Chapter 52:
January 2, 2026- Seattle, Washington
"Aimee Elizabeth Shepherd! Where the hell have you been?" Derek said harshly as his sixteen-year-old daughter walked in the door.
She looked at her father and her eyes widened. She didn't say a word.
"It's three in the morning! Where have you been? Don't you have anything to say for yourself?" Derek asked.
"Dad, it was not-"
"Nothing? Nothing? You snuck out! Out of my house! Do you know how worried your mother and I have been? Do you have any idea?" Derek yelled.
"Derek," Meredith said in a calm voice, trying to pull him away from his daughter, "Derek, you shouldn't be yelling like that. Calm on, we can deal with this in the morning. Let's go to bed."
Derek shook Meredith off of him, "No. We will deal with this now," he said to Meredith before turning back towards Aimee. "You were with that boyfriend of yours weren't you? I knew he was bad. Where were you two? What the hell were you doing this late at night? Never mind, I don't want to know. Just go to your room. You are grounded for a month and you are not to see whatever his name is. Do you understand me?"
"Daddy! You can't do that!" Aimee yelled with tears rolling down her face, "You can't do that to me. I love Luke. You can't tell me I can't see him."
"Love? You don't know what the hell love is. Now go upstairs," Derek yelled.
"Daddy!" Aimee pleaded.
"Get upstairs!" Derek said.
"I hate you," Aimee mumbled before running up the stairs.
Aimee looked around her room. There was a picture of her with Luke. She hadn't seen him other than in the halls since that fight. Her father and her had that fight the night before he'd been admitted into the hospital and diagnosed with cancer. She hadn't been able to talk to him about it with everything going on. He hadn't talked to her and she hadn't talked to him. At all. She wasn't able to tell him that she didn't hate him. That she loved him and that she would miss him so much if he died. And now for all she knew, she might never get to.