to hurt him,” I added. My fumbling hands lifted up my cell phone to show him the image that was burned in my brain. He took in Dad’s swollen, bloody face and the dark room he was tied up in.
“Fuck, Blakely. Why didn’t you come to me?” he asked as the bank teller walked up to her station with a manager.
“With everything that’s happened, I just…”
“I will always be there for you, Blakely. I don’t care what is going on.”
“Ma’am,” the bank teller interrupted us. “We need your signature to approve the withdrawal.”
I gave Decker a look before signing the paper she had thrust in front of my face. Fifty thousand dollars was more money than I’d ever seen in my life. I couldn’t even fathom the amount. It made me sick as they counted the cash in front of us. Soon, they were placing it in Decker’s briefcase, and we were walking outside.
“Thank you for that,” I mumbled, pride making a burning shame fill my chest. “I’ll pay you back. I don’t care how long it takes.” Conviction clung to my words as we made our way to his car. I didn’t want to use Decker’s money, but I didn’t see any other choice. It made me perpetually sick to know that I’d owe him for the foreseeable future. Decker hated parasitic people, and I never wanted to be someone that used him.
“I don’t care about the money, Blakely,” he whispered softly while placing a hand at my lower back. I wasn’t even sure he realized he was touching me. It was just instinctual.
“But I do. I’m going to pay you back. I promise,” I replied in earnest.
“We can talk about it later,” Decker said before opening the passenger door to his car for me.
“Okay,” I replied, feeling numb and helpless.
“So tell me what your plan was exactly,” Decker demanded the moment we were settled in the leather seats of his car.
I didn’t exactly know how to answer him without sounding stupid. I knew that I was reckless and impulsive, but I felt trapped. I didn’t know what else to do, but I knew I had to do something. “I was going to show up with what money I had and bargain for my father’s life. Maybe call the police before I go inside. With that plan, I’d at least know that help was on its way while making sure they didn’t kill Dad the moment they saw red and blue lights.”
I handed him my phone with the address as he pulled out of the bank parking lot. “I want you to look at that plan like a scientist, Blakely,” Decker said while shaking his head. “You overlooked a lot of variables in that scenario,” he growled under his breath in annoyance. I didn’t like his tone or the flippant way he approached this.
“This isn’t some fucking experiment,” I replied in a curt voice.
“Exactly! This is your life, Blakely.” The exasperation in his voice was exhausting. “I knew you had a hero complex, but I had no idea how stupid you were,” Decker said before wrenching his face up into a pained expression. “I’m sorry, I know that was rude.”
“I get you’re mad at me, but can we please focus on the problem at hand? There’s no need to lash out. This is why I didn’t go to you in the first place,” I complained. My eyes kept glancing over at him as he drove. The sleeves of his button-up shirt were rolled up, showing off his muscular forearms. He was biting his lip while contemplating my words.
“I am focusing on the problem. You can’t just storm in there with a briefcase full of money,” Decker argued. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to come up with a way to make him understand.
“And I can’t just ignore it, either. I know you’re the type to quietly pretend nothing is happening and pray it’ll resolve itself, but I don’t have that luxury.”
“Are you talking about our relationship or your father, Blakely? ’Cause I can’t keep up.”
I gripped my thighs so hard my nails broke skin. I was livid. “What would you do? What would you do if it was Lance tied to a chair with cuts all over his face, two black eyes, and a broken hand? What would you do if they asked for fifty grand in exchange for his life and said they’d kill him if you told anyone?”
My analogy seemed to work because Decker’s face drained