Fiftysix - Seven Rue Page 0,114

she would turn and walk away again.

“It’s not fair towards them, Della. Valley said it perfectly. Differences are a big part of life, and I hate seeing you two so distant,” Dad said, his usually stern voice softer.

I kept looking at Della, hoping to see some kind of change in her facial expression, but she still didn’t look convinced by Dad’s and my words.

She also kept looking to the side, not meeting our eyes.

“If it’s more time you need, I’m happy to give it to you. But, please…don’t act like I don’t exist in this house. It’s painful enough for me to sit at the table at breakfast or dinner with you giving me the silent treatment, and I can’t imagine how painful it must be for Dad.”

Because no matter how much her and I suffered, Dad suffered just as much. We were the only two women in his life who loved him like no other, and seeing him all worked up over this was heartbreaking.

Della’s body relaxed a little, and I watched her closely as her gaze finally moved. Her eyes met Dad’s first, and after a while, she looked at me.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked.

She was talking. That’s a good sign…

“Of course. Anything.”

“Has he ever forced you to do things you didn’t want to?”

At first, that question almost made me laugh out loud, then it made me somewhat angry.

But instead of starting another fight, I stayed calm. “No, he did not. If anything, it was me trying to get his attention. Riggs is a good man, Della, and he would never do anything to hurt me.”

Unless I’d ask him to.

Her eyes now moved to Riggs, and I turned my head to look at him and see that his face was relaxed as ever.

Della’s words didn’t seem to bother him, which was a good thing.

“Why her?”

Riggs was quick to answer. “Because despite all her craziness, she’s got a big heart and an insanely smart brain. Even if I would’ve tried to make her do things she didn’t want to, she would’ve used that brain to send me off running. But like she said…I would never hurt her and I’ve never had the intention to.”

I smiled at his words, reaching for his hand and threading my fingers through his.

“I love her, and I think we made it clear that we don’t care much about who talks behind our backs. This is our relationship, and I won’t let go of her if this is what she wants.”

I was glad to have him right by my side for this conversation, because the more he talked, the more relaxed Della seemed.

“You don’t have to change your mind about us right now, but I hope you will sometime soon. We’ve been friends for so long, and it would be a shame if we’d continue to get out of each other’s way.”

Even without saying another word, Della seemed to have accepted us as a couple, and I smiled at her happily, silently thanking her.

“I’ll still need a few days to process it all. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable,” she said, looking from us to Dad.

He smiled at Della and nodded, rubbing her back to show her that what she just did was the right thing.

“This really means a lot to me, Della. Thank you,” I told her, unsure if a hug was too much right now.

I would give her all the time she needed, and to speed up the process, I got up and tugged at Riggs’s hand so he would get up as well.

“I’m spending the night at Riggs’s. I’m going to school from there and I’ll be home afterward,” I told my parents.

“Okay. You two have a good night,” Dad said, and after hugging him goodbye, I looked back at Della who gave me a quick nod to show me that she wasn’t ready for a hug yet.

Fine by me. At least she was rethinking everything she put us through.

Dad walked us to the door where I quickly changed from my heels into my sneakers and grabbed my backpack with my school stuff in it.

“She’s gonna sleep on it and be back to her normal self soon. Don’t worry,” Dad promised.

I hugged him one more time and watched as Riggs did the same, then he opened the door to let us out.

“Have a good night. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will. Thank you, Dad.”

*

“That went better than expected, huh?” Riggs said as he crawled into bed with