102 | torn-1

To say that Nevaeh's father is shocked would be the understatement of the century. I never saw a person so consumed in disbelief before. He looks like someone just put a bullet in his head. To my surprise, he suddenly laughs. Boisterously. His loud laughter echoes in the room while the rest of us just stare at him, frozen on the spot. Once he finishes laughing, he sighs. He rakes his fingers through his fair. "God, this must be a prank for my birthday, right?" I look at Nevaeh, who's biting her bottom lip so hard I'm afraid that it's going to bleed. That fierce look is still plastered on her face, but her eyes can't lie. They start to brim with tears. She can't hide her worry. She's goddamm scared that we will part ways because of her family. I want to hold her and assure her that everything will be okay, but I have to fix this situation with her father first. Mr. Spencer seems to notice the distraught look on her daughter's face. He goes rigid. Someone chuckles. It's Max. "What the heck was she talking about?" he asks Luna, shaking his head in disbelief like this is some kind of a joke. Luna pales, balling her fists on her lap as she sits still beside him on the couch. She's afraid to look at him. But then, she does, and when it happens, Max can see the truth and guilt skating all over her face. "Wait." He winces, taken aback. "Is it true?" Luna tries to lean closer to Max, but she stops because of the look on his face. His mouth hangs open. He's staring at her like she just hit him. "Max." Luna's lips tremble. Max snaps his head toward Nevaeh and then back toward Luna. Everybody knows how much Max cares about Nevaeh like his own little sister. "You knew about this?" Max's voice is filled with anger. He scrutinizes Luna, and my sister almost cries because the hurt look in his eyes shows her how much he feels betrayed. One would think that after everything they'd gone through, she would have never hidden things from him ever again. I understand that Max expected no more secrets between them, especially if it was happening to a person he wanted to protect. My sister broke her promise to be always honest with Max, and she did it for me. What was I supposed to do? Nevaeh kept telling me that she didn't want her family to know about us. Max's jaw tightens. He stands up from the couch and leaves with his fists clenched on his sides like he's trying so hard to control his emotions. "Max." Luna immediately stands up too. "Max." Her voice is shaking as she calls him louder. She rushes to follow him. I curse silently. Fuck. I just made them fight. No matter how much I hate letting go of my sister to some guy, I know that Max is not just some guy. I fucking hate to see him go -- and yes, he doesn't have to know that. I focus my attention back on Nevaeh's father. Maybe I should worry about the possibility that I wouldn't make it out of this house alive, but goddammit, when I look at Nevaeh's father, I can't help but feel concerned. The man indeed looks like he's about to have a heart attack. "Nevaeh?" His voice is barely a whisper. He throws her a questioning look, begging her to tell him that it's a joke although judging from the look on Nevaeh's face, it clearly isn't. "I'm sorry, Dad. But it's the truth," Nevaeh says. Her voice has changed from loud to gentle because of her father's reaction. "Aiden has been living in Seattle too. He works there. Actually, he helped me a lot. My life in Seattle wasn't always easy, especially at the beginning, and I wouldn't have made it if he hadn't been there for me. I didn't expect that I would live with him and fall in love with him, but--" "Living together?" Mr. Spencer's voice booms like an earthquake shaking the house. Fuck. The man has raised his voice and it's deadly. Nevaeh's mother appears beside him, touching his arm as she tries to calm him down even though I can see that she hasn't recovered from the shock either. Right now, Nevaeh is emotional. She's panicking. She's so determined to make her parents understand her feelings, but in this case, it's not going to work. Her father won't care about that as long as he thinks that I'm the worst man for his daughter. "I know that you're against this, but Aiden and I…" She lets out a shaky breath, trying her best to not burst into tears. "We've been through so much these past few months. I know his feelings. He cares about me. He loves me. I would stay with him for the rest of my life." If her father looked like having a heart attack before, now he looks like a corpse with his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. Anybody who heard this kind of situation would think that I was taking advantage of Nevaeh, and honestly, I wouldn't blame them for thinking like that. Our age gap is a disadvantage here. "Sir." I step in, trying to approach him carefully and clear the misunderstanding in his head. "It's not like that." Nevaeh snaps her head toward me, looking extremely confused and hurt. "What do you mean? It's not?" Oh, God, what did I just say? Is she thinking that I'm denying it? Mr. Spencer shoots me the most murderous glare, and before I know it, he storms at me. He punches me in the face, and I stumble backward because of the blow. Nevaeh screams. Shit. That was some goddamn punch. I almost black out and my ears are ringing. "Dad! What are you doing?" Nevaeh yells. Her sobs break while I blink, trying to regain my composure. Mr. Spencer is still shaking with rage, but Vaughn holds him back, circling his arms around Mr. Spencer's armpits to prevent him from attacking me again. "Jake," Vaughn warns, reminding him to stay calm. The women watch with a mixture of shock and concern. Sienna, Max's little sister, has her mouth covered in her hands and eyes wide. Damn. This is not going well. Fucking not going well. "Get out," Nevaeh's father hisses. "Get out of my house now," his voice is shaking as he speaks through gritted teeth. Nevaeh looks at me in horror. She doesn't want me to leave, but she knows the disaster that is happening now. "No." She shakes her head in disbelief and turns toward her father. "Please, Dad. Please--" "Did I not make myself clear?" He still sets his eyes on me, ignoring his daughter's plea. There's so much venom in his voice. "Get the fuck out of my house," he roars. When Nevaeh turns her head toward me again, the panic on her face makes my chest tighten. I try to assure her with my eyes that everything will be okay, that this isn't the end, but I don't think that she believes it. The fact that no guy has ever gotten through his father doesn't help. The tears streaming down her cheeks are killing me. Mr. Spencer is about to break free from Vaughn, and that's when Vaughn gives me a firm look, struggling to tighten his grip on Mr. Spencer. "I think it's best that you leave now, Aiden," Vaughn says. The fact that Vaughn is still talking to me with respect is surprising. He might have done the same thing Mr. Spencer did had I been a total stranger. But I'm not. I'm Luna's brother. He understands my family, and I hope that he doesn't judge me wrongly. I nod. I don't want to cause more problems. Nevaeh's family has a lot to process. I'll be back. After giving Nevaeh one last reassuring look, I turn around and leave the house. "What's that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't you understand?" My loud voice echoes in my parents' room. I can't even count how many times I've yelled at my dad since I entered this room. Dad is standing in front of me with anger still radiating from his body. Mom, on the other hand, looks stressed, touching her temple as she looks down.