I wasn’t stupid. Not as stupid as my father suspected me to be. I had played right into his hand, feeding into his little game without even realizing it. Brooke moving out and refusing to talk to me, the girl mysteriously showing up at my office and trying to get me to go on a date with her.
My father had been behind the entire thing. I just didn’t know why, but I was going to find out. I lingered at the entrance of his office wondering what kind of problems I could stir up here at the office for him. Would quitting really hurt him like I wanted it to?
“Why did you do it?” I couldn’t stop the word vomit once it came out.
“Do what son?” My father looked up at me, placing the pen in his hand back on the desk.
“Fuck with Brooke and me…?” I hadn’t talked to Brooke since that night at the restaurant but I was going straight to her once I was finished here and she would tell me whatever it was that my father wouldn’t.
My father’s expression turned bewildered. “Brooke and you. You talk as if you were an item and not just friends?” I raised an eyebrow up at him pushing off the doorframe. Did he think I was that dumb?
“Don’t play dumb with me. I don’t know what you told Brooke or what you did for that matter, but I’ve pieced the puzzle together pretty good on my own. That baby she’s carrying is mine and if I find out…”
My father shook his head. “Now you don’t know that Zane. Brooke was very sexually active. It could be any viable male’s baby on that campus…” I didn’t know what it was that sent me over the edge. It could’ve been the fact he was insinuating that Brooke was a whore, or that I wasn’t the father….
Either way I was across the room in a second, my fist slamming down on his desk causing all the items to scatter. He narrowed his eyes, a look of shock glossing over his face.
“Brooke isn’t a whore if that’s what you’re trying to get at and I love her, so next time you decide to say something shitty about the woman maybe say it to someone else, because I won’t hesitate to land this fist against your jaw instead of your desk…” I was seething, my rage mounting and my father was the gasoline, pouring more fuel onto the fire.
“Are you threatening me?” I looked my father straight in the eyes for the very first time in a long time. What I saw was nothing. His heart had died with my mother and the person that was left behind with her death was nothing but a shell of the person he used to be and that hurt me.
“It’s not a fucking threat. I will make you regret ever fucking with Brooke and me. I don’t care what you and Sandra think of us being together. It’s not your lives. I’m going to go talk to Brooke and if she tells me at all that you had something to do with any of the this shit I will be quitting…” My fist unclenched against the hard grain of the wood. I knew my father was responsible for all of this. I just wish I had discovered it sooner.
“We won’t let you two be together. It’s wrong.” I bit the inside of my cheek, the taste of blood filling the small cavity.
“Us being together is affecting no one…” I roared, tired of feeling like I wasn’t good enough. This was what Brooke had been running from; why she wanted to keep our relationship a secret when it was clearly evident they knew we were together all along.
My father’s gaze turned cold. “Sandra and I have important reputations to uphold…” he whispered quietly as if he was trying to keep the conversation under wraps. Other employees had heard the commotion taking place in his office and slowed down to take a look.
I didn’t care. Not one single fuck would be given to my father after what he had done to Brooke and me.
“Fuck your reputation…” I growled, the words spewing from my mouth as I slammed both fists down on the desk before him. I leaned into his face, a man I used to love reflected back at me. He was still the same on the outside but the person he was underneath the skin and bones wasn’t.
“I will not let you hurt me anymore. If you don’t like what I’m doing with my life then fuck you….” I narrowed my eyes at him, before shoving away from the desk and in the direction of the door. Brooke would provide me with all the answers I needed and when she did, I would be done here.
“All it takes is one phone call son. One call to Sandra and Brooke’s college career is over. Do you really want to do that to her?” I clenched my jaw so hard I was sure it would snap, my teeth grinding together as I swiveled around on my heels, crossing the room once more. This old bastard needed to be taught a lesson.
Within seconds I had him by the throat, my father, the man that had brought me into this world, was slammed against the wall, and my fingers were circling around his windpipe. He stared at me, his expression still lifeless.
“Don’t threaten me with that shit. If you want to do it, then do it. I’ll provide Brooke with better, either way…” I squeezed, warning him that if he said another word to me I would destroy him.
I was past hating my father and his evil wife. The way they made me feel was on a whole other realm of emotion. When I released my father he let out a ragged cough, gulping in copious amounts of oxygen.
“You will regret this Zane.” The words vibrated right through me.
“No. The only thing I regret is being your son.” I didn’t try and hide the hate that I had for him from my voice. I didn’t care if he knew or what he knew for that matter. The damage had been done already.
I walked out of his office and gathered up my small amount of belongings, placing them all in a box. His eyes stayed trained on me watching me place every single item in the box. Once finished, I closed the door on this chapter of my life and walked down to the parking garage.
I needed to see Brooke now and explain everything that had happened. More than that, I needed to tell her that things were going to change.
I had texted Brooke what seemed to be a million times but couldn’t have been more than five. We needed to talk and we needed to do so now. I walked to her dorm room and waited outside for her like she instructed. My anxiety seemed to build with every passing second.
When she finally appeared in front of me, I took her small frame up in my arms squeezing her tightly against my chest. She was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt and her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head but I didn’t care.
“What’s going on? Your texts made it seem like something was wrong,” she started but I stopped her, my lips pressing against hers stealing both our breaths away. When I finally had my fill of kisses I spoke.
“I pieced the puzzle together. I know my father did something and I want to know what it is Brooke.” I held her fragile face in my hands, pleading with my eyes only for her to just spill the beans.
“I think we should go somewhere and talk about this…” Her eyes skirted from mine and to those passing by that seemed to be interested in our conversation.
“Okay… let’s walk to the cottage.” I released her face and took her hand in mine, starting in the direction of the cottage.
“No Zane. I won’t go back there… Your father, he has…” she mumbled. “Cameras up…” My entire body locked up, acid rising in my throat as I digested what she had said.
“Cameras?”” I turned to face her once more completely shocked. She nodded her head up and down.
“He….” She stumbled over her words nervously. “He knew we were together because he watched the recordings of us coming in and out of the house….”
That bastard.
He had been playing us all along.
“Then you didn’t leave because you wanted to end things between us?” The answer to this question was one I had been eager to hear since the moment she left.
Tears welled in her eyes as she shook her head no. “He threatened me.” Brooke’s voice was fragile and I knew then that I would make my father pay for hurting the woman I loved.
“He can’t hurt us anymore baby.” I pulled her small frame into my arms tucking her head under my chin. My body warmed all over when she wrapped both arms around my middle.
“They’re going to take my degree. I can’t afford classes here without the money from them…” I sucked in a breath.
“I’ll do what I can with the money I have. We can pay the rest of this semester off and go from there…” The need to make things right and better for Brooke was overshadowing everything else. She had been in her own personal hell for the last few weeks being the one that had to put an end to our relationship.
Now she was pregnant with our baby and there was no denying that I would be claiming her as more than just a girlfriend.
Our parents didn’t want us together for numerous reasons, so us being together would be the best kind of payback.
“Let’s go back to our bed. I’ve missed you so fucking much its not even funny.” I would rip the cameras down or cover them with something but I was bringing Brooke back to the cottage with me. I was done letting my father win. I would get my forever even if he hadn’t.
Brooke was my everything and the baby that was growing inside her was going to be our chance at a future, and I would destroy anyone that tried to get in the way of that.
“I don’t want your father watching us…” Brooke peered up at me between her long brown eyelashes. God, she was beautiful. I had missed her touch, scent and overall presence more than I had expected to. I was holding out for the moment when she would come running back to me, but I understood why she hadn’t now.
“He won’t be. I’m removing the cameras as soon as we get back to the cottage. His hold over us is gone. I’m done playing nice baby. You and our unborn child are all that matter now.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead, relishing in the feeling once more. Being able to kiss her and touch her again after weeks of going without was like tasting water after going without it for months.
“Then I’ll come,” she agreed and my heart skyrocketed out of my chest. I cradled her tightly against my chest wanting to be able to put an end to all the bad shit taking place in our lives right now.
“I’m going to put a stop to all this bad shit baby. I’m going to make things right and then I’m going to be the best damn father and man you could ever imagine.” I promised her knowing I would never be like my father. Never.