Page 76 of Rush
The words land like a slap and I feel my temper spike.
"Everyone's broken, Dad. You're broken, I'm broken, every single person in that club is broken. That's not a reason to walk away."
"It is when they're dangerous."
"You're dangerous."
"I'm your father."
"And Rush is someone I care about, so you're going to have to deal with it."
"No, I don't. I can pull you out of Dublin right now, bring you back to South Carolina."
"Try it. See what happens."
"Don't test me."
"I'm not testing you. I'm telling you. I'm an adult and I make my own choices. If you don't like those choices, that's your problem not mine."
Silence stretches between us and I know I've pushed too far, know my dad is furious.
But I'm not backing down.
"We're not done talking about this," he says finally.
"Yeah, we are. I love you, but you don't get to control who I spend time with."
"I'm your father. It's my job to protect you."
"From what? Rush is a good guy who's been nothing but respectful."
"Respectful guys don't stalk you."
"He wasn't stalking me."
"Then what was he doing?"
"His job, the job Pyro gave him."
"Pyro told him to watch you, not follow you around like some obsessed asshole."
I look at Rush. He's still standing with his back to me. His shoulders are tense and I know he can hear every word.
"I need to go," I say.
"We're not done."
"Yes, we are. I'll call you later."
"Everly—"
I hang up before he can say anything else. My hands are shaking and my heart is pounding.
That went worse than I expected.
I walk over to Rush and touch his arm. He doesn't turn around.
"I'm sorry," I say.
