Thursday afternoon, Spencer comes up to me.
"Would you be mad if I slept over at Justice's tonight?" he asks.
I raise both of my eyebrows.
"No. You're an adult, Spencer. You can do what you want. I don't own you."
He nods slowly.
"I would leave after dinner. Would you be pissed if I told you that I invited every one of your family members, along with mine, to a barbeque tonight?" he asks quietly.
"Please tell me you didn't."
"I can't lie to you, love." He says.
"No." I say. "No way, Spencer. I'm going to stay at one of my friends houses' from college or something. I am not talking to them."
"Please do this for me." He begs, grabbing my hands. "Please love? Please?"
I study his eyes for a long time.
"Why does this mean so much to you?" I ask.
"Because you mean the world to me." He says. "Promise me you'll behave."
I shut my eyes.
"I promise." I sigh.
****
Well, is barbeque is a fucking disaster. My Dad has been yelling at me for three and a half hours about why I shouldn't be marrying Spencer, right in front of Spencer.
He has listed all of faults and pinpointed all of his biggest fears.
I stood there with my arms crossed leaned against the wall, patiently waiting for him to shut the fuck up.
I've remained calm for three and a half hours of him screaming at me in front of all of my family.
He's literally in my face.
He's making my children cry and he's just hurting my fiancé.
"AND YOU WERE SO MUCH BETTER OFF WITH FUCKING NATE THAN YOU ARE WITH SPENCER! NATE WOULD HAVE NEVER HURT YOU THE WAY SPENCER DID. ONE DAY, YOU'RE GOING TO FORGET HIS EXISTENCE! YOU'LL TELL ME I'M RIGHT! YOU WILL STOP DEFENDING HIM!"
And that's when all of my calmness vanishes. It was as thick as a tree stump, but with that single sentence, it vanishes.
My expression goes to bored, to fucking pissed in seconds.
And everyone actually backs up.
And I slap him.
"How dare you!" I hiss. "You don't know Spencer. You don't know Nate. In fact, you don't fucking know me. You know an eight year old girl, not a twenty six year old! You never met Nate. You don't know me! Nate, if you must know, tried to fucking rape me! He's hurt me a hell of a lot more than Spencer has. It takes two fucking people to have sex! It's none of your fucking business! I wish Uncle Albert was my real fucking father! He's a hell of a lot better than you are! If you ever yell at me in front of my children again, I'll be dammed sure to call the police. Spencer has done nothing wrong but made a few fucking mistakes. And so what? So have I. So have you! I'm happy! He's happy! Don't tell me I'll stop loving him and I'll stop caring and that I'll forget him and I won't defend him! I'll defend him till the day I die. Get the fuck off my property. You have exactly thirty seconds starting right the fuck now. If you aren't gone and out of my goddamn sight, I'm calling the police and having you arrested for abuse and trespassing. I'm going to marry him no matter what the fuck you say. You are no longer my father."
Silence.
He clearly wasn't expecting that.
I glare at him, counting in my head.
