Hatred With Benefits novel Chapter 35

EVA.

"Are you ready?" Mom asks as I walk into the living room with my backpack and I nod before taking my gaze to Dad who's standing behind mom with his car key in hand.

"You don't have to drive me down there. I can take care of myself. " I tell him, and he shakes his head in refusal as he steps forward, and says, "Yes, I have to, Princess. I can manage to take a break for a few hours; you don't have to worry about me. " He assures.

I part my lips, but before I can speak; mom beats me to it, agreeing to his words. "That's right. You should let him take you. "

Knowing there's no stopping them after that, I nod and move forward to hug my mother.

"Thank you, baby. For showing up. " She says as she strokes my back and I pull away with a smile on my face, "Let me know if anything happens, yeah? Don't hide it from me, mom. Ever. " I narrow my eyes and she chuckles before giving a nod.

"You'll see me again, soon. " I proclaim, and she lifts her hand to my face to cup my cheeks with one hand before dropping it and wrapping her arms around me again. "Be careful out there, Eva. "

"I'll be. " I mumble, feeling her tenderness for the last time before I pull away, and take steps back.

I turn around and follow behind dad, and just before I walk through the door– I give her one last wave.

Climbing into the seat beside dad, my gaze goes from the house to the side as he drives out of the spot, and I fish out my phone; scrolling through my contacts before I stop at his.

ME: Are you back at the apartment?

Emerson's response comes after a few minutes.

ANNOYING FORD: Not yet.

ME: Were you waiting for my message, Ford?

ANNOYING FORD: I have better things to do with my time, Carson.

I can read the mockery that's attached to those words even through the phone as I type out a reply.

ME: Would have believed you, Ford but we both know that's a lie.

ANNOYING FORD: Why did you ask?

Emerson ignores my tease, referring to my earlier message.

ME: I'm on my way, and my dad is taking me.

ANNOYING FORD: Still being a daddy's pet? Scared of your father, Carson?

ME: Not any more like you are of yours. Don't start something you can't finish, Ford.

ANNOYING FORD: That sounds like a threat.

ME: It's supposed to be.

ANNOYING FORD: You're lucky I'm not right beside you, Carson.

ME: Or what would you have done?

"I'm guessing something good is happening if you have a smile on your face, Princess. " Dad's voice pulls me out of the moment, and I raise my head to him, cheeks flushed with redness at the unnoticed smile on my face.

"Yeah, I'm just texting someone. "

"A friend?" He raises his brows and I give a small bob of my head, wanting it to end there, but of course it's Mike and it would never end there.

"Do I know this friend of yours?" He asks as he takes his eyes back to the road before him.

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I tell you. " I mumble under my breath with a snicker.

"What did you say?" Dad questions as he gives me a side glance and I lift my eyes to him again. "No, you don't. Not yet. "

"You met this friend of yours from school?" I met him years ago.

"Yes. " I lie right through my teeth, not blinking as the word echoes in the space of the car and dad nods before looking away from me. Just before I return my attention to my phone, he says, "I want to meet this friend of yours who keep a smile on your face, Princess. " Far from being a friend, and definitely doesn't keep a smile on my face.

"No, you won't. " I surprise myself by saying and dad's eyes fall to me again, a crease formed over his forehead as he asks, "Why not?"

"Freedom, remember?" I remind him of the same words he said to me the day he dropped me for school, and I watch his shoulders sink in a sigh before he says, "I'm not disrupting that, Eva. Is meeting your friend taking your freedom away?"

"It certainly is if you feel the need to be cautious of the people I interact with, and you don't have to argue because I know that's what you're doing, dad. It's what you're always doing. "

"I'm just watching out for you, Eva. People aren't always what they seem. They can be dangerous, and you should never trust them blindly. " Words that I've heard from this man too many times in my life to have it at the tip of my tongue.

"And the world is full of nasty people; they pretend to be your friend, but at the end of the day, they will turn out to be your greatest downfall if you're not wary of the ones you choose to be by your side. " I complete his words before he could, and dad cast me a proud smile as he says, "Exactly. "

"I know where you're coming from, and I take heed to your warnings, dad. You have nothing to worry about– I know the kind of people I walk with. They aren't dangerous. " I drop my gaze to my phone before I add, "Especially not this one. "

Dad smiles at me before he turns his attention to the path in front of him, and I turn mine back to my phone, where Emerson's new text awaits me.