Fiftysix - Seven Rue Page 0,69

alcohol in my blood was much easier for me.

But drinking wouldn’t become an addiction, so I wasn’t worried about that.

I had made up my mind about Riggs anyway.

At least I thought I did.

“That’s nice of you. Did you eat? We had something at the hotel before we came here,” Dad said, letting go of me again.

I looked up at him and shook my head. “I thought we’d eat something together. I can make some pasta though.”

Dad nodded, then grabbed both suitcases and walked toward the stairs. “How was school last week? Any important tests I need to know about?”

I followed him upstairs while Della walked into the kitchen to inspect every inch of it. She wouldn’t be happy about any splashes of tomato sauce or anything else on the counters.

Lucky me, I never cooked.

“No, no tests. But I’ll have one next week. I’ve studied hard for it, and I’m ready to take it,” I told him.

We walked into their bedroom, and while he opened the suitcases to unpack, I sat on the bed and watched.

“You seem tense for coming back from a spa vacation,” I pointed out.

“Della and I fought on the way here. Well, it was more a discussion than a fight. She wants me to stop working.”

I tilted my head, not finding that a horrible idea at all. “What’s holding you back from finally retiring?”

“My law firm. I don’t have anyone to take over. I don’t want anyone to take over. Not until I’m too old to go back to work.”

“Hm…but if you wait that long, who’s gonna make the decision when it’s finally time to let someone else take over?”

“I will. Just because I’ll be old, doesn’t mean I can’t make a valid decision.”

Touché. But still…

“You work too hard. I have to stand behind Della on that. Didn’t your doctor once tell you to be careful because you already have high blood pressure?”

“Yeah, so?”

I raised a brow. “That could lead to a stroke, and to be honest with you, I’m not ready to lose my dad because he didn’t want to listen to his loved ones.”

“I won’t have a stroke, and I will continue to work. Go eat, then head to bed. It’s getting late, Valley.”

I sighed and got up from the bed, walked over to him and kissed his cheek before heading for the door. “I’m just looking out for you. Good night, Dad.”

“Valley?” he called out as I turned my back to him, and when I looked at him again, he continued to talk.

“You look different,” he said, letting his eyes wander down all over my body.

Maybe it was the large sweater I had on, or the old sweatpants I never wore again since my freshman year of high school that I chose to pull out from the darkest corner of my closet.

Maybe it was the way I felt. Lonely, pushed aside.

And all that because of Riggs.

I missed him and his harsh touch, but I still didn’t feel like seeing him. Or telling him exactly how I was feeling.

“I had a fun week without you two. Maybe that’s why,” I teased, making him shake his head at me and chuckle.

“Good night, Dad,” I repeated, and without waiting on his response, I went back downstairs to make myself something to eat for the first time in the past week.

“Would you like for me to cook you something?” Della offered.

“Oh, no. That’s okay. You must be tired,” I said, smiling at her.

“Okay. Has Kennedy been over this week?”

“Yeah, a few times.”

“And did you have boy over?”

I raised a brow.

No, I had a man over.

“No. Would that have been a problem?” I asked.

“Oh, no, not to me. Your father was making speculations,” he explained.

Of course he did. “Only Kennedy. We had takeout a few times. She slept here too,” I told her with a smile.

“That’s nice. So you weren’t all alone the whole week. Have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she said, cupping my cheek gently before heading upstairs.

Luckily, none of them would expect me to start something with a close friend of theirs.

*

“You don’t look like yourself,” Kennedy said as I stepped out of my car in the school’s parking lot.

“I don’t feel like myself,” I muttered.

This morning I woke up with a major hole in my chest, feeling as if my heart had been ripped out.

Never had I felt anything like this before, and it was all Riggs’s fault.

“You’re gonna put on quite a show today with that outfit on,” she pointed out,