First

Chapter 21

Eventually I was able to drag myself into the shower and I felt a little better but my stomach was still in knots over everything that had just happened. What was going on out there with Jace? I was worried sick about him. What had happened after I left? My mind was spinning in circles and each possibility I imagined just kept getting worse and worse.

I was waiting for Jace to call me—which I knew he would—and waiting for my dad to stomp up the stairs to my room. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to end up grounded for this little "stunt". But what terrified me more was the prospect that I would be forbidden to see Jace. That alone had the power to crush me more than anything else. Jace was my whole world and the one person that really brought me true happiness every day. Simply seeing him made me smile when I was having a bad day. The thought of having all of that taken away from me was the scariest thing I could imagine.

This whole situation was so fucked up. Why was nothing going the way I wanted it to? God, what I wouldn't give to have a rewind of this entire week. If I could I would change everything. Unfortunately that wasn't an option so I just had to deal with the consequences... And those consequences came knocking at my door an hour later.

I had mustered enough energy to curl up in a ball in the middle of my bed, hugging a pillow to my chest and wearing one of Jace's hoodies. When a knock sounded at my door, I didn't have to open it to know who it was. "Go away," I called, burying my head deeper in the sheets. The only person I wanted to talk to was Jace and the likelihood that it was him on the other side of the door was slim.

But despite my warning he still opened the door. "Kadence, we need to talk."

"And I said go away. I don't want to talk," I snapped, knowing that I was digging a deeper hole for myself but I was already in trouble so whatever I said now didn't matter.

My father entered the room fully and sat on the edge of my bed. "Well regardless of how you feel we are going to have this conversation," he replied, his tone holding no room for argument. I sat up and wiped the tears out of my eyes. I almost didn't recognize the man sitting before me; the look on his face was one I had never seen before. He was furious. But luckily I had anger to match his; he wasn't the only one who was pissed here.

I let the silence swell around us until it became unbearable; I wasn't going to be the first one to speak. Because, me, I had nothing to say to him. Finally my dad took a deep breath and said, "You are not to see that boy again."

"We'll see about that," I murmured under my breath.

Daddy cut me a sharp look. "What did you say?"

"I said we'll see about that. You can't just kick him out of my life!" I stated, each word clear and precise. I wanted him to know that I was going to fight tooth and nail for Jace.

He ran his hands through his hair in exasperation. "That boy is no good for you; why can't you see that, Kadence? Look what he was doing to you in the barn," my dad said, disgust clear in his voice. He got up and began to pace the room in agitation.

"What he was doing to me?" I laughed bitterly. "Trust me, that was all consensual." My dad winced but I was beyond caring.

"This isn't you. The Kadence I know would never act like this," he stated. "He's a bad influence on you; he's no good for you, Kadence."

I threw my hands up in annoyance. "How is he no good? What makes him no good?" I cried. None of this was making any sense; there was no reason behind anything that he was saying.