Finnegan

Guess who’s here right now, Dad? I’ll give you a clue, it’s not the King of England.

Angel’s text must have come in while Abigail and I fucked like rabbits in the car.

It wasn’t until my phone rang with the call from her that I saw the message. Guilt ate at my insides. My daughter had needed me, and I had been balls deep in my assistant, moaning her name like a song.

I couldn’t even pick up the call because Abigail was in the bloody car. I had always kept my life private, from the media, from the news, from work, especially.

But this thing with Abigail was blurring those lines. She wasn’t just an assistant to me anymore. That didn’t mean she had to know about Angel or Victoria. As long as I could keep the two worlds separate, I would be fine.

Yeah, easier said than done.

I had been less careful, considering she already even knew Angel’s name.

I reread Angel’s text. It couldn’t be what I was thinking, could it? I connected the phone to the car’s bluetooth and returned my daughter’s call.

"Well, well, if it isn’t my father," Angel’s sarcasm was so evident immediately she picked. "I was beginning to wonder if you’d pulled a Judas on me."

"Angel, I’m sorry,"

"You left me to the wolves, abandoned the ship, and went completely AWOL, soldier. What do you have to say for yourself?"

God, she and her dramatics.

I couldn’t stop the slight quirk of my lips at her words. My daughter seemed to have made it her life’s mission to make me laugh whenever she could.

Just like Abigail.

A memory of Abigail cheering when she made me laugh filled my head, and the smile died. I shouldn’t be thinking about her right now.

"Victoria’s there?"

"Yep," Angel drawled, "My loving mother finally shows up at my school for the first time in three years, and it just had to be when we’re going on a summer vacation."

"Hey!" I heard Victoria yell in the background, and my blood boiled. The nerve of that woman. What was she hoping to achieve by doing this?

"She’s currently standing in my room, touching my things and glaring at me for calling you."

"Don’t antagonize her, Angel,"

"I’m sitting on my bed with my hands in my lap, Dad. This is my most peaceful configuration setting."

"Angel," I groaned.

"I’m just saying I’m not doing anything."

I swerved the car onto the main road, the city moving past the windows in evening light. I was supposed to pick Angel up tomorrow from school, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around why Victoria would go to pick her up when she hadn’t even seen Angel since the winter vacation.

Victoria’s voice in the background reached my ears. "Is it really necessary to call him? I just wanted to spend some time with you and pick you up. Get your things,"

"I’m going to wait for my Dad, if it’s all the same to you, mother,"

"Just go with her, Angel," I sighed, my fist tightening around the steering wheel. "We’ll meet at home."

Well played, Victoria, I thought as I drove back to the one house I had hoped I wouldn’t step foot in again.

Our matrimonial house looked the same as it had before the repairs. It put up the usual facade, looking homey and happy on the outside. I had paid for every inch of it, and yet I still felt like an intruder pulling into the driveway.

The front door opened before I reached it and

Angel came through it at speed, her dark hair flying, her school bag slung over one shoulder. Her body hit me with so much force that I took a step back.

"Dad!" She hugged me tight, burying her face in my chest.

My arms went around her as I picked her up and pressed my lips to the top of her head.

"Hi princess,"

"Hmmm," She pulled back and looked up at me with those green eyes, narrowed in scrutiny. "You look worried, Dad. Are you okay? Did something happen?"

Yes, your Grandmother has been actively trying to set me up for crimes I never committed.

I couldn’t imagine telling her that. How much more of a dysfunctional home could I give her? She already had a crazy mother; I couldn’t let her know her grandmother was just as cruel.

"I’m fine."

"You always say that." She scoffed, pushing away from me. I lowered her to the ground. She had grown taller; it was terrifying seeing how quickly she grew every month.

"Because I’m always fine."

"Dad." She tilted her head. "Mrs Davies says that deflection is a coping mechanism."

"Mrs Davies should focus on teaching and not being a therapist."

That got me a grin from my teenager, and it felt like I had launched rockets to the fucking moon.

"Honey, is that you?" Victoria called, and the smile on Angel’s face fizzled out quickly.

I steered her gently to one side and stepped into the hallway.

Victoria was in the doorway to the sitting room, a mug in both hands, her brown hair down around her heart-shaped face.

"Why did you pick her up?"

"Hi to you too, Finnegan," She cocked her head to the side, beaming at me. "I just thought it would be nice to pick her up. It’s been a while."

"She was coming home tomorrow." I tried so damn hard to keep my voice even, especially when she began walking towards me. "We had an arrangement."

"Arrangements can cha-" she stopped before me, her head tilted slightly, brows pulling in a frown.

Her eyes moved over me, slowly from my head down to my shoes. "Did you change your cologne? You have that scent again."

Shit. Abigail’s perfume still clung lightly to my shirt. Ignoring Victoria, I turned and held my hand out to my daughter. "Get your bag, we’re leaving."

"Already have it." She appeared at my elbow, bag over her shoulder.

"Good, let’s go-"

"Would you really do that?" Victoria chuckled dryly, holding her mug to her lips. She pursed them to blow over the rising steam. "Or have you forgotten what tomorrow is?"