Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“How long are you going to do this?” I ask my father as Tide jogs around the front of his truck. “Aren’t you tired of this?”
“It’s a little more complicated than you think it is,” Dad says, and I look around my headrest at him in the backseat.
“You being drunk every night is not complicated, and I know you’re too scared to confront Mom about her affairs, which is your real issue. So instead, you try to drown your feelings with alcohol, which is obviously not working,” I snap, and he glares at me.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says as Tide gets into the truck and starts the engine.
“I don’t?” My laugh is sarcastic. “Fine. You tell me when you’re sober how Mom’s constant cheating doesn’t still affect you.”
“It didn’t bother me until I found out she was sleeping with Josh,” he says, and I feel Tide’s hand land on my thigh.
“What?” I spin around to face him once more, and his face pales.
“I… I—”
“Mom is sleeping with Josh,” I cut him off, my voice rising. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Honey, I didn’t…”
“You didn’t what? Didn’t want me to know? Didn’t want me to find out? I mean, seriously, what the hell?”
“Do you still care about him?” Dad asks looking like he might get sick, and Tide’s hand on my thigh gets tight.
“No, I don’t care about him, but I’m pretty sure there is an unwritten rule somewhere that states that a man should not sleep with his ex’s mother, and a mother should not sleep with her daughter’s ex.” My voice rises, as I yell, “Especially when the mother involved is still flipping married!”
“Aria,” Tides calls, and I look at him. “Calm down.”
“You cannot tell me to calm down when I just found out that my mom is sleeping with my ex-husband, my ex-husband—I will remind you—who is taking me back to court to get more alimony.”
“He’s what?” Dad asks.
“Oh yeah.” I nod franticly. “Josh is taking me back to court to get more alimony, so now I have to deal with that not so fun situation again.” I drag the last word out.
“I had no idea,” he says quietly, his tone almost reflective.
“How could you know? We don’t talk, and we don’t have a relationship, which is going to suck for you. Maybe not now, but someday, because Tide and I are going to get married, and you’re not exactly the kind of person I want around Olivia or any other children we have. And mom is definitely not someone I want around my family—now even more than before. I mean, you guys messed me up enough growing up, and there is no way I want my kids to think you two are normal.”
“Who’s Olivia?” Dad asks and I shake my head.
“Tide’s daughter.”
“You have a daughter?” Dad asks, sounding stunned, and I roll my eyes.
“See what I mean? I’ve been seeing Tide pretty much since I got back to town, and you guys know nothing about him.”
“You don’t share anything with me,” he says, and I shrug.
“You’re right; I don’t. When you’re sober, you’re not exactly Mr. Approachable, and when you’re drunk, it doesn’t make sense to tell you anything, because you won’t remember it anyway.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Maybe, but it’s still true,” I say as Tide turns into my parents’ driveway. When we pull up out front of the house and park, Dad doesn’t get out right away, and I turn to look at him. “Do you need help getting inside?”
“I don’t want to go inside,” he says quietly before scrubbing his hands down his face. “Do you think you can take me to a hotel?”
“You don’t have to crash at a hotel.” I sigh, and Tide takes my hand and laces his fingers through mine. “You can sleep on the pull-out in the living room at my house.”
“After everything you just said, you’re inviting me to stay with you?” His tone is filled with disbelief.
“Just because I don’t like the way you are, doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. You’re still my dad.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?” He looks at Tide.
“It’s fine with me.”
“Thanks,” Dad says.
“Do you need anything from inside, since we’re already here?”
“It probably wouldn’t hurt to pack a bag.” He opens his door, and Tide and I get out as well. Once inside the house, we help him up the stairs after he attempts to make it on his own but falls twice. When we reach the top landing, I start leading him toward the master bedroom, but he stops me. “My room is down here.”
“Right,” I mutter, taking him into what was the guest room when I was a kid but is obviously his room now. With the state he’s in, I make him sit on the side of his bed, then grab his travel suitcases from the top of the closet and ask what he wants me to pack. It doesn’t take long to gather stuff from the bathroom, a couple of suits, and a pair of pajamas. After zipping up his bag, Tide takes it from me, and we head back downstairs.