Broken Souls Collide

Chapter 32- Broken Together

REECE

Wesley wasn't lying when he mentioned he got his physical appearance from his mother. Staring at the man standing in front of us, he looked absolutely nothing like Wesley; the complete opposite actually.

Instead of possessing the same tousled raven locks as his son, Mr. King had ashy blonde hair gelled back in a way that made him look exactly like what he was– a professional businessman. Rather than having deep forest green eyes, his were a dark chocolate colour which were currently piercing right through me in a way most people would find intimidating.

Except I wasn't intimidated in the slightest.

If it wasn't for the fact that they had the same nose, sharp facial structure, and ridiculously tall build, I would have never guessed that the man in front of us was Wesley's birth father.

Despite the serious and authoritative aura that this man emanated with just his presence, I so badly had the urge to just walk right up to him and wipe that stony expression off his face with a nice slap to his cheek. Unfortunately, I was stuck in my place as Wesley's arm came around my hips like steel, keeping me pinned to his side, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Dad," Wesley had repeated not-so-intelligently after a few moments of us being wrapped in uncomfortable silence, appearing dumbstruck by his father's presence. Mr. King raised an eyebrow condescendingly, looking at his son as if he was a toddler struggling to piece together a sentence that actually made sense.

"Yes, we've established that I am your father, now who exactly is the girl?" His father questioned again, slower this time.

"This is Reece, my..." Wesley paused and glanced at me uncertainly. "She's my friend, the closest one I've made since transferring," Wesley finally decided. Even though it was probably best introducing me the way he did considering we hadn't put a label on our relationship, the word "friend" still stung. It was all the confirmation I needed to know that I was in too deep to back out.

"And why exactly is 'Reece your friend' staring at me like my existence is the equivalent to the dirt on her shoe?" His father asked, a glint of amusement in his eyes as he gave me a quick once over before turning his attention back onto his son.

"Because it is," I spat without so much as a thought.

It infuriated me that he was acting completely innocent and unrepentant, like he held no remorse for endangering his son and making him bawl his eyes out on his bathroom floor for a good hour.

"Reece, please don't make this encounter worse than it has to be," Wesley muttered by my ear apprehensively, eyeing his dad warily as if he expected him to lash out any second now.

"Shut up and let me handle this," I simply muttered back.

I didn't know what Wesley was so worried about, Mr. King didn't seemed fazed by my blunt remark in the slightest. "Is that so?" The older man asked without a trace of emotion in his tone. He loosened his tie and dropped his briefcase by his feet before giving me his undivided attention. I pried myself out of Wesley's hold and forced a tightlipped smile in his father's direction.

"Take a seat old man, welcome to parenting 101."

"Oh?" Mr. King said with raised eyebrows, and to mine and Wesley's surprise he actually pulled out a stool from the island and sat down before gesturing with his hand for me to continue. I shared a look with Wesley before leaning back against the counter and lazily crossing my arms over my chest.

"First lesson: you are not entitled to throw sharp objects at your child when discipling them, it is quite illegal actually," I patronized in a firm and hard tone.