Consumed

Chapter 12: Milan

"Milan? Someone's here to talk to you!" my mom shouts from the stairway.

I come down, wondering who it could be. Since I decided to associate with Meri and people in the same spot in the pecking order, most people at school don't want anything to do with me. Our high school is populated largely by the popular type kids and their friends. Hence, the whole student population tends to be snobbish or else too afraid to go against the flow to associate with me.

Going to the foyer, I put a pleasant smile on my face, intending to greet whoever it is with hospitality as I've been taught. That idea goes out the window when I see who it is. "You have some nerve," I snap. "Showing up here. What do you want?"

"My daughter." Petre smiles at me. "She is legally under my jurisdiction now, unlike last week."

"Well, you can just turn around and get out," I storm over and open the door. "I'm sure you can find the way out."

"You can't stop me from taking her with me."

"Actually, I can. The police are in the process of ordering a restraining order against you." I keep quiet about the fact that they're also looking into the situation to see if an arrest can be made. They informed us that they nearly had enough evidence to put him behind bars, but I don't want to scare him off. They also told us to keep quiet about it if he came looking for Meri. We're supposed to tell him only about the restraining order.

"Well, I haven't been informed of any restraining order, so like it or not, she's coming with me. Her mother needs her back home. The poor woman is beside herself with Meri gone."

"What'd you tell her? That Meri ran away, and you've got the cops looking?" I sneer. "Just like you lied to me about the medications she's supposedly on?"

He glares at me. "I didn't lie to you about that, you insolent child."

I raise a brow, trying not to let out a derisive laugh. "Really? She seems perfectly fine to me. Happy, even. Maybe that's what you really wanted. Was for her to be miserable. If the meds are even real, maybe they're making her crazy. Or maybe," I lower my voice to an ominous whisper. "You and her mother are messing up the life of a beautiful, talented young lady. Regardless, you're never going to have her, and neither will her mother if she doesn't get her crap sorted out."

Fury blazes in the older man's eyes, and his fists clench.

"If you'd like to hit me again, I can call the cops and have you arrested for assault right now," I tell him. "Otherwise, get out of my house!"

He narrows his eyes, and then his gaze shifts past me to the hall. A slow, wicked smile spreads over his lips. "Meri, love... We were so disappointed when you didn't come to the wedding. We were hoping you'd be there. It was a small affair, but it would've been perfect if you could've been the maid of honor. Your mom even had a dress for you."

Meri stands frozen in the hall, her limpid gaze transfixed by Petre's hard one. "I... I..."

"Come now; we aren't angry with you. Just sad that you couldn't be there."

She finally looks at me, her eyes wide and pleading.

"He has nothing to do with this, darling. I'm here to take you home. Your mom is really not doing well."

"She was well enough to have her wedding to you," I interject.

Petre shoots me a glare. "We've been planning for that for ages. She was quite distracted during the ceremony though. Worrying about Meri and the like."

"The like, maybe. Had a little too much to drink or maybe she shot up before the ceremony?" I snap. "I would too if I was getting married to a demon."