Breakaway (Beyond the Play, #2)(106)

“Darling,” she says. “Izzy is still getting ready, but your brothers are around here somewhere. You both look so beautiful. Thank you for coming, Penny.”

“Thanks for inviting me,” Penny says. “This is really incredible, Mrs. Callahan.”

“Oh, call me Sandra.” She squeezes Penny’s arm, flicking her gaze to mine for a moment. My heart swells. “I’ve just been so thrilled about the two of you dating, you have no idea.”

Then she leans in, the smile dropping right off her face. “Sweetie, you need to tell your uncle to leave.”

I’m shaking my head before she even finishes her sentence. “No.”

“Your father doesn’t want him here.” She glances over to the bar, where Uncle Blake is laughing with the bartender. “And frankly, I don’t want him here.”

I take a step back. I had been expecting this from Dad, but from Mom, too? “But… Mom, he’s family.”

She gives me a firm look, reaching out to cup my cheek with her hand. “And sometimes family is best loved from a distance.”

“No. That’s not fair.” I shrug away from her touch. “He’s clean. He’s sober. He moved back to New York to be with us again.”

She sighs. “Oh, Cooper. He said that when you were seven. Then he tried when you were ten, and again when you were seventeen.”

“And instead of helping him, you keep driving him away.”

“No,” she says sharply. Her lip wobbles, a wave of heartbreak coming over her face. Fucking hell. I thought that even if Dad doesn’t understand, she would, and the fact she’s not even mad, just upset—upset because of something I did—hits me like a strike to the ribs. “We tried for so long, but some things can’t be forgiven. Your father and I couldn’t have lived with ourselves if you got hurt again. Make him leave, Cooper, please. We can talk about this later.”

“Again?” Penny says. “What do you mean, again?”

“That was just an accident,” I say slowly. “Mom, it wasn’t his fault.”

“What accident?” Penny tugs on my arm. “Cooper?”

Mom presses her lips together tightly. “I’m asking him to leave, and if he doesn’t, I’ll have security escort him out.” She wipes quickly at her eyes, then blinks twice, standing up straighter. She plasters a smile back on her face. “You need to trust me, honey.”

“He’s not some criminal!” My voice rises even though I don’t mean for it to; a couple of people glance our way. Mom strides across the room, and I follow her, but Penny digs her heels in to stop me.

“Cooper,” she says. “I think you should listen to her. And your dad. Something’s not right.”

“You too?” I grind out. “Penny, seriously?”

“It’s just weird that he asked you for all that money.” Her eyes search mine. “Think about it, Cooper. What grown man asks his nephew for that much money?”

“It’s to pay off his rehab costs.”

She shakes her head. Her voice is very soft. “No rehab is over a quarter of a million dollars.”

“What, are you some expert on it?” I can’t keep the venom out of my tone. I shake her off and stride after my mother.

My father beats both of us.

If I thought I knew what my father looks like when he’s mad before this, I had been witnessing no worse than mild irritation. Rage practically dances across his features; his mouth is a tight slash, his gaze so dark even I’m taken aback. He snatches the glass right out of Uncle Blake’s hand, sniffs it, and slams it down on the top of the bar.

“Gin,” he snarls. “That was always your favorite, wasn’t it?”

“Richard, honey,” Mom says, glancing around. Her smile is all wobbly again. “Please don’t make a scene.”

“Oh, I’ll make a fucking scene.” He glances at me for half a second before grabbing my uncle by the shoulder and practically dragging him to the nearest door. “You’ve always been good at worming your way into places you don’t belong, Blake, I’ll give you that.”

“Dad!” I shout. My voice rings through the room, and I know I’m drawing too much attention, but right now, I don’t fucking care. I take a step forward, but someone grabs me around the waist.

“Don’t,” James says into my ear. “Let him handle it.”

I elbow him hard, and I must startle him, because he breaks away with a curse. “Cooper.”

“Fuck you,” I say. “You don’t understand.”

James grabs me by the elbow and hustles me to the wall. I can see Penny hovering; she puts her hand on Mom’s arm. The band is still playing, so I doubt the guests milling around can hear us, but they sure as hell can see us.

“Listen to me,” he says. “Uncle Blake is using you.”

I laugh. “You’re just like Dad. He says jump, you ask how fucking high. I thought maybe when you fought for Bex, you were finally getting a backbone, but I was wrong.”

His mouth tightens. “Don’t say shit you don’t mean.”

I reach for the door Dad and Uncle Blake went through and yank it open. We’re in some sort of dressing room; judging by the vanity in the corner, this is where a bride might get ready before she walks down the aisle. My uncle has his hands up, in the middle of a sentence. The moment he sees me, though, he stops.