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and couldn’t fight back. He’d lock Trystan away for hours, someti mes days. When it seemed like Trystan would die of thirst , the man finally showed his face and let him out . Trystan tried to be good after that, but it didn’t seem to ma tter what he did or didn’t do—he was never good enough.
    Tucker’s words rang through Trystan’s ears like a gong, ebbing and pulsing. Someone told you wrong. You’re worth something.  
    Lowering his head to his knees, Trystan fixated on the words, but they couldn’t penetrate his heart. Tucker ’ s words couldn’t strip away years of being told he was the reason for his father’s grief . Trystan’s chest felt hollow and he let the numbness overtake him.
     

 
     
     
    CHAPTER 6
     
    ~MARI~
     
    “Have you lost your mind?” Daddy screamed. He’d been pacing in my room since he got that phone call from Brie’s father.
    There was nothing I could say that would calm him down, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t try. “What was I supposed to do? She threatened me!” Tears streaked my face. I couldn’t help it. I cried when I was angry.
    Daddy turned on me, roaring, “ What were you supposed to do? Get the teacher! Not punch the girl in the face. Her father is threatening to press charges. Do you know what that means? Do you have any idea? We could lose everything because of you!”
    Sucking a ragged breath, I scr eamed, “ There was no teacher, there was no help! Maybe I shouldn’t have hit her, but why can’t you even act like you care about me? You didn’t even ask me what she did! You just assumed that everything was my fault!” I trembled with my hands balled into fists at my sides.
    If there was ever a wrong thing to say, that was it. Daddy blew up. His eyes widened, before he started screaming in a blind rage. The verbal assault went on, but I couldn’t process what he was saying, not when he looked so livid. I backed away from him, but he kept coming at me like he’d hit me. My heart po unded in my chest like I was running away from an axe murderer.
    Things were n’t supposed to be like this. Daddy was supposed to defend me. H e was supposed to protect me, but instead , he looked like he was going to kill me. After what seemed like forever, my Mom came in. It seemed to calm Daddy down enough to realize that his hands were shaking, lifting to ward me like he was going to do something. Dropping his hands, Daddy shook his head fiercely and walked aw ay from me. He shoved past my mother and left the room , leaving a wake of anguish behind .
    All the fright that had built up in my body exited my mouth in loud sob that sounded more like a scream. My mother stood there, staring at me with disgust. “You brought this on yourself, Mari. Clean up and go to bed.” She turned away and left without another word.
    After they left, I heard them arguing in the kitchen. The conversation was about lawyers and settlements. They seem to think that Brie’s father had his sights set on their money. I wanted to scream and jump up and down in front of them. Since when does money matter more than people? I didn’t realize I was so disposable. My entire life, I thought they’d stand up for me, but they didn’t. The only thing they cared about was protecting their money and their precious careers .
    I plucked my phone from my backpack, knowing it was insane to try and use it, but I wanted to talk to Trystan. I needed him. He’d understand, but I didn’t have any way to contact him. I sat on my bed sniffling as I stared at the phone. I didn’t want to talk to Katie. She’d tell me to suck it up, that this was part of having the perfect family—so what if they flipped out once every sixteen years? She didn’t understand. Her family fought all the t ime, but this wasn’t a fight. This was something else. It showed me where my place was in this fam ily, and I didn’t like it .
    The next morning my eyes were puffy. When I sat at the table my mother said nothing, handing