Too Close

Chapter 13

Tyler's P.O.V

Olivia and I sat in silence. We sat in the dining room, eating the pizza she'd ordered. Ever since we came home I didn't know what to say to her, so I said nothing. Confessing my attraction to her would surely lead to nothing good, but I just couldn't help it. I had to explain myself to her after the way she reacted when I had that girl hanging around at the lunch table earlier.

Her hair was still wet from her shower and water dripped quietly on the cushion she sat on. She felt my gaze and looked up. I kept my eyes on her and took a bite of my pizza. She blinked, looking away, and put her slice down on her paper plate. I watched her jaw clench and a line formed between her eyebrows. I drew my own brows together, confused. Was she mad at me? I opened my mouth to ask but was cut short by the doorbell.

"I got it," she shot up to her feet. When I heard the front door being pulled open, my phone rang. Caller ID read 'Unknown' but I answered anyway.

"Hello?"

"Tyler," I damn-near choked on my soda when I heard the voice on the other end. The voice I thought I wouldn't have to hear for a very long time or preferably, for the rest of my life.

"How the fuck did you get my number?" I spat.

"Now, is that anyway to talk to your father, aye?" my sperm donor chuckled on the other end. His thick accent was like a cold, affirmative slap in the face. It was really him.

"You've never been a father to me."

"C'mon, show a little more respect," he said, starting to sound like the possessive man I knew.

I set the can of soda down on the coffee table and looked over my shoulder to make sure I was still alone in the room before turning back to my phone. "What possessed you to call me? Wait a minute—how the hell—aren't you still in jail?"

"They let me out early for good behavior," he chuckled for a long time, making the skin on the back of my neck crawl, knowing just how insane he was.

"My ass. There's no way they let you out of there, Jason," I stood up from the couch to check if the girls were coming into the room.

"I said they let me out on good behavior didn't I?"

"There's no way. After you did your time you were supposed to be sent to a psychiatric ward and live with other crazy people." I started, shaking my head. He couldn't have been let out on early leave for good behavior, the judge promised she would see to it that he was confined for a very long time during his sentencing to life for multiple accounts of murder convictions and drug allegations. Jason was messed up, and it sickened me to know he was in fact my father.

"So now that I'm in town, want to pay your old man a visit?" he asked, avoiding the subject.

"I'm not coming to see you," I felt my blood begin to boil the longer I spent on the phone with him. Just then, Haylie and Olivia walked into the room. Haylie immediately went after the box of pizza when she saw it,

"Then I'll just come and see you. Are you still at St. Gabriel's?" he didn't wait for an answer. "I'll bring a basketball and we can play a little one on one 'fore we catch up, how's that sound?"

"No, I'm not there anymore," I said through gritted teeth. "And I want you to stay away." Olivia's eyes landed on me, squinting in question. I walked up the stairs to my room so they wouldn't hear any more of the conversation.

"Listen, Jason, I don't know how you got out of prison but I don't wanna see you. Stay away from me or—."

"You're not at St. Gabriel's anymore!" he bellowed, cutting me off. I sighed as he yelled at someone in the background. "Hey, Walker! The fucker got himself adopted. Yeah, I don't know..." he started mumbling and I heard him moving around in the back as he started his own background conversation with Walker. "What's the address?"