“How’d the interview go?” Leaning on the wall to smirk at Sam as he sauntered out of Julianne’s room, I furrowed my brows when he scowled. Sweeping past me, he shoved his hands in his pockets, and I pushed myself off the wall to follow him to the kitchen.

“You know, if I knew she was going to ask me such well thought out, not bullshit questions, I would’ve prepared better. She asked me about the effects of hallucinogens on the prefrontal cortex while it was in the system and after it’d cleared. Why does a 14-year-old know about the prefrontal cortex? Huh? I was so shocked I told her I was tripping once and thought the toilet was a fucking monster that wanted to do experiments on me involving sewer rats and toxic waste.” A bark of laughter ripped from my chest, and I clapped my hand on Sam’s shoulder hard. He only scowled as he threw open the refrigerator door, and I leaned on the island with a huge grin painted on my face.

“You should’ve known better, Sam.” I didn’t envy him at all; Julianne had already interviewed me after I got back from California, and it’d been fairly straightforward. My little sister only asked me about investments, how they worked, and the business aspects of running a research facility. Chuckling at the snotty glare Sam shot me from over his leftover bar-b-que chicken sandwich, I quietly shook my head.

“On to a different topic- when are you going to bring Ally over and introduce us, huh? You spent the whole weekend at her place, and I know you reached the horizontal mambo milestone.” Propping my cheek in my hand, I rolled my eyes as Sam wiggled his brows suggestively. The sound of plastic wrap crinkling echoed around the kitchen, but I ignored it to contemplate his question. I couldn’t deny that I thought of introducing Ally to my father while I was on a five-hour plane ride across the country. Our relationship had taken a huge bound forward, and meet the parents seemed like the next step to take.

But I hadn’t spoken to my father in nearly two weeks, and I didn’t know how to dissolve that tension. It’d only make Ally uncomfortable to get thrown into the mix right now, and it would be even worse because she knew what it was about.

“I don’t know. With everything going on with Dad, I-“ Cut off by a harsh clearing of a throat, I twisted to watch my father enter the kitchen. The kitchen went deathly quiet, and blood rushed in my ears as my heart thudded hard against my ribs. Holding a neutral expression he’d perfected over the years, my dad didn’t even have to say anything to let me know he wanted a private discussion

“… That’s my queue…” Sam ran away with sandwich in hand, and I turned to face my father as he leaned on the counter opposite me.

For a long, tense moment, we only stared at each other, and I ground my teeth and narrowed my eyes when he finally opened his mouth.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding here, Roark.” The grave quality in his voice made me uncertain, and I tensed as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t hate Julianne. She’s alive because of me- because I wouldn’t let your mother get an abortion. You think I didn’t have this conversation with Julianne before sending her to Wells, but I did. She was old enough to know why I couldn’t love her.”

Stiffening at my father’s confession, I went wide-eyed and slacked jawed, and he sighed heavily. Ice pierced my heart and invaded my veins, and the urge to throw up hit me hard.

“In our prenuptial agreement she’d get nothing. It’s the only reason we’re still together- I couldn’t bring myself to throw her out because she had a boyfriend. I would’ve if I’d known about the affair before she became pregnant, and I plan on divorcing her after Julianne turns 18. Your mother was a good wife, one of the great loves of my life, but after 20 years, things just weren’t the same. I made the decision to keep everything from you because I wanted Julianne to have at least one person in this family that loved her.”

Clenching my jaw, I rolled my head to relieve the pressure between my shoulders. I knew my parents weren’t in love and hadn’t been for a long time, but I never suspected how far that corruption truly went.

And Julianne knows… My heart nearly stopped at that thought, and goosebumps washed my arms as my gut churned. Turning my back on my father, I braced myself against the island to take a shallow breath. A hard palm landed on my shoulder, and my eyelids fluttered closed to hold back the sting that beat against them.

“You said you made an agreement…” Grinding the words out through my teeth, a sharp chill of fear raced down my spine.

“Yes. I would pay for Julianne’s upbringing as long as your mother cut all ties with her boyfriend. She loved him- wanted to leave me for him- but she would never see a dime of my money unless I gave it to her outside of our contract. From what I know, he didn’t make enough to comfortably support the three of them, and he didn’t want the burden of a child at the time. I know who he is, and if Julianne ever wants that, I’ll hand him over. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that, though. My wife isn’t the only woman he managed to do this to.” The sorrow in my father’s voice was potent, and I glanced over my shoulder to catch him frown deeply. “So, now you know, Roark. I need you to believe that I do what I can for Julianne, but I can’t find it in me to love her the way I love you.”

“… Did you ever consider that Carla was manipulating me?” Desperately changing the subject, I hovered up air through flared nostrils as my father sighed heavily again. Just in that one noise, I knew what his answer would be.

“I strongly thought that, yes. But it’s wasn’t and will never be me that makes your decisions for you, Roark. You were so in love with Carla that saying anything would’ve damaged our relationship. You had to get out on your own, and I could only support whatever you wanted. I was relieved when you told me you were getting a divorce, just like I was when you had Carla sign a pre-nuptial. I know you don’t remember, but the whole reason you separated and realized how bad Carla was is solely because you recognized the similarities your marriage had to mine. You’re my son, Roark- and I couldn’t have asked for a better man.” That sounds like something Ally would say Matt said. My lips quirked up at that, and my father’s palm slid from my shoulder before he cleared his throat roughly. “I’m hoping your new girlfriend makes you happy.”

Twisting to stare at my dad from under furrowed brows, I frowned deeply even as the knots in my chest unfurled. A hundred, thousand pounds had been lifted from my shoulders with this short, intense conversation, and I reached to rake my hand through my hair before opening my mouth.

“Did Sam tell you?” Suspicion colored my voice, and my father cracked a smirk that made him look ten years younger.

“You’re not discreet about it at all, Roark. There’s a gift in taking things slow, son, but don’t be too slow. Invite her over.” Blood rushed to my cheeks, and my dad walked of out of the kitchen while shaking his head. I felt like I did years ago- before I started to hate him for the way he treated Julianne. We were close up until my early 20s, and I never had reservations about going to him for advice.

Fishing my pocket for my cell phone, I rested my elbows on the island with a lightness in my heart. Easily finding Ally’s contact, I opened a text thread with steady thumbs, and a smile picked up the corners of my lips.

Roark: You busy?

Mine was such a simple message, and Ally’s reply was almost instant. My screen hadn’t even dimmed before the ellipsis appeared on her side of the thread to tell me she was crafting a response.

Ally: No. Come make me a pillow fort and feed me cheese puff balls.

“Ah-… okay…” Mumbling to myself as my brows arched, I typed a quick agreement before patting my pockets in search of my keys. “Someone’s not in a good mood.”

The drive to Ally’s apartment was only six or seven minutes, and I knocked on her front door before letting myself in. Instantly I stopped short, my eyes widening as they struggled to take in the absurdly large stack of mismatched couch cushions that sat where her coffee table should be. Peeking around the corner, I cocked my head as she crouched in front of her refrigerator with her head in her hands.

Even from a few yards away, I could feel how frustrated Ally was; irritation wafted off her in dark tendrils that were almost solid- they were so strong. Silently shutting the door behind me, I kicked off my shoes and made my way over to her to crouch in front of her. Reaching to stroke her crown, I frowned when she tensed, but she didn’t reject my touch.

“What’s wrong, Ally?” She didn’t move, but out of the bottom of my vision, I saw her toes curl slightly off the carpet. Affection threatened to drown me even though I could breathe fine, and she huffed before offering a response.

“They took my favorite movie off the Stream…” Muffing by her palm, Ally’s complaint nearly made me choke on my own saliva. Her favorite movie was an animated musical about ponies that had only come out the year before, and she sniffled harshly before continuing. “The fort was supposed to be a surprise, and I found a movie you suggested a couple times before… but now- it’s all ruined. This was supposed to be special.”

Breathe, Roark. She just got her birth control taken out. Just ignore the hilarity of this situation and you won’t get a knee to the balls. Thinking so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if smoke poured from my ears, I just continued stroking Ally’s hair as she sulked.

“Hey- hey, we can still make a fort and watch the movie, Ally.” My voice was rough from trying not to laugh, and I coughed to hide my attempt to clear it. “How about we make a date to go to the movie theater? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind playing it for you. I can even go tomorrow while you’re in school and talk to the manager if you want.”

Slowly lifting her head, Ally cast her watery gaze on me, and I pursed my lips together to keep from smiling. She was always so mature, but I seemed to bring out the baby in her just as she brought out the awkward teen in me.

“You’ll do that for me?” Her voice wavered, and her lips wobbled- and it was downright the cutest thing I’d ever seen. Nodding firmly, I cupped her cheek as she sniffled loudly.

“Of course, I would. I’d do anything for you, Ally.”