Alle Kapitel von When Best Friends Kiss: Kapitel 261 – Kapitel 270

(RORY'S POV) Dad was right. This was no news, and I had known this was coming. I had seen the text on Tia's phone. I had known for days. But hearing Dad say it out loud was different. It made it real. "I want your blessing," Dad said. His voice was softer now. Vulnerable. I rarely saw him like this. "I know I don't need it. I know you're my daughter and you'll love me no matter what. But Rory, I want you to be okay with this. I want you to be happy for me. For us. And I want you to accept her." I looked at my father's face. The hope in his eyes. The fear. The love. He was asking me. He was putting his happiness in my hands. My heart squeezed. "Dad." I held his hand in mine. "Tia and I have spoken. I know that you may still be worried, but we are good. She is the sweetest person ever. I support what you have." I thought about my mother. About what she would want. About what she would say if she were here. I thought about all the years Dad had been alone. All the years he had worked

(TODD'S POV) Rory's hand tightened around mine. I felt her whole body go stiff beside me. Her eyes locked on Denver, and I could see the fear there. And the anger. "Well, well." Denver's voice was smooth. Too smooth. Like we were old friends meeting for coffee. "The patient is awake. How wonderful." He walked closer, his expensive shoes clicking against the hospital floor. Dana followed, her eyes scanning the room like she was looking for something to criticize. Leslie hung back near the door, her arms crossed, her face unreadable. Rory stood up. She moved so she was standing between me and Denver. Blocking him. "Please sir, you need to leave." Her voice was shaking, but she said it anyway. "He needs to rest.” Denver looked at her. Really looked at her. Like she was a bug he hadn't noticed before. "Ah. You must be the girlfriend." He said the word like it was dirty. "Rory, isn't it? I've heard so much about you. Not good things I must tell you.” "You need to leave." Ro

(RORY'S POV) Tia walked into the hospital room as boldly as ever. Not in a rude way. In a confident way. The kind of way that made you feel like everything was going to be okay because she was here now. She was wearing a simple blue dress and her hair was pulled back. But her eyes were sharp. Focused. The eyes of someone who was ready to fight. "Oh, sweetheart." She came straight to me and pulled me into a hug. "Look at you. You look exhausted." I hugged her back. It felt good. Safe. "I'm okay." She pulled back and looked at me carefully. Then she turned to Todd. "And you." She walked to his bedside. "You look like you've been through hell." Todd tried to smile. "That's one way to put it." Tia pulled up a chair and sat down close to him. She reached out and took his hand. Gentle. Caring. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." She said. "So sorry." Todd smiled lightly at her. "Thank you." Tia looked at me. "Tell me everything. From the beginning. Don't leave anyt

(THIRD PERSON POV) The Williams mansion was quiet. Not the peaceful kind of quiet. The kind that comes before a heavy storm. The kind that makes the hairs on your arm stand up. Denver Williams sat in his study, a glass of whiskey in his hand, staring at the wall. The room was dark except for one lamp. His face looked like it was half in shadow. Dana sat across from him, her legs crossed, a wine glass in her hand. She looked calm. But her eyes were sharp. Watching. Thinking. Leslie sat on the small couch near the window. She was curled up, her knees to her chest, staring at nothing. The meeting with Todd at the hospital had not gone the way Denver wanted. The boy was stubborn. Still defiant. Even after everything, and it made him angry. That was what he was thinking about. All he could think about. The way Todd O'Connor had stared back at him like he was ready to fight if he wasn't in his bed. "He's not broken," Denver said finally. His voice was quiet. That was worse than shout

(THIRD PERSON POV) The sun came up over Daisyland like it didn't know anything was wrong. Leslie watched it from her bed, unmoving and silently staring like she had been doing for the past two hours that she had been awake. The conversations her parents had been having were replaying in her head, and as much as she tried to shut them out, she couldn't. And with all the thoughts in her head, Leslie found herself circling around one thought in particular—the same one she had been thinking of since Friday. Friday. The day it all started for her. The confusion, the deep questions, the critical self-analysis. It did not start when she found out that her father had assaulted Todd in a bid to teach him a lesson. No, that was when her thoughts spiked up, but the thoughts originally started with Rosalie Davis. After the way she confronted Leslie at the food stand just before the Friday night game. The way Rosalie had spoken to her and poked her in all the hurtful places. Leslie had bee