My blood boiled, and I couldn’t keep my cool any longer. “Do you hear yourself? Your father had the power to spare Tristin from being locked up for eighteen months. A fucking year and a half of his life. But because Vincent was more concerned about his reputation than his own son, he made sure Tristin went away for longer than necessary, all the while knowing he was innocent.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, mimicking his stance. “There’s nothing defensible about any of that.”
Hayle quirked a brow. “Those are brave words for a girl who is living in a mansion and attending college on the man in question’s dime.”
“Really? Now you’re going after the penniless orphan in this scenario? Does that somehow make you feel better about sticking up for your despicable excuse for a father?”
“You don’t get it.” He pushed that too-long lock of hair that was always falling over his forehead away. “Do you have any idea what my life would have been like if he hadn’t demanded custody of me and continued to take care of my mom? We’d be the penniless ones, without a home or any hope.”
Like me. “Low blow, Hayle.”
His expression finally softened. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight.”
“Then stop being an idiot.”
He turned to go but paused to say, “My dad isn’t a bad person, no matter what you think.”
“I think you’re blinded by your desire to become him. Sure, you can someday run his company, your family, this town. But what will you sacrifice to get there?”
Taking a page from Vincent’s playbook, I spun on my heels and walked away without giving him a chance to respond.
I had no doubt Hayle was already planning how to prove his father wrong. But didn’t he realize that was the last thing he should be doing?
He could do—be—anything he wanted. Yet, he was determined to be the next Vincent Sharpe. A man who had betrayed his youngest son in more ways than I could have even imagined.
No wonder Tristin kept pushing everyone away. I’d thought his complicated relationship with Leo, combined with the months in juvie, were responsible for his cold behavior. But there was more to it. He had daddy issues, and I didn’t blame him one damn bit.
Vincent needed to be knocked down a peg.
I didn’t know when or how, but I intended to be the one to do it.
Chapter Five
Thea
The next week passed with a surprising lack of drama. Though the rumors floating around campus confirmed that Tristin was no longer on non-academic probation, he hadn’t been to Western Civ once. And, not surprisingly, I hadn’t seen him around the mansion either.
Vincent had requested another “family dinner,” but Leo and I were the only ones who had bothered to show up. Hayle was clearly still pissed about the confrontations—with his father and with me—and appeared to be avoiding us both. I hadn’t gotten more than a nod from him all week.
Being ignored by Hayle and Tristin was leaving me feeling oddly bereft. It was strange—for years, I’d done my best to avoid people. But, now, I missed my friendly exchanges with Hayle. I even missed the not-so-friendly ones with Tristin. He’d never said much on our short drives to and from campus or in class, but his presence had been reassuring.
As much as I wanted to be pissed at him for blowing me off, I couldn’t seem to muster any anger. Mostly, I missed him and worried about him spending so much time alone.
That troublesome, interfering part of me wanted to march up to his borrowed boat and demand that he speak to me. Then, I remembered my interfering ways had caused the whole clusterfuck that led us here, and I resisted.
I was doing my best to power through each day without dwelling on Tristin. The only time I allowed myself to remember how it had felt to be wrapped in his arms was when I rode my bike. Which was fairly often, since a stretch of particularly good weather had allowed me to take my cruiser to and from class every day this week.
As I walked into Western Civ, I was surprised to find Violet already in her seat. I’d started to wonder if she was on her deathbed, so I was glad to see that she’d finally made it back to class.
I attempted to avoid eye contact with the two blonde gossipers as I slipped