Aubree sat up behind me, pulling her clothes back into place. Her lips parted, and tears filled her eyes. "Daddy, I can explain."
"Daddy?" I exclaimed, looking from Aubree to the doc.
"I'm going to fucking kill you!" the doc said just before he lunged at me.
Aubree
Daddy's eyes were filled with rage as he lunged at Cash. He knocked into him, taking down a shelf. Shock and disbelief completely consumed me as I watched my father attack the man I was falling hopelessly in love with. This was worse than any nightmare, because I knew there was no waking up from this. If I didn't do something. If I didn't intervene, they would kill each other.
Dad's fist came flying at Cash, and Cash ducked, causing Dad to punch the wall. He cried out, grabbing his hand. "Daddy, no!" I yelled. He was a surgeon; he needed that hand. If he did damage, he wouldn't be able to work. He wasn't thinking clearly, and I needed to be his brains. "Please stop!" I begged, hoping that my voice would snap him out of the dark place he slipped into. My words couldn't reach him though. Nothing could. Dad continued to throw more punches and Cash continued to dodge them. I looked around the room for something I could use to restrain him.
"How dare you touch my fucking daughter?!"
"I didn't know she was your daughter!" Cash yelled, trying to defend himself, but it was as if a switch flipped in Dad. Nothing was getting through to him. The look of fiery rage burned brightly in his eyes, and only grew with each passing second.
Cash held him by the shoulders, determined to hold him back. I knew he was resisting using his full strength because of me. I didn't know what else to do, so I jumped in front of Cash as Dad brought his fist back.
It came at me in slow motion like a movie just before something bad was about to happen. "No!" Cash yelled out, and grabbed Dad's fist before it made contact with my face. He threw Dad on the floor, seething with a murderous glare.
I had to do something and I prayed that my pleas would work better on Cash than they did on Dad. Cash raised his hand above his head ready to strike. "Cash, stop." I grabbed his wrist, halting him from beating Dad's face to a pulp. "Please. Don't hurt him. Please," I begged, and he snapped his eyes to mine. The deathly glower dissipated as he rose to his feet. He took my face in his hands, resting his forehead against mine. "Are you okay, Sunshine?"
"I'm okay," I assured him, and then broke away to check on Dad who was pushing himself up from the floor.
"Daddy, here let me help you." I went to grab his arm to help him up, and he snatched his whole body away from me. "Daddy?" Tears filled my eyes as, for the first time in my life, I saw my father look at me in total and utter disgust.
Dad pulled at his collar, and swiveled his neck back and forth. "What are you doing with this dirtbag?" he demanded as he got to his feet.
"He's not a dirtbag!" I sneered, and then looked at Cash with a silent apology.
"He's a criminal, Aubree. A goddamned criminal."
"You don't even know him!"
"And you do?" Dad questioned with venom in his tone.
I went to speak, to defend Cash, but Dad held his hand up halting me.
"Aubree, we're leaving." I didn't move. I stood between Cash and my father, an impossible decision lingering before me. Do I alienate my father? A man I loved and respected. A man who worked hard and gave me everything. Or do I give up Cash, the man I was falling hard for? "Now!" Dad yelled, and I jumped at the pure ferociousness in his tone. Something I never heard before, and didn't even know he was capable of.
"No! I'm not going." I crossed my arms in defiance, finally taking a stand for myself. I was so tired of him thinking he could make my decisions for me. I might have lived under his roof, and loved him unconditionally, but that didn't make me his puppet. I was an adult, and this was my choice. It was time for him to respect my decisions and stop treating me like a child.
"Fine, you want to act like a child, then I will treat you like a child." Dad's hand latched onto my wrist, and he pulled with an angry yank.
I stumbled forward and a surprised squeak spilled out.
Cash lunged toward us. "Don't you fucking touch her!" He stood in front of Dad, blocking our path, and hovering over him by several inches. Cash looked down at Dad, moving closer to him with each second.
He eyed my father with a murderous glare, and I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't stand to watch these two fight about me. This was all my fault. I knew Dad would never approve of someone like Cash, and that was the main reason I went after him. Kind of like a "eff you" to Dad to show that I didn't fit into this perfect little box that he tried to mold me into. In hindsight it might not have been an adult thing to do, but I had no regrets.
I just never expected to fall for Cash the way I did. It was so quick and so easy. He came into my life like a tornado, uprooting everything I ever thought I knew about myself, and changing me. I never believed in soul mates, but for a second there I thought maybe they were real. I wanted him so badly, but I wasn't sure if the cost of losing my family was worth it.
"Daddy," I said, again, this time tears cascading down my cheeks. "Let's go."
My gaze swung to Cash's, and I might as well have drove a knife through his heart. He stumbled back, a man stripped of power and control in this situation. I did that to him, and I didn't feel stronger. All I felt was complete and total remorse and overwhelming sadness.
His eyes looked deep into mine, a quiet plea not to leave him. But, what other choice did I have? As much as I wanted him, I didn't want to give up my family. I mouthed, "I'm sorry," and walked away from Cash again, knowing this time it was for good.
Out in the hallway, I straightened myself up, and ran a hand down my front to make sure nothing was out of place.
"Where have you two been?" Mom's voice echoed off the walls, as she and William appeared at the end of the hallway.
"My button broke, and Aubree was helping me fix it." Dad said the lie so easily; it just rolled his tongue. I wondered how many other lies he had told so easily over the years.
I cleared my throat, fighting back the emotion that was clawing its way to the surface. "It's good as new now," I said, with a perkiness I didn't think I could manage.
"Good, now let's get back. There are people asking for you, and we have dinner reservations in an hour at the club," Mom said, as she glanced at her Cartier watch.
"I'm not going to be able to make it to dinner," Dad said.
"What?" Mom exclaimed. "You missed dinner the other night. What can be so important that you have to miss it again?"
Dad ran a hand down his arm. "I just have a lot of paperwork at the office. It can't wait till tomorrow," Dad said, and I knew it was another lie. He just couldn't stand to be in the same room with me. He didn't want to sit across from me at dinner. Didn't want to be reminded of what a disappointment I was to him. It was going to kill him and the realization tore at my heart, ripping it to a million tiny pieces. I was not only humiliated, but hurt that my own father couldn't stand to be in my presence.
"You okay?" William asked, and draped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me gently against him. He was warm and safe, but, in that moment, it suddenly became abundantly clear to me. Warm and safe would never be enough for me when I knew hot and dangerous was in my reach. I craved it and the need for it was stronger than anything I had ever felt before.
We all made our way to the door, but I couldn't help myself from glancing back. Cash stood in the doorway like a shadow. I searched his face, trying to determine what he was feeling. To know that he understood my decision and was just as heartbroken as me. But, as I scanned all his hard lines, I found nothing. He was completely devoid of emotion.
Cash
I'd been shot, stabbed, and tortured. All of which caused unbearable pain, yet having Aubree choose her father over me rivaled them all. Anger surged through my veins as I watched her walk away from me with that douchebag's arm wrapped around her shoulder as if he owned her. He didn't own shit. She was mine, and I needed her back.
Determination outweighed the anger, and I set off after them. Just as they pushed through the doors, Kade came in. He pointed over his shoulder. "Was that panty girl with the doctor?" he asked, but then the laugh lines around his face dissolved. It took one glance for him to know shit wasn't okay.