Something in the Way (Something in the Way #1)(37)

And now that Tiffany was losing interest, I’d have him back. At least until school started. After that, I wasn’t sure.

I was about to embrace Tiffany when a loud, sudden knock on the door made us both jump.

“Tiffany?” Dad asked.

As when anyone came to her room, Tiffany snapped at him, as if it was her programmed response. “What?” she asked.

He came in, saw me, and pointed to the bathroom door. “Go to your room, Lake.”

He was angry. Again. Normally, I wouldn’t question him, but Tiffany had taken some of the heat tonight that should’ve been aimed at me. And I was feeling defensive of her. “Why?” I asked. “So you can be mean to her some more?”

My dad looked shocked. My first instinct was to apologize, but I didn’t. I stayed where I was, my shoulders square.

“It’s okay, Lake,” Tiffany said. “Just go.”

I looked between the two of them. Clearly, they didn’t think this involved me, but it did. It was about Manning. So I went into the bathroom and pressed my ear to the door.

“What was that tonight?” Dad asked.

Tiffany didn’t answer for a few seconds. “What do you mean?”

“You brought a stranger into my home. Someone who could be dangerous. You made your mother and sister go through the charade of making dinner and buying expensive wine. Why? What are you trying to prove?”

“Nothing—”

“He’s a lowlife, smug construction worker who jumps from job to job. Once he’s done with that house, he doesn’t have to show up for work the next day. What’s to stop him from rounding up his friends to rob us in the middle of the night and leave town?”

I gritted my teeth so hard, my jaw ached. That was completely unfair. Manning had been nothing but respectful tonight. He’d even made an effort to look nice.

“He wouldn’t do that, which you’d know if you’d given him a chance,” Tiffany said. “But you didn’t. You were so rude to him.”

“Oh, please. You don’t know anything about that guy. You just want to fool around. When are you going to grow up? Do your friends get away with this kind of behavior?”

“You’re overreacting.”

“I don’t want you seeing him again.”

“You can’t tell me what to do. I’m an adult.”

“Then start acting like one. Get a job. Or don’t, but if you want to keep living under this roof, you’ll do as I say.”

“Maybe I don’t want to live here anymore.”

“No? And where are you going to go with no money? If what you want is to screw around all day and shop and party, then find a husband who can afford to take care of you. I guarantee you won’t find him on a construction site.”

“You don’t even care what I want,” she said, her voice rising. “You just want me to roll over and do everything you say without questioning it. Like Lake.”

“You’re nothing like Lake,” he snapped.

They went silent. My heart raced, as if I were there, standing in the room, only it was worse because I couldn’t see anything. It was true—I did do everything my dad asked. And Tiffany did nothing he asked. I wished, for once, she would just try with him instead of deliberately pushing his buttons, getting him to say things to hurt her.

Dad spoke first. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“I know what you meant,” Tiffany said. “I’m not Lake and I never will be. If you don’t like the choices I make, then kick me out. I’m not going to stop dating someone just because you tell me to.”

“I will, Tiffany. Don’t test me.”

“You’d put your own daughter on the street?”

“If I did, it’d be for your own goddamn good. You need to learn—”

“Fine,” she screamed so loud, I actually pulled away from the door. “I’ll be gone in the morning.”

After a few silent seconds, Dad’s footsteps pounded the floor and a door slammed shut. My breath caught in my throat. Maybe Tiffany and I had our differences, but oh my God, I didn’t want her to be homeless. I had no idea where she’d even go. Tiffany and I had grown up in this house, a bathroom apart. I stood there so long, listening to the silence, not breathing, I started to see stars.

I let myself into her room. “Tiff?”

She was still sitting where she was when I’d left, staring at her door. “What?”

“Are you okay?”

She blinked a few times and turned to me. “Are you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

My hands shook. Tiffany tried so hard to be tough, but I knew she wasn’t. Maybe I was the only one who knew that besides my mom. I couldn’t imagine how it’d feel to be on the receiving end of those things Dad had said to her. I crossed the room and she opened her arms right as I launched myself into them. I was the one who started to cry.

“Stop,” Tiffany said. She laid us back on the bed, petting my hair. “They’re not worth crying over.”

“Who?”

“Men.”

“Even dad?”

“Especially dad.”

I drew my eyebrows together. I wasn’t sure what she meant by that. I’d heard her crying enough times after their fights. “Are you leaving?” I asked. “I don’t want you to go. Please, just go apologize to him.”