UNDER

Chapter Twenty-Seven (Part One)

Chapter Twenty-Seven (Part One)

Caden

Clenching my fists, I paced back and forth across the living room floor.

How dare Pops take Hadley from me! Did he think giving me Kendall as a back up would really make up for taking away my sweet Hadley? I thought to myself.

Anger settled in my stomach.

Now she's carrying HIS baby? This has to be some kind of bad dream.

The stairs creaked as Pops came back down.

"Everything okay?" he asked with a grin.

I took a step toward him. "How could you?"

Pops' grin faded. "How could I what?"

My leg throbbed where the bullet had once pierced it. I let out an exasperated sigh. "You took her from me! You stole my future wife! Then you give me some back up and think everything is going to be okay? You know, I left here years ago and I wish I had never come back!"

Pops caught me by the throat and slammed my body to the floor in one swift motion. "You could never give her a child!" he spat. "It is up to me to keep the future of this family secure."

I desperately clawed against his hands. "Pops! I can't! You know I can't!"

He released my throat and stood. "You are incredibly disappointing, Caden."

Gasping for air, I scooted away from him until my back met with the worn oversized chair. "You'll never be proud of me! I'll never be good enough!"

Pops tilted his head to the side, letting out a loud popping sound.

"You were always proud of him," I said, not daring to bring up my deceased brother's name.

My father's eyes narrowed. "What did you just say?"

I stood up and braced my body for an attack. "I said, 'You were always proud of him.' Me on the other hand, I could never do anything right!"

Pops steepled his fingers and closed his eyes. "You know the rules, Caden," he said calmly.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins. "I've always followed the rules! But you still don't care! I'll never be good enough for you because I'm NOT CALLUM!"

My father's face turned a deep shade of crimson. "I told you NEVER to say his name again!"

"He was my brother! I can say his name if I want to!" I screamed.

Pops charged at me. Ducking I managed to avoid his outstretched fingers.

"Keep still!" Pops barked.

I moved around the room, staying out of his grasp by a few inches. "No! I'm done with you telling me what to do!"

"BE SILENT!" Pops roared.

"No! I'm done being silent! I'm doing listening to you!" I screeched.

"Your mother always spoiled you! You never should have been treated like a g-"

The sound of feet racing down the stairs interrupted Pops' sentence.

"What in the world is going on here?" asked Kendall with a look of disbelief plastered on her face.

Taking advantage of the distracting, I raced to the kitchen and pulled open the third drawer on the left. No! No! No! Where are they?

"Looking for these?" snarled Pops as he rounded the corner with a selection of knives in his hand. "I moved them, you know. To keep everyone safe."