Luna stayed silent, watching her Corvette burn, and when Archer grabbed her bicep and tugged her towards his car as he scolded her all over again, she didn’t argue.
Beckett had vanished, needing a minute to calm down, and I turned around to find Mom behind me, her eyes already on me.
“I don’t know why he thought that was a good punishment. I’ll just give her my Supra.”
She shrugged and hooked her thumbs into the pockets of her jeans, her eyes drifting towards the burning car. “That’s fine, but if she’s reckless in that, Archer has permission to do as he pleases with it.”
“You’d let him trash my fucking car?” I demanded, her eyes narrowing as she turned to me.
“Yes, because if you’re going to try and find a loophole to his punishment, then you can suffer too. He took her car away for a reason, Riley. Don’t fuck with his parenting.”
“We’re twenty!”
“You might be an adult, but you’re still our kids, honey.” She rubbed her temples, emotion in her voice. “We know the damage cars can cause.”
“Don’t drag us into your bullshit about Lloyd,” I hissed, hurt filling her eyes that were a mirror image of mine. “He didn’t die from being reckless. He died because your lifestyle got him killed.”
“Riley,” Skeeter warned, but I ignored him and stormed inside, heading up to my room to get dressed. I needed to go for a drive and clear my head before meeting up with Turbo later, and no offense to Blake, but I wasn’t hanging around the house to make her feel comfortable.
Luna
“I can’t fucking believe you,” Dad growled as he drove me home, raking his fingers through his scruffy beard. “What the hell made you drive to Riley’s while that drunk?”
“I don’t remember,” I lied, not wanting to tell him the truth. “It was stupid, I’m sorry.”
“You bet your ass it was stupid. I mean it. You’re at home unless you’re at school. If you want to spend time with Stanley or Riley, they come to you, and only when I say so.”
“Yes, Dad,” I mumbled, staring out the window.
We didn’t talk for the rest of the drive, and Mom gave me a disappointed look as we walked inside. “Call Stan and let him know you’re alright. We told him you were at Riley’s, but he’s still worried.”
I nodded, wandering to my room and shutting the door, closing my eyes as my emotions rose to the surface again. I couldn’t believe Stanley would treat me like that, and part of me wondered if it had been a terrible dream instead.
I pulled my phone from my pocket, finding it almost dead, so I plugged it in before calling him. It rang twice before he answered, his voice frantic. “Babe? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m so sorry. I was way too drunk last night, I shouldn’t have spoken to you like I did,” he blurted out, making me frown. I hadn’t expected him to apologize.
“Really? You’re sorry?” I asked, a deep breath leaving him.
“Yeah, I am. I have no excuse for my behavior other than I was too drunk, and that’s a terrible excuse. Can you forgive me? Please? I swear…”
“It’s okay,” I said quietly, relaxing at knowing he didn’t mean to take it that far. “I don’t like your friends. I’ve never met them before and…”
“I won’t let them speak to you like that again, alright?” he promised. “How much trouble are you in?”
“I’m grounded for life and Dad got Riley’s dad, Skeeter, to set my car on fire, so I’d say I’m in deep shit.” I sighed, scrubbing a hand over my face. “If you want to see me, you have to come here. I’m not allowed anywhere except school.”
“He burned your car? Jesus. He knows you’re twenty, right? Why don’t you just move out? He can’t stop you.”
“I can’t afford to move out,” I said and hung my head in shame as if he could see me. “I only have money because I’m here. If I left, I’d need a job or something.”
“Just walk out and tell him you’re staying at mine tonight. He can’t force you to stay home.”
“You think I should argue with him?” I questioned, unsure if I liked the idea. “I don’t want to be a bitch to him. He’s just worried about me.”
“He needs to treat you as an adult. Show him he can’t push you around anymore. Stay with me for a few days,” he suggested, hope blooming in my chest as he continued. “We can have movie nights and dinner.”