Ditched Cheating Alpha, I Led My Daughter to Life's Peak novel Chapter 176

My jaw drops. Oh my lord. This isn't happening. I'm dreaming, right? I'm having a nightmare, right?

She gives a stank face and leans against one of the chairs. "Word on the street is, you've got a pack."

"A pack?" Carson stutters, looking at me.

I shake my head. Not a werewolf pack. We'd only be so lucky.

"You know." She leans closer. "A group of... friends." She leans back with a knowing look.

"I'm sorry. I'm not understanding."

"... You're in a gang!" she screams.

His eyes fly open. "Oh! ...Wait, no!" He waves his hands wildly. "Of course not. I'm just a high schooler."

"Yeah, yeah. I know that's what you're supposed to say." She gives him a flat look. "But I already know, so you might as well just tell me when you're gonna sell my daughter's organs."

Carson drops to the floor. My head snaps in his direction. Did he pass out? "Carson?"

He's not lying on the floor. He's just leaning down on one knee towards my mother. "I would never hurt, Mia," he says staring into her eyes. "I would never drag your daughter into a situation that I thought would lead to her kidneys being taken. If anyone tried to take her kidneys, I'd take their kidneys."

Her eyes widen.

"Hypothetically of course," he corrects. "I don't know what I have to say to make you believe that I'm not in a gang, but I'll say it a thousand times if it helps."

"That's not necessary." My mother takes a step back.

"It is." He scoots closer to her, still leaning on one knee.

She gives me a wary look that could only mean one thing. 'He's out of his mind.'

I shake my head. No, he's just... passionate. I want to assure her that she'll get used to him, but I don't know how exactly to do that over Carson swearing an oath of loyalty to my existence. And heart. And kidneys.

"To Mia, family is everything. So I can't have her family hating me," he says. "She'll leave me." He stands up, following my mother who's basically running away. "So I'll do what it takes to make you love me, Mrs. Jones, because I'm going to marry your daughter."

I choke on air. What?

My mother can't stop blinking. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I'm not in a gang I promise, Mrs. Jones." He starts repeating that like it's his life mantra.

When she realizes that nothing she says will stop him, she turns and asks me, "How... How long does he plan on doing that?"

She sighs, brushing some hair out of her face. "Okay! Okay. You're not a gang member. How about this?" She points to the food on the stove. "Help me cook and I'll believe you're not a gang member."

He stops, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

She nods.

He narrows his eyes. "Wait. Why?" He crosses his arms. "Because if it's just to shut me up, that's not true belief."

"No that's not it." I pat his shoulder. "My mom just thinks that gang members wouldn't help cook dinner, right?"

She furrows her brow.

I give her a look that says, 'Just roll with it.'

"Oh." She nods. "Oh yes. Gang members don't cook."

Carson smiles and nods. "Sounds good. Let's do it then."

Carson doesn't slack off for a second. Whenever my mother needs Adobo, another seasoning, or anything from the fridge or pantry, Carson rushes to get it whether he knows where it is or not. I watch the whole thing from the floor beside my three siblings. I finally get to finish that spaceship I promised Charlie I would weeks ago. Michael and Megan help too, but they mostly just slow the process down. When the 'intergalactic vehicle' is done, I feel a sense of accomplishment like never before. Even though I wish I had done it weeks a while ago, I'm just glad I got to do it today. I'm glad I got to spend this time with him today. We pretend to fly it all around the halls, with Megan and Michael of course, and eventually Mom and Carson too when they're done cooking-thankfully Mom bribed the kids to be nice to Carson... and me... so they've been playing nice.