Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 68066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Instantly hearing Journey shout, “Ma! Ma! Ma!” from her nursery.
I barely had time to register what she said because the next voice I heard came from the person I’d least expected...
My father.
“This is what you wanted all along, isn’t it?! To take my family from me!” he viciously spewed in a tone I’d never heard before.
Who was he yelling at?
I didn’t have to wonder who it was for long, because Mary Poppins quickly defended herself, “That’s absurd! I’m just trying to help, and you’re doing the exact opposite of that right now!”
The string I was hanging onto pulled me in the direction of their voices, one foot in front of the other.
Four steps.
Six steps.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
“Journey, come to Daddy!”
“Ma! Ma! Ma!”
He’s here... he’s really fuckin’ here.
Nineteen steps.
Twenty-five.
Thirty-one.
My heart was pounding louder and harder. Faster and faster with no end in sight.
His voice boomed off the walls and the doorway I was now standing in. “She’s not your mother!” he roared with the same rage I felt for him since my mom left us.
With no thought, no hesitation, no problem whatsoever, I sneered, “She’s the only mother Journey’s ever known!”
Both their glares snapped over to me, and I watched him come face-to-face with his reality.
I mirrored his demeanor, his composure, his downright arrogance.
Man against man.
Son versus father.
Love with hate.
There was no denying how much I fuckin’ hated him.
“What did you just say?” he questioned in an eerie, menacing tone. One that had Camila holding Journey more firmly in her protective arms.
“You heard me,” I bit, my fists clenching at my sides. “But I have no problem saying it to you again.” Stepping up to his face, I eyed him up and down.
Finally.
I could say what I’d been holding in.
For my brother.
My sister.
My mother.
The family we used to be. The love we used to share. All the admiration and respect I once held for him was gone in an instant.
I didn’t hold back, snarling, “She’s the only mother Journey’s ever known. The only father she’s ever known as well.”
He grimaced, not hiding his reaction from me.
Good.
Because I was only getting started.
“You don’t know her, and I’m not talking about Camila. Journey loves her, unlike you, who doesn’t know the meaning of the word.”
He didn’t say a thing, not one fuckin’ word. Adding fuel to the fire I felt deep in my bones.
“You’re nothing like the man I thought you were. My hero, my father, my best fucking friend...”
His jaw hardened as he held his head higher. His strong composure, disintegrating right in front of my eyes.
I grinned, feeling an intense satisfaction I was hurting him, savoring the emotion it enticed. Knowing I was getting through to him.
“After everything you promised Mom, Jagger, me, your family... you’re just like them. You’re exactly like the men who didn’t give a shit about you.”
His hands fisted at his sides, his temper threatening near the surface.
We were one and the same, but this would be a battle I’d win. Even if I killed both of us.
“How’s it feel to turn out a piece of shit like them? Huh? How’s it feel to lose everything you worked so hard for?” I mocked, fully aware this was slaying him. Comparing him to the worthless bastards who’d shit on him foster house after foster house he was placed in.
“Jackson, that’s enough,” Camila uttered in a soft voice, not wanting this war to reach a point of no return.
Glaring solely at my father, I snidely replied, “You’re not my mother. She’s gone, and she’s not coming back.”
He was teetering on the edge. I could physically see him hanging on by a thread.
“Jackson, please, just stop.”
“Oh, come on, Mary Poppins! Don’t you want to know where she is? I thought that’s what you wanted!”
We both jerked back when he finally spoke, “Jackson Pierce, don’t talk to her like that. I raised you better than this. You want to come at me, then you come at me like a man. Leave her out of this!”
“Oh...” I cocked my head to the side. “For Camila, you talk, huh? Mom would love that.”
“Jacks—”
“And you haven’t raised me for almost a year!” I reminded him. “All you give a fuck about is your goddamn hospital!”
“Watch your mouth,” he warned, getting closer to me.
“Oh, so you want to try to be my father now? Where the fuck has he been while everyone else has taken care of his responsibilities? Huh?!” I shoved him, not giving a fuck about the consequences of putting my hands on him.
He didn’t waver, not that I expected him to.
“You think I need you? You think I want you in my life? I don’t give a shit about you! Do you hear me?” I pushed him again, much harder. “Do you understand me? I don’t give one flying fuck about you! To hell with you!”