Rock's Bully: Chapter 9

I hate crying. I always have.

When I was around fourteen, I decided that I would never cry again, and for the most part, have been successful. The few times I’ve been brought to tears I’ve done it in private, hiding my shame and pain from the world, and that’s the way I like it.

My Dad hasn’t seen me cry in years, and I can tell the sight of my wet cheeks and wobbly bottom lip is strange for him as he clears his throat and re-straightens his spine. He doesn’t like seeing me like this, but his Wrath is winning.

He’s angry, and he won’t stop until he has his answers.

“How long, Ciara?” Dad repeats.

I open my mouth, but the words die in my throat before I get anything out. Fear keeps me silent, unable to form a single sentence. This isn’t how I wanted him to find out.

Movement from Rock distracts me, and I turn just in time to watch him slide his shirt back over his shoulders. He still faces away from us, refusing to look at either my dad or me as he redresses. Out of the corner of my eye I see Dad cross his arms over his chest, the man probably growing impatient.

I’m sure my silence isn’t helping the thoughts swirling around in his head.

“About seven months.” I finally state.

My words are no louder than a whisper, but I can tell Dad’s heard them by the way he recoils and shakes his head. He was probably expecting me only to say a few weeks, maybe a month or two at most.

Our family doesn’t keep things from one another, especially things this big for this long.

Once Rock’s finally dressed, Dad looks over at him, and I take it as a good sign that he respected the man’s privacy despite his anger. A small part of me has always been afraid of Dad’s wrath killing Rock, but his consideration speaks volumes.

Rock shoves his hands deep into his robes and shrugs, offering no explanation.

He still refuses to look at me, and when I move to be closer to him, he shuffles away. The movement hurts, fucking burns me to my core, but I don’t push it and slide back to my original spot. Is he truly so angry that he can’t even look at or be near me?

He’s wanted to tell my parents for months, and I’m sure this isn’t exactly how he imagined it.

It’s not how I did, either.

“You’ve been fucking my daughter for seven months?” Dad hisses.

Rock nods, his eyes briefly darting toward me before he returns them to the seething man.

“Yes.” He answers, his tone cold.

I shake my head, hating the way this is happening. Rock and I were supposed to be all in love and happy when we told Dad, and he would see just how perfect we are for one another and be excited for us.

This is the exact opposite.

“It’s not Rock’s fault. “I chime in, eager to get Dad’s murderous gaze off the man I love. “If there’s anybody you should be angry with, it’s me. I-“

“I don’t care to hear a damn word you have to say, Ciara.” He spits, cutting me off.

I bite my lip, trying and failing to stop a pained noise from slipping from my throat. Dad and I always fight, but he’s never been this angry with me. I hide my hands behind my back so nobody can see their shaking.

“She is a child.” Dad continues, returning his attention to Rock.

I shake my head, but Dad lifts a hand to stop me from speaking.

“She’s older than Charlie was when you met her.” Rock states.

It’s annoying that they’re speaking about me like I’m not even here, but I know now’s not the time to complain about that. Rock and I knew our age difference would be a sticking point for my parents, and Dad’s statement isn’t unsurprising.

It was an issue for Rock, too.

Still, I’m not a child. I’m a grown adult, and old enough to make these decisions for myself.

Dad can’t scare away or kill all my boyfriends like he did when I was a teenager. At some point, he’s going to need to accept that I’m a woman. I’m not his little girl anymore.

A loud crash followed by an even louder squeal cuts through the room, causing Dad to glance down the hallway Tommy disappeared into. He sucks in a slow breath, an action he does whenever he’s fighting to keep himself from losing control, and I hold my own as I watch him shut his eyes.

After what feels like a lifetime, he exhales and returns his focus to us.

“I’m disappointed in both of you.” He states.

Those words are crushing, and I can only watch in horror as he storms down the hallway for Tommy. There’s a bit of a commotion as he grabs the boy, and then seconds later both heartbeats are gone.

“Rock-“I start, turning to the man still standing as far from me as he can possibly get.

He shakes his head before disappearing, shifting to fuck knows where.

I know he’s angry, but we need to talk. I shift to his office, hoping to find him there, and am disappointed when I’m met with an empty room. His secretary says she hasn’t seen him either, and I order her to let me know if he comes by before shifting to his home in Wrath.

He never comes here, but it’d be a good place for him to go if he’s trying to avoid me.

This shift takes it out of me, my body exhausted after making two big jumps back to back, but I shove aside the pain and storm around Rock’s home. He’s nowhere to be seen, and the stale scent tells me he hasn’t been here recently, either.

Where the fuck did he go?

I love Rock, I really do, but he doesn’t have much of social life. He spends most of his time at work, and the few hours a day he has to himself are usually spent lounging on his couch watching movies.

He’s got like four friends, but they’re all at the Wrath party tonight so I know he’s not with any of them.

Shit.

I suck in a slow breath before shifting back to the party. This time I’m careful to enter through my closet, not wanting to risk ending up in the middle of the room naked. Patting myself down, I’m happy to note I’ve brought every article of clothing I’m wearing with me.

Now’s not the time to bask in the personal victory of completing three consecutive shifts without getting lost in a void or ending up naked, though.

My knees shake as I push open the closet door and storm into the ballroom. Immediately I spot Dad with Tommy, the boy clutched tightly in his arms, but thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice me. Despite his anger, I know he’d be by my side the moment he sees my weak state.

I’m sure it’s showing on my face, my cheekbones probably sunken in and dark bags blooming over my skin. Any other time I’d be embarrassed being seen like this, but I’m on the hunt for the Demon I love and I’ll be damned if I let a bit of physical weakness slow me down.

The room is too full to try and sniff him out, and instead I slink around the perimeter of the room searching for him.

My stomach drops when Rock’s nowhere to be seen, and I feel my jaw clench as my eyes once more begin to grow wet.

Fuck.

What’s up with the waterworks today?

“Baby?”

I blink away the tears and look down at Mom. Her eyebrows crinkle as she steps forward and cups my cheeks, her hands soft and warm. I lean into her touch, but the kindness only worsens my crying.

A tiny gasp slips from her lips as she throws an arm around my waist and leads me out of the room, her voice soothing as she directs us away from the crowd. People give us odd looks, the more daring of them going as far as outwardly staring, but nobody says anything.

A few guards are standing near the foot of the stairs to keep anybody from entering our personal living areas, but they hurry to the side when they see us approaching.

“It’s okay, sweetie. Everything’s okay.” Mom promises, leading me down the hallway to her bedroom.

The space is a mess, clothing strewn all about from what I’m assuming was them getting ready for the party earlier. Most of it looks to be Daddy G’s, which isn’t surprising. He cares more about how he looks than all my other parents combined.

Mom spins and pulls me into a hug the moment the door shuts behind us, and I don’t know what comes over me, but almost immediately I find myself sobbing in her arms. She rubs my back, soft hushes slipping from her lips as she comforts me.

“What’s going on, baby?” She eventually asks.

I don’t answer right away, not knowing what to say.

After a while, my tears slow, and she urges me to sit with her on the end of her bed. For once in my life, I don’t fight her and lean my head on her shoulders as she continues rubbing my back.

“I’m dating Rock.” I blurt.

Her entire body goes still, and I watch a mixture of emotions flash over her features. The most prominent ones are shock and disgust, but she hides them quickly. I’m happy for it, unable to mentally handle another person being angry with me right now.

Mom sucks in a few slow breaths before nodding to herself and urging me to continue.

“He’s been wanting me to tell you guys for forever, but I’ve been putting it off. We got in a big fight tonight, about a lot of things but mostly that, and Dad showed up and figured it out and now both Rock and Dad hate me and I don’t know what to do.” I admit, my shame growing with each word that slips from between my lips.

“Now I doubt either of them hates you.” Mom chuckles, pulling away and cupping my chin.

She urges me to turn and look her in the eye.

“Ciara, you are one of the most headstrong and stubborn people I’ve ever met, but your fathers and I always have and always will love you. Your heart is so big, and anybody who spends time with you can see that. Dad loves you with his entire being, and I’m sure Rock does too.” She assures.

I shake my head, not believing it.

Rock might have loved me, but I fucked that up.

“He found out I put my teeth on other men before we were dating. He thinks I’m playing games, and doesn’t believe me when I tell him it’s different with him.” I admit, needing her to see just how badly I fucked up. “But it is, Mom. I truly love him.”

She does a poor job hiding her shock when I admit to putting my teeth on other men, but I’m happy she doesn’t show any disappointment or disgust. I don’t think I could handle that from her. I know what I did was wrong, and if I could take it all back, I would.

“Oh, Ciara.” She sighs, pushing my hair out of my face. “How long have you two been together?”

I’m starting to hate that question.

“A long time.” I whisper.

Mom continues to stare, waiting for her answer.

“About seven months.”

She sucks in another deep breath.

“And you told Dad that?”

I nod.

“Well, I can see why he’s upset. That’s a long time to keep something like that a secret. Especially when Rock’s at our house for game nights practically every week.” She chuckles, rolling her eyes as it finally clicks. “I suppose it makes sense now why he’s always here.”

I huff, finally cracking a smile as she lightly scolds herself for being so blind.

Mom’s good about being calm, and I’ve never appreciated it more than I do now. When my dads lose their minds, I can always count on mom to be a voice of reason.

“Just give them both some time to digest.” She urges.

I suck in a shaky breath before nodding. I hate it, but she’s right.

Rock clearly doesn’t want to talk to me right now, the extremes he’s going to hide from me proving that, and forcing him to face me before he’s ready will make it worse.

The same goes with Dad.

I lay sideways and put my head in Mom’s lap, comforted as she begins playing with my hair. She used to do this all the time when I was a kid, and it feels just as good now as it did then.

My shifts from earlier have me bone tired, and I let myself relax on her as I will my body to recharge. I don’t like feeling this weak, and I’m pretty sure that’s the reason I’ve been doing all this crying.

“I’m so glad you found somebody who makes you happy.” Mom states, drawing my attention. “Rock is a good man, and you both deserve-“

She pauses as the bedroom door flies open.

I grimace, looking away as Daddy G and Pop come tumbling inside. The horrific sounds of kissing and what I’m pretty sure is a moan emerge from them before they notice my presence and stop.

“Ciara?” Pop clears his throat. “What’s going on?”

There’s a low grunt that makes me want to vomit, and I listen and wait until the sounds of pants being fixed and a belt redone are finished before looking their way. Daddy G leans against the dresser, his face flushed. Pop doesn’t look much better, but concern takes precedence as he sees my splotchy cheeks and rushes forward.

He’s on his knees a second later, his hands cupping my cheeks as he wipes at my tears and turns to Mom. She only shrugs, refusing to answer.

“I’m dating Rock, have been for a long time, and Dad found out and is mad. Rock’s mad at me too for other reasons, and now they both hate me.” I blurt, wanting to get this over with.

This is precisely why I wanted to tell them all at once. I hate saying it over and over again.

“Oh,” Silas breathes.

I can smell his anger, but he does a good job hiding it as he pulls me into a hug. I’m glad he’s not questioning me as Dad did, but Pop’s always been more laid back. Besides, I’m pretty sure everybody in this room can tell I’m only one negative reaction away from having a complete mental breakdown.

“I already knew.” Daddy G states.

Pop pulls away, and we all turn to face the Incubus.

Daddy G avoids eye contact as he purses his lips and runs his fingers across the surface of his dresser.

“Just in case you were wondering. I knew first.” He continues.

My lips twitch, and his eyes practically sparkle when I breathe a slight laugh and he realizes his words have worked.

Pop huffs and turns back to me while Daddy G continues with his not-so-subtle bragging.

“Don’t ask me how I knew. Just know that I did, and I knew the entire time.”

____

Gray's just pissed his grown adult children are still cockblocking him