Dare Me Not | 18+ ✔

45. I'm Ready (Parker)

If I didn't listen to Xander, I would leave the key at my dad's secretary's desk. But given the way our talk ended last time, it's fair to attempt a more civilized conversation with my old man. He deserves that. We deserve a proper goodbye.

Being a proper adult is hard.

"You're back already," my dad says when he sees me stride into his office. He leans back in his seat with his hands on the armrests, tapping the surface gently. "It's not even a week ago when you said you were leaving."

Unlike the face he was wearing during our fight last week, there is no trace of mockery on his face now. He looks genuinely glad to see me, which is confusing. But this is the father I've known since before I can remember. He's lovely and fun at a time, but he can turn nasty and dangerous in no time. Reading his mood is like a never-ending game in my life.

It doesn't matter what sort of mood he is in right now because, for once in my life, I'm not coming to see him because I need something from him.

"I haven't changed my mind," I say. Refraining from sitting down, I stand behind the guest chair across from my dad's, my hands gripping the headrest top. "I'm popping up to clear out my office and to say goodbye."

He raises an eyebrow. "I see. You're learning to be stubborn."

"I guess the saying 'apple doesn't fall far from the tree' is correct." I shrug.

Instead of getting insulted, he laughs and swivels his office chair. Though his laughter sounds cynical in my ears. "Okay, okay, enough acting like a spoilt brat. It's time to go back to work."

"I'm not joking or acting out, Dad. I've made up my mind about not continuing my career with Hayes. And it's the reason I came here, to give you a proper goodbye and..." I pause, my hand digging into my bags. I pull out a car key and place it on my father's desk. "I won't need Wayne's help to drive me around anymore. And I hope we still be in contact despite my decision."

My dad snorts. "Who doesn't want this life?" he asks, opening his arms to point out his surroundings. "People kill for this."

"Too bad I'm not one of them." I straighten my posture to show I'm not backing down. "I don't want to be a CEO of Hayes Retail, and I don't want the life you have."

My dad doesn't reply to me right away. He fixes his eyes on me, his stare sharp as a knife, and his cynical laughter is gone. Normally, I'd squirm and succumb to his wish when he's like this. "You're making a huge mistake, Parker," he says in his deep voice. "A huge, huge mistake."

"I've been making mistakes for not listening to myself all these years. I knew I didn't want all of this, but I agreed to attend the schools and activities you sent me to because I had no choice?"

"No choice?"

"I was afraid."

"Afraid?" he asks, slowly rising from his chair. His movement is tentative, like a lion setting its sights on its prey. "Afraid of what? I wouldn't have forced you to do anything you didn't want to do. And you know that."

I wish I felt a little braver than this, but I swallow my cynical laughter. He may have not forced people, but he's a master of manipulation. I've lived long enough to witness what he did to people around him.

"I was afraid I would end up like Mom," I say truthfully. "You treated her like shit after the divorce, even though she was the mother of your child. And it's not like she left because she wronged you, yet you made it as if the divorce was her fault. I know she didn't get anything from you, not even the financial means to support her during the first years of separation."