Lady in Red

by Stacy Claflin

  Ariana’s mouth wobbled and she shoved him again. “I want to be able to spend time with Damon alone.”

  He was shocked, though the question shouldn’t have surprised him. Of course that was what she wanted.

  “We’ve done everything you’ve asked. We don’t go anywhere alone—the only times we’re together is when other people are around. You stand in between us when you can. We basically only see each other at the study group and the football practices and games after. That’s it. You’ve spent more time with him than I have with all the driving to and from the jail.”

  Alex drew in a deep breath.

  “Come on, Dad.” She pleaded with her eyes. “What do I have to do to prove myself to you? I’m responsible, and I have no intention of having children until I’m well into my twenties. I don’t want anything getting in the way of my career. You know that.”

  “What does that have to do with spending more time with your much older boyfriend?”

  She frowned. “He isn’t that much older!”

  “And look at how your relationship started.” He gave her his sternest look.

  “He was my tutor.”

  “We both know that isn’t what I’m referring to. He turned you against me.”

  “That was his dad!” Her eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t him. He didn’t want to do that—he just didn’t want to get beat up. You haven’t seen what his dad can do!”

  “And that brings us back to your sneaking around. You went to his house alone. That’s how you know what his dad is capable of. You put yourself in danger in more ways than you realize. Not only that, but he allowed it. Honestly, I can’t trust either one of you to make a good decision in your best interest.”

  “Are you serious?” Ariana jumped to her feet.

  “You two hid out in a hotel room! Yes, I’m dead serious.”

  “I can’t believe this!”

  Alex rose, taking a deep breath and considering his words. “And neither can I. We agreed on this. The rules you two have to follow are because of what you two did behind everyone’s backs.”

  Color filled her cheeks. “I agreed only because there was no other choice! Because I want to be able to see him. But we’ve proven ourselves responsible! We haven’t gone against your rules at all. Just ask your spies at my school!”

  He looked around, hardly able to believe they were having this conversation. “You should consider yourself lucky we’re even letting you see him.”

  “Not that you could stop me from being his girlfriend!” Her nostrils flared.

  Alex’s heart felt like it would explode out of his chest. His mind raced. “I can tell you one thing.”

  “What?” she demanded.

  “You aren’t doing anything for your case at the moment! I’m half tempted to ground you right now.”

  “Ground me? For what?” She put her hands on her hips.

  “The way you’re talking to me!”

  “I’m trying to have a discussion. You’re the one freaking out!”

  Alex bit his tongue. The things he wanted to say wouldn’t help anything. “Maybe we should continue this conversation later. Mom should be in on it. Don’t forget Mimi and Papi.”

  She muttered something he couldn’t make out.

  “What was that?” Alex demanded.

  “You’re the only one who has a problem with Damon!”

  “Excuse me?”

  She stared him down. “Everyone else likes him!”

  “I like him. I’ve taken him under my wing and brought him to the prison so he could see his dad.”

  “And if you had a clue about anything, you’d realize he doesn’t want to see that man!”

  “You’re out of line.” He clenched his jaw.

  “Am I?” Her brows drew together.

  “More than you know.” Alex took a deep breath, not that it helped. “You aren’t doing anything for your cause. I’m about ready to make you break it off with him.”

  Her mouth fell open. “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  They stared each other down.

  Alex struggled to breathe. “Like I said, maybe we should continue this conversation later.”

  She scowled. “What’s the point? You don’t care about what I think at all.”

  “Of course I do!”

  “Whatever. Let’s just go home.” She marched toward the parking lot.

  He shook his head in disbelief. What had just happened?

  Chapter 18

  Ariana threw herself on her bed and squeezed her pillow. Buried her face into it and screamed. Let the tears flow.

  How could her dad be so unfair? She’d known it wouldn’t be easy to convince him to give them a little freedom, but she hadn’t expected him to freak out like that. It was like he was intent on punishing her for him getting Mom pregnant when he was so young. When would he ever figure out she wasn’t him?

  She was already older than he’d been back then, and she’d barely kissed Damon, much less done anything else with him. Certainly nothing worth worrying about. But Dad couldn’t get beyond his own past.

  It wasn’t fair, and she was done being punished for their mistakes. Those days were over, and besides, Mom and Dad weren’t even legally her parents. They’d given her up for adoption because they had been in middle school at the time—just like she was now. If they could be parents at that age, she should be able to at least see her boyfriend when she wanted.

  She could convince Mimi and Papi. They were the ones who had the final say, anyway. Why hadn’t she thought of that before?

  Probably because they’d been stepping back in their roles lately. It’d been subtle, but obviously she’d noticed. Nobody had said anything, but Mom and Dad had been the ones making most of the decisions lately. There was no denying that.

  But why? What had changed? And why hadn’t anyone said anything to her?

  Ariana sat up, pulled her hair from her face and wiped her eyes. Makeup smeared across her hand. She groaned, not wanting to wait another moment but needing to look presentable. After storming into the bathroom and washing her face, she crept downstairs without bothering to take the time to put on more makeup.

  She took her time, tiptoeing on each step and listening for signs of a discussion. With her luck, all four of her parents were probably gathered together, going over every word of her fight with Dad.

  But there was no noise from downstairs.

  They were probably all in Mom and Dad’s apartment. Or worse, they were next door, talking about her with Grandma and Grandpa. A whole family affair. Awesome.

  She’d sneaked to the kitchen and was about to go into the apartment when something caught her attention. She turned and looked out the window into the backyard. Mimi and Papi were in the garden. Nobody else was with them.

  That meant Dad was probably lamenting to Mom, but that gave her time to butter up Mimi and Papi, as Dad had put it.

  Ari slid on her sneakers then opened the door. Greeted by a frigid gust of air, she hurried outside before she lost her nerve. She needed to talk to them now. If she didn’t, she might push it off forever.

  This needed to get resolved right away.

  She drew a deep breath and made her way to the garden through the long grass. It was unlike them to let it go, but maybe the cold temperatures were getting to them. They were getting older, after all.

  Papi greeted her with a warm smile. “Did you come to help us prune?”

  Mimi turned and wrapped her arms around Ariana. “You should have a coat on. It’s practically freezing out here.”

  Ari shrugged. “I’m fine.” Then she shivered.

  Mimi tilted her head. “You are?”

  “She can wear mine.” Papi slid out of his coat and wrapped it around Ari’s shoulders.

  “Kenji,” Mimi said, with a tone of warning in her voice. “Remember what the doctor said?”

  “If I get cold, I’ll grab another jacket from inside.”

  Mimi studied Ariana.
“Is something on your mind, sweetheart? You look like you’ve been crying.”

  Ari frowned. “I had a fight with Dad.”

  “You two sure have been at it lately.” Mimi gave her a sympathetic glance. “Reminds me of when your parents were your age.”

  “You fought with Mom a lot?” Ari tightened the coat around her.

  Mimi chuckled. “Both of them. Your dad was difficult to deal with—don’t let him tell you otherwise.”

  “He gave you problems?”

  “Your very existence should tell you that much. It took him a long time to win me over. A very long time.”

  Ariana nodded.

  “What seems to be the problem?” Papi asked.

  Ari played with a lock of hair. They might not be any easier to convince than Dad. But she had to try. They’d always been understanding. Mostly.

  “Ari?” Mimi tilted her head. “What’s going on?”

  She let out a long breath. “I want to spend more time with Damon.”

  They exchanged a look.

  Ari’s heart sank. But she wasn’t going to give up that easily. “We’ve both proven ourselves, we’ve been following all the rules. There’s no reason for us to be treated like babies. We’re both responsible. My grades haven’t gone down at all since I met Damon. In fact, they’ve gone up. Spending time with him is good for me.”

  Another look.

  Her stomach twisted. This wasn’t going any better than it had with Dad. Except they weren’t arguing with her. Actually, it was going better. They might be considering it with their silent communication.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  They both turned to her, exchanged another look, then back to her.

  Her heart raced. “You’re making me nervous. What’s going on?”

  Papi took a step closer, his expression unreadable. “This might be something you should work out with your mom and dad.”

  “But you’re my parents, too. Legally, even. Really, the decision is more up to you than them if you think about it.”

  Another shared glance. This really wasn’t going as well as she’d hoped. They weren’t disagreeing with her, but they weren’t agreeing, either.

  “What’s the matter? You’re starting to worry me.”

  Papi took Mimi’s hand and gave Ari a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “We have some news to share soon, but not yet. That’s all we can say now.”

  “News? About what?”

  “We’ll tell you with your parents before long.”

  Ariana’s breath caught. “Why won’t you tell me?”

  “Because we want to tell everyone together. And now isn’t the time.”

  “Is someone sick?” She looked back and forth between them, searching for signs of illness. “Nobody’s dying, are you?”

  Mimi shook her head. “We’re both fine, honey. It isn’t anything for you to worry about.”

  “If that’s the case, why not tell me the news? Shouldn’t I know?”

  She kissed Ari’s cheek. “You will, soon. I promise.”

  Frustration built in her chest. Between this and the argument with Dad, it was enough to make her want to scream. Instead, she took a deep breath and held it for a few moments. “You promise you’re both okay?”

  They both nodded vehemently. Papi put his arm around her. “We’re healthy as horses. You’re going to be stuck with us for a long, long time.”

  Mimi gave him a look that almost seemed like disapproval.

  Ari started to ask what that was about, when Mimi spoke. “We should get inside. It’s so cold out here, and you don’t have a jacket, Kenji.”

  He shivered. “You’re right. I forget how cold it gets once the sun begins going down.”

  Ariana tried saying something, but they talked over her about the garden. Once inside, she kicked off her shoes. “I’d better get to my homework.”

  Papi kissed the side of her head. “Don’t worry about anything. We’ll share our news soon. I promise.”

  “Okay.” She gave them both a hug before making her way upstairs to her room. Her mind raced with ideas, but she came up with nothing. Whatever Mimi and Papi were going to tell everyone would be a surprise, because she had no clue. It couldn’t be too bad since they were both healthy.

  Sighing, she pulled everything out of her school bag and went over her homework. She should’ve gotten an early start. It was going to be a long night if she was going to get through all her assignments.

  She organized everything across her bed based on importance and decided to start with science. But first, she went over to her window to see if she could see the sunset. Her room had a great view of it this time of year—just another reason to love the Halloween season.

  Lazy clouds spread across the horizon, leaving plenty of sky visible. Pink and purple hues colored it all, the clouds making the sight all the more gorgeous. She hurried over to her phone and snapped a few pictures, uploading them to social media.

  Just as she was about to start her homework, something caught her attention outside. Her blood ran cold when she looked down on the sidewalk across the street.

  A woman in a long, flowing red dress was walking slowly across the crosswalk.

  She turned and looked right at Ariana.

  Chapter 19

  Alex held the sniffly Laney close as she struggled to fall asleep. She swung her arms around, smacking him in the mouth.

  “Shh,” he whispered. “It’s okay.”

  She flung her hands out, this time hitting his nose.

  “Want me to take her?” Zoey asked.

  Alex glanced down at his daughter, eyes almost closed. “She’s almost asleep.”

  “But you need to get some sleep, too.” Zoey gave him a sympathetic smile.

  “And so do you.”

  She shook her head. “I worked today, so tomorrow I’m off. Let me take her.”

  “You sure?” He readjusted the toddler in is arms.

  Zoey nodded and reached for Laney. “Let me help.”

  “You win.” Alex kissed Laney’s cheek before handing her off and giving his wife a kiss.

  By the time he came out of the bathroom, Zoey was laying a sleeping Laney in her crib. Alex went over and put his arm around Zoey. “You know, she fell asleep so quickly because I got her ninety percent there.”

  She chuckled, turned, and kissed him. “Is that so?”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and grinned. “You know it.”

  She pulled closer. “I’ll let you think that.”

  “Only because you know it’s true.”

  Zoey laced her fingers through his and pulled him over to the couch. “How did your talk with Ari go? Did she open up to you?”

  He frowned. “It could’ve gone a lot better.”

  “Meaning?”

  “She wanted us to give her permission to spend alone time with Damon, and it turned into an argument.”

  “You don’t think she should be alone with him at all?”

  “After everything they’ve put us through?”

  Zoey looked deep in thought for a moment. “Maybe we should give her a little freedom.”

  “She already had that, and look what happened. We ended up racing a serial kidnapper to a hotel to get to her and Damon first.”

  “They’ve followed the rules, right?” Zoey lifted a brow.

  “For a few weeks, yes.”

  “And she’s getting older. We need to give her a little responsibility.”

  Alex shook his head. “Responsibility is getting a job. Not making out with her high school boyfriend—who she’s lucky we’re even allowing her to see in the first place.”

  “If we didn’t allow the relationship, we both know they’d be seeing each other behind our backs—whether in person or through texts or emails or whatever app is popular this week.”

  Alex frowned, but he couldn’t argue with her point. “I don’t like the idea of them spending time alone. They already get to see each
other every afternoon for that study group and they’ve been going to the football practices. What more do they want?”

  “Maybe they just want to walk through the park or grab coffee like we used to.”

  He took a deep breath.

  “You have to admit, there isn’t any harm in those activities. And they’re special memories, aren’t they?”

  Alex nodded. He and Zoey had spent many afternoons at the park down the street—it had hardly changed since they were teens. Though there’d been talk of updating the play structures, so far, it was still all the same.

  “The problem for us was spending the night in the same house.” Zoey squeezed his hand. “And that won’t happen with those two. Our parents never worried about us because I was Macy’s friend and older. Nobody suspected our feelings for each other.”

  “Plus, my sister was missing for so long, I was hardly on my parents’ radar at the time.”

  Zoey scooted closer and ran her fingertips through his hair. “See? Totally different circumstances. None of that is going to be an issue with Ari and Damon. We won’t allow any sleepovers, and neither will his foster parents. I really think both of them just want some space to grow up. And what will happen if we shelter her and then she suddenly has a world of freedom after graduation?”

  “She’ll go crazy.”

  “Exactly.”

  Alex sighed. “But we have to lay ground rules. And if they break those, then they lose all their freedom.”

  “I’m on board with that. We should talk with my parents. They’re going to want to weigh in.”

  Alex yawned. “We can talk with them tomorrow. I’m about to drop from exhaustion.”

  “I knew you were tired.” Zoey kissed him. “Let’s get some shut eye.”

  They climbed into bed, and as soon as Alex’s head hit the pillow, his alarm went off.

  He grabbed his phone, hit snooze, and looked at the time. Even though it didn’t feel like it, he’d gotten eight hours of sleep. And that meant Laney and Zander had slept through the night—with colds, no less.

  Alex gave Zoey a quick kiss before getting ready for work. When he got to the kitchen, Ariana was doing homework at the table.

  “Up already?” he asked.