After We Fell by Anna Todd Page A

seat belt like he’s trying to show me how to do it. Like he’s some airline hostess. I give him a small nod and pull onto the street.
    â€œHow did your meeting go today?” he asks.
    â€œReally?” I raise my brow at him.
    â€œJust wondering.” He taps his fingers on his leg. “I’m glad she went with you.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œShe seems to be a lot like her mother.”
    I shoot a look at him. “The hell she is. She’s nothing like that woman.” Is he trying to get himself thrown out onto the highway?
    He laughs. “The good qualities only, of course. She’s very headstrong, just like Carol. She wants what she wants, but Tessie is much sweeter, gentler.”
    Here we go with the Tessie bullshit again.
    â€œI heard the two of you fighting. It woke me up.”
    I roll my eyes. “Excuse us for waking you up at noon while you were sleeping on our couch.”
    Again, I’m met with a chuckle. “I get it, man—you’re angry at the world. I was, too. Hell, I still am. But when you find someone who’s willing to put up with your shit, you don’t have to be so angry anymore.”
    Well, old-timer, what do you suggest I do when your daughter is the one making me so goddamn angry? “Look, I’ll admit you aren’t as bad as I thought you were, but I didn’t ask for your advice, so don’t waste your time giving it to me.”
    â€œI’m not giving you advice, I’m speaking from experience here. I’d hate to see the two of you end things.”
    We aren’t ending things, Dick. I’m just trying to get my point across.I want to be with her, and I will be; she just needs to give in and come with me. I’m beyond fucking angry that she’d bring Zed into this shit again, regardless of her reasoning.
    I turn the damn radio off. “You don’t even know me—or her, for that matter. Why would you care?”
    â€œBecause I know you’re good for her.”
    â€œDo you?” I reply, sarcasm in full bloom. Thankfully we’re getting closer to his side of town, so this horrid conversation will be ending soon.
    â€œYes, I do.”
    Then it strikes me, and I’ll never admit it to anyone, but it’s actually sort of nice to have someone say I’m good for her, even if it’s her drunk asshole of a father. I’ll take it.
    â€œAre you going to be seeing her again?” I ask, and then quickly add, “And where exactly am I taking you?”
    â€œJust drop me near the shop where we met yesterday; I’ll figure it out from there. And yes, I hope to be seeing her again. I have a lot of shit to make up for.”
    â€œYeah, you do,” I agree.
    The parking lot next to the tattoo parlor is empty, which makes some sense, since it’s not even one in the afternoon yet.
    â€œCan you drive me to the end of this street?” he asks.
    I nod and pass the shop. The only thing at the end of this street is a bar and a run-down Laundromat.
    â€œThanks for the ride.”
    â€œYep.”
    â€œDo you want to come inside?” Richard asks, nodding toward the small bar.
    Getting a drink with Tessa’s homeless drunk father doesn’t sound like the most intelligent thing to do at the moment.
    However, I’m not known for making good decisions. “Fuck it,” I mumble and turn the car off and follow him inside. It’s not like I had anywhere in mind to go anyway.
    The bar is dark and smells like mold and whiskey. Following him to the small counter, I grab a stool, leaving an empty seat between us. A middle-aged woman wearing what I pray are her teenage daughter’s clothes walks toward us. Without a word she slides Richard a small glass filled with whiskey and ice.
    â€œAnd for you?” she asks me, her voice raspy and deeper than mine.
    â€œSame as him.”
    Tessa’s voice warning me not to do this is clear as a bell between my