“You ran away!”
“Oh, my mistake. That was a completely logical and reasonable reaction in that case. Silly me!”
“I love your sarcasm. It’s such a turn on. Please keep doing it. I’m hard as rock.”
“Nice try, but your sarcasm is feeble compared to mine. You’ve just made yourself look a right twat.”
“You—”
“Are you arguing with Rachel again, Daddy?” A soft voice asked, and I spun around with a smile.
“Hi, Bee!” I grinned at her, crouching down to envelop her in a hug. “We weren’t arguing at all. I was just teaching your Dad another lesson. He loves it when I play teacher.” She grinned at me before wrapping her arms around me.
As I pulled away, she ran to her dad, and he scooped her up in his arms, giving her a huge hug, before lifting her up onto his shoulders.
Bee was five now, almost six, but in Dante’s arms she looked no bigger than a toddler. My mouth instantly dried up as I looked at him, and was once again reminded of just how fucking huge he was. His arm was bigger than Bee’s waist, and that thought alone did funny things to me.
Because in my sick mind, it was just another reminder of how easily he could snap me in two if I pushed him far enough, and it actually made my thighs clench together thinking of it.
You’re messed up, Rachel. That’s why.
I wasn’t wrong.
“So, you’re both just going to completely ignore me, are you?” My mother asked, bringing the conversation back to herself, as per usual.
“What do you want me to do?” I shrugged. “You weren’t allowed out. The bathroom was occupied. End of. You survived the night unharmed, so our goal was achieved. We can’t go back in time and build a presidential suite just for you.”
She folded her arms and tapped her foot at me. “Dante is right, you know. That sarcasm of yours is most unbecoming.”
“Fuck me,” Dante said. “Someone better hold Bee before I pass out from shock. Did you just agree with me?”
“Can I go home now?” My mother asked me. If it wasn’t for the snide look thrown his way, she would have ignored Dante completely.
“Home? Where is home? Where have you been staying?” I asked.
She paused for a second before answering. “With Iris,” she said, her gaze not quite meeting mine.
“That answers that then. You can go, but you’ll be on your own.”
“Rachel… don’t be selfish.”
“Mother, I’m not being selfish and I’m not fucking taking you there. You can walk. You made your own way here, didn’t you?”
“Actually, he sent a car,” she said, tipping her chin in Dante’s direction.
“I guess you’re shit out of luck then. Because Iris isn’t stepping foot on these grounds to collect you, and I’m not taking you there, either.”
“Who’s Iris?” Dante asked.
“She’s fucking poison. That’s who she is.”
“Rachel!”
“No, Mother. Never mind ‘no, Rachel.’ Iris is a class A cunt, and I stand by that.”
“That’s your Aunty.”
“You say that as though it makes a difference to my statement. I said what I said.”
