiled with uncertainty. "I dunno. Sometimes I feel like I dropped the ball in some areas."

"If you're talking about— about my— eating disorder," I had to breathe through the words so they didn't choke in my throat. "That's not your fault dad. You didn't drop the ball. At all."

Mom caught my eye across the table and offered her support through a simple look.

She'd always known how to communicate through subtle means. And right now, I appreciated that a lot.

"Yeah," dad was being delicate again. He was using a softer, more gentle tone than usual and it reminded me that I'd pushed him to think he needed to behave differently with me. "But maybe I didn't do enough. Even if you don't realise it. I could have done mor—"

"It wasn't your fault dad," I swallowed bouts of guilt. I wished I could tell him the real reason I'd turned down a self destructive path.

Because the more I thought about it, the more I knew Flynn had a good point.

The assault had a part in my fall and now I had to work hard to make sure I didn't slip again.

"Trust me. I was trying too hard to fit in a world where I didn't belong."

"Well," he gave me a small smile. "If it makes you feel better, you're the centre of my world. Always will be."

"I love you, dad."

"I love you too, princess."