Ash made a sound in his throat that was part snort and part laugh. I kicked his foot as discreetly as I could.
“But the boys are adults. We can’t control who they’re with.”
“I can’t believe you’re okay with this.” He waved his hand between us, his eyes flashing.
“I’m not. Not really. But we either accept this, or we lose them. Right?”
Ash nodded.
“You’d throw away your family for a piece of ass?” Dad sneered at him.
“That piece of ass is your son.” Ash pulled me closer, his voice dripping with anger.
“Think about it, Ash. You’re willing to give up your family, all the support we give you, just so you can fuck your brother?”
“Stepbrother,” I snapped. “And what support do you give him? You don’t pay his tuition or his living expenses.”
“We pay yours.” Dad shot back.
“Not really.” I shook Ash’s hand off and wrapped my arm around his waist. “My scholarship pays my tuition.”
“Who pays for your apartment? Your books and supplies, your groceries?”
I wanted to make a crack about how Ash’s dad had paid for all that with Ash’s misused child support, but I kept my mouth shut.
“Are you really willing to cut me off? To lose me because I fell for someone who you think I shouldn’t?” I was trembling. This was all kinds of fucked up. “After everything.Youcan’t look past the hypocrisy of this entire situation?”
Dad’s face paled. “That’s different.”
“Is it?”
Ash hugged me close.
“We’re not related. We’re adults. Neither of us was with anyone, and we’re not hurting anyone by being together.”
“What happens when you break up?” Crystal asked softly, squeezing Dad’s hand.
“Ifwe break up.” Ash looked at me. “Then we go back to the way things were before.”
“What about holidays and—”
“We’re both graduating in six months. Once that happens, there’s no more apartment at school, no more forced proximity.Ifwe break up, then it’ll be like it was. We’ll be civil when we’re home and do our own thing when we aren’t.”
My heart constricted at the thought of Ash and me becoming strangers again. Of this ending and going back to being alone.
Dad’s eyes lit up like he was about to jump on us breaking up.
Ash shot my dad a look. “This isn’t just some fling. Do you really think we’d risk everything just for some ass?”
Strained silence descended in the room.
“I think we all need some time to process this,” Crystal finally said.
Dad was still glaring at us, but he nodded.
“We’re going out anyway,” Ash said.
“Out?” Crystal asked. “Like, together?”