Becca Ritchie - Hothouse Flower

I glance at Lo. I don’t know what to say.

Lo suddenly rises from the other couch. “Dad, I’d like to talk to you alone.”

“Well we all can’t have what we want, can we? I said I’d like to talk to Daisy alone, and you mouthed off to me. So I will kindly do the same to you. Cheers.” He raises his empty glass.

My heart thuds. I’ve never, in my life, been in a room alone with the two of them. And from what I’ve heard, it can get nasty.

Lo turns his head, his eyes hitting mine. “Give us a minute, Daisy.”

I stand to leave, but Jonathan destroys my chance to escape. “Don’t be ridiculous, stay. My son doesn’t dictate when I speak to people.”

I freeze.

Lo glowers. “I know what you’re doing. And it’s not going to work, so just stop.”

Jonathan raises his brows and leans back against the couch, his arms outstretching over the top. He waves him on. “Please, Loren, tell me what I’m doing. Enlighten me, since you think I’m so dimwitted.”

Lo grinds his teeth.

Jonathan just smiles and says, “I’m waiting.”

“You can’t use her to get to him,” Lo retorts. “Just leave her alone.”

“Is that it?” Jonathan asks.

Lo stays quiet.

His dad straightens up on the seat. “Let me educate you, Loren,” he says, “when there are paths to be taken to achieve a goal, real men don’t stare at them with their cock in their hands. They take the goddamn path whether it fucking works or not.” He points at him with his finger. “And I will do everything I possibly can to get my son back, just as I would do for you.”

The first half of that speech makes me cringe, and the second makes me reevaluate the first half. Now I can see why it’s confusing having him as a father. I don’t know whether to run away or stay and hear him out.

Lo looks at me again. “Go, Daisy.”

“Stay,” Jonathan snaps, his voice harsher after all the booze. His gaze heats on Lo. “You’re a goddamn terrible listener.”

“You know what, so are you,” Lo sneers. “Because if you’d listen to anything I’ve been telling you or what Ryke has said, you’d know that he’ll hate you if you bring her into this shit. You can’t be forgiven for that. So I’m helping you. Open your goddamn ears.” He turns around and grabs my wrist, tugging me into one of the plane’s bedrooms.

“Loren!” Jonathan yells, but Lo just shuts the door and locks it—truly closing his father out.

It makes me nervous that he’d switch the lock—that somewhere, he’d fear his dad rushing in and doing what? Cold blows through me, and I shiver.

Lo stares down at me and says, “This is about the hundredth reason why I don’t want you dating my older brother.”

“I’ll be able to handle it,” I say. “It’s not like my parents make Ryke feel warm and welcome.”

Lo shakes his head. “Greg’s third-degree and my father’s are not even comparable, so don’t try.”

I realize this is the first moment I’ve been alone with Lo since he learned about my relationship with Ryke. “I love him, you know? I’ve been with a lot of awful guys, and he’s the only one that’s ever made me happy.”

Lo stares at me for a long moment and then a knock on the door makes me flinch back. The knob jiggles. We both stiffen, and then a rough voice calls through the wood, “Fucking let me in, Lo.”

I relax as Lo unlocks the door, and Ryke scans his brother’s features quickly before turning to me. I hear the door shut, and Ryke hugs me to his chest immediately, his hand on the top of my head.

“Was she left alone with him?” Ryke asks Lo.

“No, I was there.”

“Just you two?”

“Yeah, it was fine,” Lo says. “Nothing happened.”

“Then why the fuck did I hear Dad scream your name at the top of his lungs?”

I look up and Ryke’s dark gaze focuses on his brother, but he keeps holding me like if he lets go something bad may happen.

“We had a disagreement,” Lo says, sitting on the edge of the bed. He rubs his eyes like he’s just tired from everything.

“About Daisy?” Ryke frowns. “Or about me?”

“Both.”

Ryke’s eyes flash murderously. “He needs to leave her out of our family shit.”

“You need to talk to him or else he’s going to bring her in it.”

“Fuck,” Ryke curses. He lets out a deep breath and then he looks down at me. “You okay?”

I nod. “Yeah.” I give him a smile. “I get all of you, right? This is just another part.”

“This isn’t a fucking part I wanted to give you, ever.”

“Something we agree on,” Lo chimes in with a half-smile. And then all of a sudden, a body stirs underneath a mass of pillows and blankets. Lo turns his head and pats what I guess are feet.

Lily sits up like she rose from the dead, rubbing her eyes and stretching. The way Lo is watching her—it’s like he’s witnessing daylight for the first time. It makes me smile because their love is so transparent, and it immediately slices through any awkward tension that clung to the air.

She sees us and smiles shyly. “Oh hey. What’d I miss?”

“I talked to Ryke’s dad,” I tell her.

Her eyes bug out. “Whaaa…”

“It was interesting,” I say with a small shrug.

“What a weird day,” Lily says. I think that defines the whole situation very nicely. She whispers in Lo’s ear, and he nods, whispering back, and then they both turn to look at me, their expressions morphing into something serious and real. Lo nods and says, “Welcome to the family.”

The words hit me straight in the heart. For so long I considered Lo a part of my family; even though he had his dad, even though he’s a Hale, he always felt like an extension of Lily. A Calloway.

Now I’m starting to think that maybe all this time it’s been the other way around, and I’ve just been too narrow-sighted to see it. Lily’s always been a part of his family.

The Hales.

They’re kind of fucked up.

RYKE MEADOWS

We survived the fucking plane ride. It’s another accomplishment that I can tack on with my climb—even if Samantha Calloway can’t look me in the eyes.

Behind me, Daisy playfully bites my shoulder, climbing down the plane’s stairs, straight onto the private runway. We’re the last off.

I glance back at her, and she’s smiling so fucking bright that it’s hard not to share it.

“You look happy,” I say.

“I’m not just happy,” she tells me. “I’m fucking happy.”

I kiss the top of her head and step onto the cement. The overcast sky darkens the airport. We follow our parents and our friends towards two parked black Escalades and one limo. Nola, the Calloway’s driver, opens the Escalade’s door.

“Congratulations again, Rose,” Samantha says, kissing her daughter’s cheeks. “If Connor’s too busy to go to any of your doctor’s appointments, you call me. I’ll be there.”

Rose gives her a tight smile, which is polite for Rose’s fucking standards. And then her mom disappears inside the Escalade.

Greg gives Connor a hug before he climbs into the car behind Samantha. They leave first, and Connor says to Rose, “I’m not missing your doctor’s appointments.”

“Thank God.” She lets out a breath.

“Thank me, darling.”

She glares at him, and he stares at her like he’d enjoy taking her in his limo and fucking her hard. I just shake my head and then turn to my brother. “Daisy and I are going to call a cab.”

“Nonsense,” my dad says, still here apparently. He walks over to me and then gestures to Anderson, his driver that has opened the backdoor of the second Escalade. “I’m headed to Philly. I can drop you both off at your apartment complex.”

Daisy watches my expression, and I shake my head at my dad.

“It’ll save gas,” he says dryly. He flashes a half-smile, one that reminds me of Lo.

My brother, Lily, Connor and Rose just stay and witness the disagreement, waiting for me to make a fucking decision.

I don’t think long about it. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m going to call a fucking cab.”

But I have no real time to even take out my cellphone. At that same moment, another car drives up on the runway. As soon as I get a good look at it, my face hardens, my shoulders lock, and my heart fucking drops.

“What…” Daisy’s voice pitches with fear.

The vehicle rolls to a stop beside the Escalade, blue lights flashing silently on the roof. A police officer emerges, his eyes locked on me, confirming my gut feeling.

I’m about to go to jail.

“What’s going on?” Lo asks, looking to our father for answers.

My dad’s brows furrow, and I see the confusion all over his face. He didn’t know about this. The officer approaches me with a stern gait, and Daisy holds tightly onto my hand, refusing to let go.

“Daisy,” Rose calls, stepping towards her, but Connor forces his wife back with an outstretched arm.

“Lily, keep Rose here,” he orders.

“Richard—” Rose refutes.

“Let me handle it,” Connor says calmly. Rose backs down, and Lily does as she’s told, grabbing Rose’s hand and keeping her by her side, away from whatever the fuck is about to happen.

“What’s going on?” my brother asks the officer again.

He answers by stopping right in front of me. “Ryke Meadows?”

“Yeah.” I don’t know why he fucking asks whether it’s me. He knows it is.

Then the officer takes out handcuffs, and I hear a car door shut. I look up, and a second police officer is coming as back up.

I immediately shake off Daisy’s hand. “You need to go with Connor,” I tell her. He’s already walking towards Daisy to take her home.

“No.” Daisy shakes her head repeatedly, and I think we both know what this is about and where this is headed.

“Yes,” I growl. “This isn’t up for fucking discussion. You’re going home with them. I’ll see you later.”

“You did nothing wrong,” she tells me, tears welling. Connor puts a hand on her shoulder and starts guiding her backwards towards his limo. “You did nothing wrong!”

Doesn’t fucking matter.

“Ryke Meadows,” the first officer says, ignoring Daisy, “you’re under arrest for statutory rape—”

Daisy bursts into tears. “No!” she cries like someone stabbed her heart. My face contorts in pain as I watch her, knowing she’s blaming herself for putting me here. But it’s not her fucking fault.

“You have the right to remain silent….” I can’t hear anything else. My ears buzz. All the happiness that I saw in Daisy just completely snuffs out in a fucking instant. She tries to rush over to me, but Connor grabs her around the waist, forcing her back. She sobs, and I can’t do a fucking thing. I just have to stand here and watch.

I clench my teeth so hard that my jaw fucking aches. The officer comes behind me and aggressively pulls my arms to my lower back. My strained muscles burn as he cuffs one of my wrists and then the other.

I’m fairly certain I know who called the cops on me. The woman who couldn’t meet my eyes for the last half of the flight. The woman who threatened me with this very fucking thing in Daisy’s bedroom.

“…in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney—”

“He didn’t fucking do anything!”

That’s not Daisy.

That’s my brother. He’s defending me. My stomach twists, filled with too much emotion to speak, to move just yet.

“If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you—”

The officer doesn’t stop, not even for Lo. The second one comes forward to steer me to the police car.

“HEY!” Lo shouts, about to fucking lose it. “Did you not fucking hear me?!” He steps between the second officer, blocking him from the cop car.

“Lo,” I cut in, my heart hammering. I’m more fucking scared for him even though I’m the one cuffed right now. My brother doesn’t need to be thrown in a jail cell with me.

The second officer glares at Lo. “You need to step out of the way or we’re going to have to take you in too.”

“He’s a good person!”

My father is still here. “Loren, don’t be an idiot.” He motions for Lo to join him by the Escalade.

“Off of what evidence are you taking him in?” Lo sneers at the officer.

“You need to step out of the way, sir,” the second officer repeats.

“Lo,” I say, instinctively trying to walk over to him, to reach him, to pull him in the right fucking direction. Which would be very far away from me. I jerk to a stop, being held by the first officer, his hands on the cuffs that detain me.