Against the Odds (Book 2)

♥ Chapter VI ♥

Thion's words stuck with me for days.

What he'd said wasn't knew information or things I didn't subconsciously already know. The thing was, he put it all out there in the open and I simply couldn't push it away.

So now, this was in my head constantly—before I went to sleep, when I woke up, while I showered or had dinner with my parents who had no clue I was contemplating a future without them in it.

On Tuesday morning, over a bowl of cereal, I was doing this exact thing. I was so caught up in my head that I didn't even notice that my dad was in the room until he cleared his throat.

"You all right there?" he said, smiling.

Prince White was in good shape at age fifty. Yes, my grandparents named their eldest son Prince. Like most men his age, there was the light dusting of grey strands in his sea of red hair, but mostly took over his sideburns and close to his temple. When he wasn't buried in company work (which wasn't often), he divided his time between spending it with my mom or hitting our indoor gym.

Most of the time, I preferred his company over my mother's. He was easier to talk to, more understanding with certain issues, and his advice was almost always helpful.

Then there were the other times where none of that applied.

I smiled back, nodding. "Yeah. Just dreading the day. It's officially time to start college shopping." As much as I loved shopping, Jada and I tended to literally shop till we dropped, so it wasn't a lie. Not entirely.

He turned toward the cupboard where the mugs were stashed but not before I saw his smile tense around his lips. "With you're ah, friend?"

I looked down at my cereal, not finding it very appetizing anymore. "Jada."

"Ah, yes," he said, his interest already dead.

My spoon idled inside my bowl and the awkwardness eased a little when Madam Mayla, our main chef, entered the dining room with a train of kitchen helpers behind her, carrying platters of breakfast food.

I wanted to throw my bowl at my father's head. I was tempted but the various bodies moving around were great at discouraging that. The last thing I needed was getting sued before I left for college.

I was frustrated and fed up with this whole thing. How they were so dismissive of my friend because...

I was confused and struggling and going through a crisis—they were my crisis; my own parents. All for a guy I knew for a few hours.

Only it wasn't for him—he was just the last straw for this to become overwhelming. This was for Jada, and Thion, and their entire family. It was for Major and Justus and even Tristen even though he has more of a chance stepping foot in this house more than the rest of them did.

That's why, when Mayla came over to me and offered to take my bowl despite me not being finished, I all but pushed it into her hands as I stood. She must've caught onto my mood. Or maybe what I felt was on my face and she wanted to get me out of here before food started flying.

I thanked her and turned to leave the kitchen without another glance in my dad's direction.

"Good morning. Leaving so early?" My mom caught me as I'm exiting the room.

I only slowed down enough to say, "I guess my stomach isn't up for a big breakfast." I turned to glare at my father. He was sipping from his mug but the clench in his jaw told me he could hear me and he had a lot more to say than he was willing to.

I briefly heard my mother asking what was wrong but I was already halfway to the front door.