“Where the hell have the two of you been?” he screams loud enough that our neighbors on both sides of our house come running outside.

“John!” my mother hollers from right behind him.

“Don’t fucking John me, Cecily. I want to know where this motherfucking punk took my daughter.”

Cain stands face to face with my dad, never wavering or backing down, and glares right back at him.

“Calla, what have you done?” Mom asks in her sweet voice, a look of disappointment set in her expression.

Swallowing hard, I grab my husband’s hand as he helps me off of his bike.

“Dad, stop it,” I say sternly.

“I’m the parent here, Calla, not you.”

Dad’s gaze stays locked on Cain when he speaks.

“Don’t talk to my wife like that.”

Cain’s harsh and protective attitude has me moving quickly to stand in between the two men. I stare up at my dad, his eyes shooting not daggers, but bullets into Cain’s head as they dance rapidly across his face.

“Calla,” Dad says as he looks down at me.

“Tell me what he just said isn’t true. That you didn’t marry this piece of shit!”

I feel Cain stiffen behind me.

“Dad, that’s enough. And yes, I did marry him. I love him.”

My dad scoffs and his next words slice right down the center of my body, severing my heart.

“If that’s true and you are now a Bexley, then you are no longer a part of this family.”

Then he just turns and walks away, no explanation, no nothing, slamming the front door so hard that I jump. But when the one person who has been by my side this entire time looks at me with displeasure, I start to shake and my world crumbles as tears begin to fall freely from my eyes.

“What have the two of you done?”

My mother is crying now. Cain has his arms wrapped around my waist.

“Look, Mrs. Greer, we love each other. This feud between our fathers has nothing to do with us,” Cain says.

“No, it doesn’t, but the two of you just running off and getting married like this is going to make this situation so much worse than it already is.”

“What situation?” I ask. “Dad and Jed haven’t even spoken to each other in years.”

“No, they haven’t, but you both know better than to do something like this. What about college? What are the two of you going to do about that? You’ve already been accepted into the University of Michigan. You leave in a month.”

My heart starts to pound and then I become furious with my mother, which I have never done before.

“Mom, it’s only an hour away. We have it all worked out.”

“Look, I believe in young love; that’s why I supported you two. But this is unacceptable, Calla. You can’t just run off and get married without telling anyone. Why would you keep something as big as this from me?”

“I’m sorry,” I say sincerely.

“Sorry isn’t good enough. This is a mistake, one the two of you should have thought through before you ran off and did something as rash as this.”

“You knew, didn’t you? That’s why the two of you came barreling out of the house like you did. You knew we went and got married and you told Dad, didn’t you?” I seethe.

“I did. I found all of this material on marriage housing in your room and I put two and two together when you didn’t come home last night from Lexi’s house.” She grabs my arms.

“I don’t think you realize the severity of what the two of you have done. And you!”

She points her finger at Cain.

“How could you do this? You of all people know how important her education is. You’ll be a distraction to her and she will never become a lawyer like she has always wanted to be,” she accuses, scowling at the both of us.

“Mrs. Greer, that’s not true. I already have a job, and we’ve been accepted into marriage housing. I have always supported her and I will continue to do so. We came here hoping for your blessing. You know I would never do anything to stand in the way of what she wants. Unlike our fathers.”

He hesitates for a moment, which gives my mom the perfect opportunity to start right back in.

“I won’t give the two of you my blessing, not now, anyway. I’m more than disappointed in the both of you.”

Mom pinches the end of her nose and closes her eyes. When she opens them again, they are still wet from her tears and concern is etched across her face.

“You are my daughter, Calla, and I love you more than anything, so I will support you. As far as your dad goes, he’ll come around eventually. I know he didn’t mean what he said. Now, what do you two have planned for the next month before you leave for school?”

She looks at the two of us.

“Please tell me you have something planned.”

“We’re staying at the compound,” Cain finally says.

“Really? And your father is okay with this?” she questions, her hands going to her hips.

“He doesn’t know, either. We thought we would tell you first,” I say.

She shakes her head.

“Good Lord, you two. Cain, how about if you go tell your dad, and I help Calla pack some of her stuff? I can bring her over there later tonight, and for right now she can go inside with me and we can try to reason with her father.”

Cain squeezes me tightly.

“Fine, as long as you promise to bring her to me.”

“Of course, I will,” she promises as my husband turns to me.

“I’ll see you later tonight then, babe. Okay?”

He spins me around in his arms, kissing my forehead.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. If anything changes, I promise I’ll text you.”

He chuckles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. I know he’s just as scared to tell his dad as I have been to tell mine. More, even. Cain’s father has been grooming him to take over the club once he retires. When he finds out about me, there is no telling what he will do or say. I place my arms around his neck and lean up on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear.

“I love you. Just remember that and everything will be fine.”

This time his smile does reach his eyes. I stand there and watch my husband drive off then turn back to my mother, who still looks disappointed. I feel terrible for being the one to put that look on her face when all she has ever done is support me, love me, and remind me every day that my happiness is all that matters to her.

She grabs my hand and waves to our nosy neighbor as we walk up the sidewalk to our house, but when we climb up onto the porch, she pauses at the doorway.

“Let me talk to him while you go up and pack a bag. It will all work out, I promise.”

Her smile is tight, making me nervous and frightened, it is telling me something she can’t. I can feel it, and all I want to do is run back down the stairs, jump into my car, and go after Cain.

I rush up to my room, pull my already packed suitcase out from under my bed and toss it on top. I gather up a few more pairs of shorts, t-shirts, and panties, then stuff them inside and close it up. Clasping the handle and lugging the case onto the floor, I turn back around and exhale deeply as I say goodbye to my childhood room full of so many happy memories.

I drag the suitcase downstairs and sit on the couch. It’s been almost an hour since Cain has been gone. Those earlier feelings slowly dissipate with each passing minute. No news is good news, I keep telling myself.

My parents emerge from the backyard, my dad walking right past me and into his office, slamming the door shut. My mom sits beside me.

“It didn’t go so good, huh?” I ask, scooting forward and placing my elbows on my knees. I curl my hands into fists and rest my chin on them.

“Not really. Just give him some time, sweetheart. Give us all some time. You ready?” she asks coolly.

“Yes. But I can just take my car, if that’s okay with you?”

She nods. No talk of what to expect on your wedding night. No talk about anything at all. Just a simple nod and a kiss on my cheek as I grab my suitcase and practically run out of the house and to my car.