Snowflakes & Fire Escapes by J. M. Darhower Read Free Book Online Page B

finish, but no … Connor Callaghan was just getting started.
    “That boy’s a troublemaker,” he said. “That’s all he is.”
    My response was immediate. “So are you.”
    My father may not have been as notorious as Cormac, but he made quite a name for himself. He may have shielded me from most of what he did, but he couldn’t hide the whole truth from me—not and still keep me safe.
    “I do what I do for you, Grace. I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I look out for you. Boys like him … they’ll only bring you trouble. Even his father will tell you that. He’s no good.”
    But he was, I thought.
    He was good.
    My father just couldn’t see it.
    He looked at Cody and saw a younger version of Cormac.
    He looked at him and saw himself .
    But Cody wasn’t like his father, nor was he anything like mine, and nobody would ever convince me otherwise.
    Throughout the rest of dinner, after paying the check, and on the entire drive home, my father went through it again, trying to pound it into my head that he knew what was best for me, and what was best for me wasn’t anything I wanted. He had us dropped off down the block from the apartment building, and I grabbed my school bag, keeping my head down as we headed for home.
    We were two buildings away when I heard the familiar voice. I looked up, catching sight of Cody across the street, hanging out with the same boys he usually hung with. He was talking to them but his eyes followed me. He saw me looking and brought his hand to his mouth, subtly kissing two of his fingertips before motioning my way.
    My cheeks flushed at the acknowledgement.
    Cody’s eyes turned to my father then. He stared at him for a moment before turning away.
    When we reached the apartment building, my father opened the door, but he didn’t follow me inside. “Go upstairs. I’ll be there in a minute.”
    He waited for me to listen before he walked away. I scaled the stairs faster than I’d ever taken them before, fumbling with the locks and rushing into the apartment, dropping my bag right inside the door. I ran over to the window, my heart racing when I looked out.
    My father was already across the street, standing right in front of Cody.
    His friends scattered. I wondered if my father scared them away. But Cody … Cody didn’t look intimidated in the least. He stood there, hands in the pockets of his hoodie, shoulders relaxed, staring up at my father as he towered over him. It wasn’t that Connor Callaghan was a big man, per se. It was just the way he carried himself, like he was invincible.
    My father was talking. I didn’t know what he was saying, but his lips were moving, and that alone was bad enough. Cody hadn’t uttered a single word that I saw, merely staring at the man as he went on and on.
    After a moment, Cody shook his head.
    That was it.
    Just a shake of the head to set my father off.
    Anger clouded his expression as he took a step forward, going toe-to-toe, pointing his finger right in Cody’s face as he screamed so loudly I could faintly hear his voice up on the fifth floor with the window closed. Cody tolerated the berating for a moment before taking a step back, and another, and another, before he paused to finally speak.
    It was just a few words before he turned around and strolled away, leaving my father standing there on the sidewalk alone, fuming.
    I stepped away from the window when my father started toward the building again. Grabbing my school bag, I plopped down on the couch to do my homework, but I was too wound tight to focus.
    I looked up when my father came in, slamming doors and throwing things. He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Go to your bedroom, Grace.”
    I obliged right away.
    The man barely made a sound after that. Curiosity ate at me as time passed, one hour turning into the next, before there was a soft tapping on my bedroom door. It opened before I could acknowledge the knocking, and my father appeared. He changed his clothes. Of course . The sun had