“What the hell are you doing, Kandy?” He marched around the car to get to me.
“Going,” I stated, grabbing the door handle.
“Did you not hear what I told you last night? All those things you know about him—terrible things—and you still choose to go?” His voice was tight, the anger slowly surfacing.
“I heard everything you said, but like I told you before, I’m going to see him.”
Dad turned to look at Mom. “Are you serious right now? Talk to your daughter, Mindy! You’re just going to let her go?”
“Derek, I can’t stop her!” she shouted as I opened the back door. “Even if we don’t let her go now, she’ll find a way.”
“Are you kidding me?” Dad walked around the car to get to my side as I climbed in. He slammed a hand on the top of the car and peered inside, glaring hard at me. “Kandy, if you go, don’t bother coming back. Do you hear me? Since you want to be grown and think you know it all, don’t come back to my house!”
I looked up at him, seeing all the pain and anger swirling deep in his irises. He didn’t mean it, I knew he didn’t, but he was hurt and frustrated and didn’t know how to get me to stay. He knew he couldn’t drag me out—it wasn’t like him. He couldn’t force me to stay home, or cuff me to my bed because I’d only neglect him.
“I love you, Dad,” was all I said, and his mouth twitched. Cars honked around us and I looked up, spotting several vehicles behind his truck, trying to get by.
“This is a mistake, Kandy,” he mumbled. “You’re smarter than this.”
“I have to go,” I insisted. By now, my vision had blurred. I could hardly see him through the thick wave of tears.
Cars kept honking.
“Sir, I’m about to start my meter,” the Uber driver said.
Dad glared at him and then focused on me again. When one more car honked, he finally pulled away, cursing beneath his breath and slamming my door, storming for his truck. He climbed in and got behind the wheel, driving the truck to the end of the driveway.
“Take me to the bus station please,” I told the driver, and he pulled off.
“KANDY!” I heard Dad yell. I looked back at Mom, who was going toward the driveway, holding Dad back by the chest and yelling for him to calm down. Then she looked at the car, her face tear-stained.
I looked away before their anger and fear and doubt could get its claws into me.
I bet the driver thought I was an idiot. I cried the entire way to the bus station. He repeatedly asked me if I was okay, but I was sobbing too hard to answer. I hated breaking their hearts, but I also hated limiting myself. The feeling of being torn had to be one of the worst feelings ever. How was I supposed to decide?
How was I supposed to be happy when I felt happiest with Cane, but my parents also completed and comforted me in a way that no one else could?
I understood their worry—their fears—but at the end of the day, this was my life, and my mistakes were my own, and no one had control over my destiny and my future but me.
I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing, or if I’d even stay with Cane, but I was sure I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t at least talk to him.
Chapter Thirteen
CANE
I had to admit, I was at a loss. Kandy’s message was loud and clear. If she really wanted to be with me, she’d have come with Lora.
I scoffed at the thought, turning in my desk chair. She wasn’t coming. I’d lost her, and this time there was no point in fighting. Kandy wasn’t a dumb girl. She knew right from wrong, and I was no good for her.
I pressed my hand to my chin, looking over the deal in front of me. We were opening a Tempt store in Uptown Charlotte. I wanted to be thrilled that we were even able to do so, but the thrill wasn’t in me. My eyes veered to the left, and I glanced at my phone, wanting so badly to call her. “Fuck it,” I mumbled. I pushed out of my chair and swiped the screen of my phone to unlock it, but just as my finger hovered over her name, there was a knock on the door.
“Sir,” Cora called, popping her head in. “Mrs. Hugo is here to see you. I have her in the waiting area.”
I frowned, looking toward the clock on my desk. “She’s early.”
“Would you like me to tell her that it will be another moment or so?”
“No.” I looked down at my phone screen, Kandy’s name right there, then sighed, shutting it off and tucking it into my front pocket. I turned toward Cora. ”Send her in.”