“Don’t you call Adrienne a thing!” Zach shouted back, getting up from his chair again. He shouldn’t have been doing this. He really shouldn’t have, but he wasn’t going to take this from his father. Zach wasn’t going to allow his dad to ruin his one chance at normal relationship with a girl that he was probably never going to be able to have again. Adrienne was one of the best things that had ever happened to Zach, and his dad was not taking this away from him.

“She is a monster!” Kelsey yelled, gesturing madly at his son. The moonlight falling in through the window sent streaks of silver through his dark hair and upon his frame. “A bloodthirsty beast capable of hurting and murdering our family! You think I am just going to stand by as you—”

“She is not a monster!” Zach shouted back. His throat would no doubt hurt soon if he kept up this yelling. Not to mention, the whole house might be woken up by their fight. It didn’t matter, though. All that mattered was proving his father wrong and showing him the truth. “She can control it, and it’s not all the time! It only happens once a month on full moons! She is not a danger to Mom, to Alicia, or to you!”

“You will have her out of my house in the morning, and you will never see her again!” The look on Kelsey’s face was livid beyond anything Zach had seen in a long time. Zach didn’t know what his father was going to do if Zach didn’t yield to his demands, but Zach wasn’t stopping despite the fierce pounding of his heart inside of his ribcage. It was one of the scariest things in his life because he had no idea where this was going to go, and yet he kept on.

“I will see her as much as I want!” Zach challenged his father.

“As long as you live under my house, you will obey by my rules!” his father bellowed. Kelsey’s thundering voice frightened Zach, causing Zach’s heart to leap in spite of his resolve.

The next words out of Zach’s mouth surprised even Zach himself. “Then I’m not going to live here anymore!”