Page 174 of Split You Open

Honestly, I appreciate the concern. Dad really doesn’t show his emotions much so when he does, it’s because he feels it’s important that I know his stance on issues. His fear for my wellbeing is touching.

But Dad’s got to trust me to make my own decisions. If I end up being burned by them, well then, that’s on me.

The silence stretches between us as he makes his way through Caddawalk. As we make it into a more residential part of town, curiosity gets the best of me.

“How do you know this place so well?”

Dad doesn’t reply right away as he takes a turn and then another one. He’s circling his location. I can tell after a few minutes when we pass the same street just on the other end of it. We must be getting close to where he’s keeping the hostages. Instinctually, my eyes scan the streets, the shadows, empty cars, and yards—searching for signs of trouble.

“Caddawalk is where my father—your grandfather—lived. I came in the summers and most holidays for a custody agreement growing up.”

I blink, surprised by this.

I guess I shouldn’t be. I know that he and Ledger grew up together and joined the Marines together, but I guess I never considered the fact that Dad had lived in Caddawalk at some point. It never clicked until now.

“Did you ever go to the Caddawalk Fall Festival?”

The question throws Dad for a loop. I can tell by the way his brows creep together slowly while he continues scanning for any potential danger.

“Yes. Why?”

“Santi was telling me about it. It sounds like fun but I can’t picture you doing something so… normal.”

Dad scoffs. “Normal?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I had a childhood, Blair Bear.”

Given how he lives his life now, he could’ve fooled me.

Questions about his childhood and his life while he lived here spin around in my head, but I know if I keep peppering him with questions now, he’ll just shut down sooner rather than later. I’m honestly impressed with how chatty he’s been all night. Even at dinner he was much more forthcoming than I ever expected him to be.

A part of me is suspicious.

Dad really doesn’t enjoy being around others so for him to show up and sit down to eat dinner, as tense as it was, feels off. I consider this as he pulls onto an all too familiar street. My body slowly begins to tense with each house we pass.

Oh, shit… I know he’s not taking me where I think he’s headed.

I try not to react as Dad pulls into a familiar driveway but as I stare at the cute, two-story yellow house with faded pale blue shutters, my heart starts to hammer away in my chest. Anger swells up and my face begins to burn.

This is not a coincidence.

As Dad parks the car and unbuckles his seatbelt, I sit there seething.

“Come on,” he urges as he reaches for his door handle.

“What the fuck, Dad?” I snap as I tear my eyes away from the Navarro house to glare at him.

I don’t miss the hard smile that pulls at his lips. It’s that same damn smile he wears whenever he knows he’s taken things too far but doesn’t fucking care.

“Inside, now,” he warns before pushing open his door.

Cursing under my breath, I reach back to grab my go-bag and then push open my door. Dad and I keep our heads down as I follow him around the back to the unlocked sliding glass door.

Once inside, Dad doesn’t turn on the lights. Instead, he moves in the dark. The ease in which he navigates the floorplan without any light to guide him tells me he’s been here for a while. A few days at least.

He moves around the Navarro house as if it’s his own.