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“Good morning, sir,” Justin said.
“Good morning, Mr. Blackwell.” He leaned forward and whispered something in Justin’s ear. When Justin pulled back, he nodded with a serious look on his face.
“Always, sir,” he replied before turning to me. “You ready to go? Someone’s had a big night.”
I laughed. “Yeah, something like that.” The other parents headed out the door, taking their bratty kids with them, and I held my hand out to Justin for him to wait.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Officer Jenkins said outside the room. “You can’t take them home.”
Becky’s father argued, and I rolled my eyes. “Oh my God, will you shut that door? I can’t listen to that entitled prick anymore,” I said.
Justin laughed and shut the door, leaving only him, Luna, Harper, Rick, and me in here.
The moment the door shut, Rick rounded on Harper. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“Dad, I—”
“Don’t even start, Harper. You’ve done some dirty, terrible things over the years. I’ve turned the other way on things I probably shouldn’t have, but this…this…” He shook his head. “Did you know she’s taking Xanax for her anxiety about what happened to her and her parents?”
Harper’s gaze shot up from the floor to focus on his. “What? No!”
“You could havekilledher, Harper. If she’d taken one of those, and you drugged her, it could have killed her. And for what? A fucking grudge? Was this over Damian? Harper, I swear… If this was you marking your territory over Damian…”
“Rick,” I started, but he cut me off.
“I love you, Temperance, but don’t you start, either. Don’t think for a second I didn’t know you lied to protect your sister.” He turned to Harper. “You give her hell. You treat her like shit and damn near kill her, and all she wanted from you was your love.Everyoneshe loved was taken from her. Do you think she’d be here if she hadn’t lost everything? No! Even if Ididfind her after all this time and her parents were still alive, sheneverwould have come here. Maybe for a visit, but not to live. We received a blessing while she received a curse, hell on earth. Theonlything she got out of it was a sister. That’s it. She sure as shit didn’t need another dad, and I’ve accepted that. I’m happy to take my place as whatever she needs, but you are hersister, Harper! How could you do this?”
Full-body wracking sobs tore through her as she collapsed to her knees, crying into her hands. “I’m so sorry, Daddy.”
Welp, that was expected.
“Don’t apologize to me. I wasn’t the one you damn near killed for a prank. I’m not the sister you betrayed—again. And to hear about the incident with the clothes in the locker room?” He shook his head and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Jesus Christ, Harper. She’s been covering for your ass alongtime.”
“I’m so sorry. It’ll never happen again. I swear it.”
“You’re damn right. Because you’re cut off.”
Harper gasped, pulling her tear-stained face from her hands. “What? Daddy, no!”
Rick nodded. “Oh… oh,yes.That’s theleastof your worries, Harper. You may have to go tojail. Headmistress McArthur didn’t directly say you were expelled, and you can thank yoursisterfor that, but you may still go to jail. If you do, youwillbe expelled. I think getting cut off is theleastof your worries. You will learn some humility if it kills me. You will have food for your kitchen. I will replace necessities only. Past that, you get nothing. And no, you will not receive money for those things. You will send me a list of what you need, and I will order it and have it delivered to you directly. I love you, baby girl, but this is a lesson that’s been a long time coming.”
He turned to me, and I saw tears in his eyes. They spilled on his cheeks as he leaned over and pulled me into one of his awesome dad hugs. I was fairly certain they could win awards. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. We’ll get it removed. I know a doctor. I had a few embarrassing tattoos from my twenties. He did a good job.”
I shook my head and pulled away. “No. I don’t want to remove it. Go through all that pain just to end up with a gross scar—anotherone to remind me of something terrible that was done to me. No, I’m going to cover it.”
He smiled. “Well, you’d look pretty cool with a sleeve. It’s against the rules but let them try to sayanything. I’ll send Javier in here quicker than they can even say your name to call you down. I may not be able to defend you directly, but I’ll do it however I can.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I said, and his eyes widened.
Calling him that didn’t feel nearly as weird or traitorous as I’d imagined it would. In fact, it felt… right.
More tears welled in his eyes, and he pulled me tight. “I love you, Temperance. So much. I love your sister, too. Somehow, we’ll all find a way through this. I don’t know how right now, but we will. I truly believe we’ll all be a family one day.”
“I know,” I said quietly, so only he could hear me. “That’s why I gave her another chance. I hoped this was serious enough to line her ass out.”
He pulled back and kissed each of my cheeks and then my forehead. “You are far better than we deserve. I love you. Let your friends take you back. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
I hugged him once more and kissed his cheek before letting Luna and Justin take me back to the dorms.