The Paralyzed Dream (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty Three

             "Sir, I can explain. It wasn't-" Slade stopped himself. He was going to say that it wasn't what it looked like, but that was false. It was exactly what it looked like, but nothing was going to happen; they stopped before it could. 

              "I don't care. I want you and all of your stuff moved out today." Zane said, not allowing time for another word. He turned and walked out of the barn, slamming the door on the way out. 

             "Slade, I'm so sorry. He doesn't mean it...he's just upset. Give him time to come around." Lacey pleaded with Slade. She reached out to grab his arm, but Slade jerked it free with a scoff.

             "Lace, your dad was serious, okay? We almost let things go too far, and your dad saw. I need to face my consequences. Don't downplay this, okay?" Slade said angrily to his girlfriend, immediately walking upstairs to his loft, most likely to begin packing his things. Once he was at the top of the stairs, Slade slammed his bedroom door shut, making Lacey jump. Never before had she seen him get angry, let alone snap at her. She tried to convince herself that there was something else that caused Slade's anger, but she couldn't be sure. All she knew was that she had to fix this. 

           With a sigh, Lacey followed her dad into the house. Once inside, Lacey called out, "Dad...can we please talk?" 

         Zane was angrily walking through the house, about to start supper since Lacey's mom was in town with the boys. 

            "Dad. Stop walkin' around. I can't keep up with you!" Lacey raised her voice, frustrated at herself for not being able to move freely like she used to, but also mad at her dad for not giving her two seconds of his time. 

              Lacey's angry voice made Zane stop, turning to look at her with his hands on his hips. They were in the kitchen. "What do you want to talk about, Lacey?" 

              "You can't fire Slade. What you saw wasn't what you think, okay?" She was trying hard to keep herself calm, knowing yelling at her dad would only make matters worse. 

               "It is exactly what it looked like. Slade and you were making out, about to take things too far." Zane's attention span was already distracted from his daughter.

             Lacey rolled closer to her dad, hoping he would pay attention to her. "Jeremy and I used to make out, and you never reacted like this." 

         "Yeah, because I knew Jeremy really well. Y'all were friends before you started dating. I don't know Slade that well. He's only worked here for a few months." 

            Lacey scoffed. "Slade is a much better guy than Jeremy. Slade and I talk about everything, and we both decided we would never let things go...there...before either of us are married. Jeremy used to literally beg me to have sex with him, but Slade doesn't think like that with me. And believe it or not, that was the first time Slade and I ever made out." She was talking with her hands, feeling herself getting angry all over again. 

              Zane spun around, pointing a finger at Lacey. "I don't care, Lacey. He broke the rules and I want him gone, and I want him gone now!" 

              "Rules? What rules? I am happy, genuinely happy for once in my life. So unless it is a rule now that I can't be happy, Slade did nothin' wrong. You just came in at the wrong time, and dad, nothing would have happened regardless, because in case you didn't notice, I am paralyzed which means I can't use my legs for anything, or even feel anything below my hips!" Lacey slammed her hands hard against the arm rests of her chair, making her dad give her his full attention. She had practically screamed out that last sentence. It took a lot to get Lacey genuinely mad, but her and her dad had never really gotten along well, so this argument wasn't anything new.