Tough Love

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

ISABELLE

The three of us froze, this was something she should never have heard, not like this anyway.

"Jenna" Ash's sightly panicked voice spoke as he walked over to her.

"It's true? You're not my dad?" she yelled loudly, her big eyes wide and full of anger.

"It's not like that, I'm still your Dad, that won't change." he sighed and pulled her into his chest "I'm just not your actual father, there was a mix up and they mucked the paperwork up when you was born." I could hear the hurt in his voice, and that broke me.

My eyes were filling with tears, I knew what was going to happen and when I turned to face Parker, he was also on the verge of tears, he knew as well. She would want to leave.

I had to be strong for him, I couldn't break down as much as I wanted to.

"I want to live with mum, I don't want to be here with you anymore, I hate it here" her small hushed voice came out in the loudest shrill I have ever heard in my entire life, she was kicking at him as he tried to grab her "I hate you! You're not my dad and you kept it from me!" she was punching him in the chest until he let her go and she took off. "I don't want to stay here!"

Ashton looked as if he had been kicked in the gut, he let her go and backed away, I knew he was trying to think of something to say but nothing was coming out, I had to step in and help.

"Jenna, your dad is still your dad" I moved off the chair and walked towards her.

"He's not, he's not my dad at all. None of you are my family. I want to live with my real family" her temper was coming back and she raced off up the stairs.

Damn, it took all my might not to smack the attitude out of her. What a brat. They were her family.

I turned to face Ashton who had tears filling his eyes and I stepped closer, he didn't move he just looked stunned, but I kept walking and wrapped my arms around him, he didn't move to start with and then his arms came around me tighter than ever as his body shook. I felt another set of arms and Parker had joined in the hug, three grown adults were crying and hugging each other.

"What is going on here?" we broke apart to hear the voice of Ashton's mum.

I didn't even realise they were stopping by to visit and then I felt sicker knowing they were about to find out the girl they took in and help raise didn't see them as her family and wanted nothing to do with any of them.

"Nothing" Ashton spoke "everything's fine".

"Ash," I sighed "you need to tell them."

"No" he said firmly "I don't. There is nothing to tell, as nothing is going to change."

"Mate come on, it already has" Parker rubbed his back trying to encourage him to tell his parents, but how on earth do you break it to them.

"I'm going to talk to Jenna, you four go and sit down. I'll be down in a bit." I suggested and placed a kiss on his cheek about to walk away.

He pulled me back and held me closer to his body "I love you so much" he whispered and kissed me gently then let me go.

Walking up the stairs seemed to take forever, I had no idea how I was going to try and convince this girl not to do this, to stay and let us be her parents but it wasn't going to be that easy.

I knocked on the wall since the door was still missing and walked in to find Jenna laying on her bed crying, cries that were hurting my even more so, I walked over to her and laid down on the bed, her body clinging to my own as she wrapped her arms around me and held me tight.

Why did things have to turn out this way, why did such a good man have to be given such a mess for a life, 14 years he had spent trying to give her the best and it was all being tossed back at him.

"Jenna, you know you can stay here still, right?" she had to know that we still loved her more than anything.

"Do you know who my real dad is?" she looked up through her blurred eyes and puffy cheeks.

"No sweetheart I don't, neither does your dad" I rubbed her back up and down. "We've only just found out about all of this recently."

"Stop calling him that, his name is Ashton not dad" she muttered, and I felt myself wanting to throw up, she was really going to stop calling him that.

"He's your dad Jenna" I spoke clearer "nothing changes it."

"Everything is changed, I'm living with strangers, I want to live with my real mum, I have sisters and I want to be a part of that" she sat up and suddenly the horrible little girl was back.

"If you want to leave then you go and call her up yourself, I won't do it." I stood up and walked out of the room, she wouldn't be that awful to make the call, would she?

I got into the living room and my insides churned for what felt like the tenth time today, Ash's mum was sobbing loudly, his parents both looking as bad as Ashton felt, he looked up and seen me and frowned, I tried to smile but I just couldn't, I couldn't tell him that she didn't want to be here anymore, and we couldn't keep her.

Parker stood up and walked over, pulling me outside and closing the door so we could talk privately "what did she say?"

"Well, I said that her dad wants her to stay and she said his name isn't dad it's Ashton and she's calling her mum up to come get her."

"Tell me your joking" he growled out, his jaw tightening and breathing getting heavier. "What the fuck Belle? What did you say to her?"

I scoffed; my voice lowered as I eyed him intensely. "She is the devil. I am done helping her. She said we're not her parents and she wants to be with her real family, I don't know how to tell him, he's going to be crushed Parker. He is going to drink himself into a coma" I knew he would, when I left was hard enough but to lose his daughter that was going to be tougher yet, this was going to tear his life apart.

"What's going on?" Ashton's voice scared the shit out of me. I didn't see him coming up behind us. "What are you talking about?"

Where do we begin? I wasn't sure what to start with. I groaned, "you should sit down for this." I said about to head up the stairs when Jenna came bouncing down and met us at the bottom.

Did she have a change of tune? She sure seemed happy for someone yelling at us all earlier on.

"She'll be here in half hour."

She called her. "Please tell me you're joking, that you didn't make that call Jenna!" I raised my voice behind Ash, moving and stepping in front of him. I'd been calm for too long and I can't do it anymore. "Are you really that kind of girl? after everything your dad and grandparents have given you? Are you happy to just up and take off?"

"They can't stop me, mum said she'll call the police if they do" she gave him a sarcastic look.

"Tell her to call the fucking police then" he thundered. "You live under this roof; you will show me some damn respect."

I couldn't believe her; she was doing this to him. I sighed and turned around to face a confused Ashton and then my eyes caught sight of his mum. "Kelly's on her way to pick her up, she called her" His mother said softly.

"She's my daughter" he spoke harshly but his voice cracking "she's not leaving this house, after 14 years of being her parent, she doesn't get to up and go. I don't care if I go to jail, she isn't going anywhere. She can't go anywhere." he gritted out as his body started to breath in heavy breaths. "She can't leave. I'm her dad."

I moved closer, and held his hand tightly, pulling him into me as I tried to fight the tears back myself, I felt my heart breaking with the words I was now saying. "Ash, she wants to go, we have to let her go."