Stepdad

THIRTY-ONE

"Allie, wait! I wasn't supposed to say that. I'm so sorry!" Rook was chasing her down the hallway, trying to catch her before she reached Colson. She was a woman on a mission and she was going to get some answers. She was furious about not being told this information.

"Im gonna kill him and if you don't get the fuck out of my way, you'll go down with him." Rook was now in front of her, his hands resting on her shoulders. He knew Colson would be pissed if he found out that he had told Allie before he could.

"Please, you have to calm down. I wasn't supposed to tell you anything. I figured he would have told you by now. I guess he is still trying to figure out how to tell you." Allie didn't care, she didn't like the fact that something this big was being kept from her. He didn't have to figure out how to tell her, he should have just said it. She was an adult, not a teenager.

"Rook, get out of my way." She spoke through gritted teeth, Rook knowing he wasn't going to be able to stop her on his own. He needed some help calming Allie down before she beat the shit out of someone that was still planning on telling her. It wasn't like he was planning on just leaving.

"Rena, can you come here for a minute please? I need help with something." He called out to his girlfriend, Allie pushing past him while he was distracted. He was saved by his girlfriend appearing at the opposite end of the hall. "Don't let her in that living room!" He whisper shouted so Colson couldn't hear.

"Why the fuck are you asking me to keep this girl hostage?" Rena had no idea what was going on, or the war that was about to start if she let Allie slip past her. Rook took it upon himself to slip his arms around Allie's waist and carry her struggling body back to the kitchen.

"I accidentally told her about us leaving Friday. Colson apparently hasn't told her yet and she's going to rip his head off his shoulders unless we can calm her down." Rena's eyes went wide, her hand coming up to smack him in the back of the head.

"What the fuck is the matter with you? Why would you tell her that? You know Colson would have told you if he told her already!" Rook pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before responding.

"I didn't mean to tell her. It just slipped out. Now, will you please help me calm her down?" Rook pleaded, Rena crossing her arms over her chest. She slowly shook her head as she took a quick glance over at Allie.

"Rook, you told me about the tour about fifteen minutes after you found out. While on your way home. She has every right to be upset." Finally, Allie had someone on her side. Rook just might lose this battle.

"Does that mean she should rip his head off? No. But it does need to be talked about. Plus, as a man, you can't tell her how to feel." Rook accepted his fate right then and there. There was nothing else he could do. He had no other male in the house to help him besides Colson.

"Fine. Go rip his head off." Rook pushed himself up onto the counter, ready to sit and accept what Colson was gonna do to him after this. "Rena, I hope you understand that I might not live through this because of you."

Rena just smiled as she looked up at him, she couldn't be more entertained by all of this. She let Allie walk right past her, Allie sitting down on the ottoman facing the couch where Colson was sitting rolling a blunt. He could see the fury burning in her eyes, but didn't have a clue what was going on.

"When were you gonna tell me?" Allie didn't even blink, she kept her eyes locked on his confused ones. He didn't know how to answer that question because in that moment, he didn't know what she was talking about.

"When was I going to tell you what?" That was the dumbest counter question he could have ever come up with. She clearly knew something already and wasn't happy about it.

"That you're leaving what? A whole month earlier than expected?" Colson dropped the blunt into his lap, his jaw dropping with it. He got high before he left the meeting and completely forgot to tell her but he didn't even know how to admit that or if he even should right now.

"Allie, I'm so sorry. There's nothing I can do about it. I signed a contract." He held his hands up in defense, hoping that she would understand. Although, he was even pretty pissed about the situation himself.

"I don't care that you have to leave. I know you have a job that you love and an obligation to those who love you. I care about the fact that you didn't even try to tell me." He had no idea what to say. He didn't think words could fix a situation like this.

"I was going-"

"No. Don't you dare tell me you were going to tell me and just didn't know how. You had no trouble telling me the first time. I told you it was okay if you had to leave. I understand that sometimes plans change."

"Allie, I'm sorry. I should have told you as soon as I found out. Or at least when you showed up here." He didn't mean to hurt her, he loved her too much to do that on purpose. He felt like complete shit.

"You really should have." She mumbled before she stood up to her feet and headed straight for the door, ignoring Colson begging her to come back.