by Kai Juniper
I glance at her, trying not to laugh at her performance. It's a little over the top, but she's committed to selling Parker on the idea that she hates me.
"I need food," Finn mumbles, using the coffee table to pull himself up. "Let's get tacos."
"Take him home," I say to Parker. "And don't call me until you chill the fuck out."
I hear the front door open and close. Shit. My father's home. I didn't think he'd be home until later tonight.
"Briggs, are you here?" he yells.
"In the living room," I yell back. "The guys are over."
My father appears, wearing his suit but no tie. I don't know where he went after our fight, but I'm guessing it was a bar, or maybe he went to the office. Sometimes when he's pissed, he goes to the office, blasts classical music, and drinks while staring at graphs on his computer showing how much money he's made. Most people think being at work is stressful, but he finds comfort in being there. It's like home to him. He'd much rather be there than here.
"Hello, boys," he says, his eyes going between Parker and Finn.
"Good evening, Mr. Chadwick," Parker says in a formal tone, giving him a polite smile. "We were just leaving." He puts his arm around Finn. "Finn's not feeling so good."
"I want tacos," Finn mumbles, his eyes half closed.
"Perhaps you should get him home," my dad says, looking disgusted with Finn. He's never liked Finn, but Finn's parents have money invested with our company so he puts up with him.
"I'll walk out with you," Ella says to Parker.
My father notices Ella behind me. "Ms. Quinn. I didn't see you there." He gives her a slight smile. "Is there a reason for your visit?"
"She's helping us with a school assignment," I say.
"And what is the assignment?" he asks in a challenging tone that says he doesn't believe me. "Aren't you all in different classes?" He looks at Parker to answer.
Parker clears his throat. "We are, but this is kind of an extra credit thing." He looks at me to explain.
"Dad, just forget it. It doesn't matter. They need to go." I give Parker a look to get out of here.
Keeping hold of Finn, Parker walks past my father. "Good seeing you, Mr. Chadwick."
Ella follows after him.
"Wait." My father grabs her arm, stopping her. "I'd like to speak with you before you go."
She glances at me. "What about?"
He eyes Ella and me with suspicion. "I find it rather odd you two keep spending so much time together. Is there something you'd like to tell me?"
"Like what?" I say, as if I have no idea what he's talking about. I already told him I'm not interested in Ella. I thought he believed me, but I guess not. Why does he think there's something going on between us? Ella's not even close to being anything like the girls I've dated in the past.
My father keeps his gaze on me a moment before turning his attention back to Ella. "While you're here, I'd like to ask about your lawn services."
"Lawn services?" she says, sounding surprised. "Um, you'd have to talk to my dad about that, but I don't think he's taking new customers right now."
I'm guessing he is, but she doesn't want my dad as a customer. I wouldn't either. He demands perfection, and if he doesn't get it, he makes your life hell. I know that better than anyone.
"Businesses are always open to accepting new customers," my father says. "At least the successful ones are. I assume your father's contact information is on his website?"
Ella nods. "Yes."
"Very well. I'll call and arrange for a quote." He smiles at her, the tight smile he does when he's trying to be polite but doesn't want to be. "Well. I'll let you two get back to whatever it was you were doing."
He turns and leaves. I hear his dress shoes clicking on the floor, then the door to his office open and close.
"I should go," Ella says.
"I'll walk you out."
We go outside and I walk her to her truck. My dad had to have noticed it when he got home, so why did he act so surprised to see her? I can't believe he didn't yell at her to move it. She parked it right in front of the house, making it visible from the street. My father would be horrified if anyone he knew saw a rusty pickup parked in front of his house.
"Let me know if you hear anything," I say to Ella. "You said your dad's on a date with that woman tonight?"
"Yeah, so she probably won't talk to the guy until tomorrow."
"When do you think you'll see her again?"
"I don't know. My dad just started dating her and he hasn't dated since my mom died so I'm guessing he's going to take it slow and just go out with her now and then."
"Is he doing that for you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe he's taking it slow to give you time to adjust to him dating. If you tell him you're okay with it, maybe he'll see her more. You need her to come over so you can get information on the case. But don't be too pushy about it. You don't want her getting suspicious."
"It's my dad who might get suspicious. He's worried I don't want him dating. If I push him to date, he might think something's up."
"Like what?"
She shrugs. "I don't know, like maybe I'm trying to get him out of the house so I can do stuff without him knowing about it."
"What would you be doing?"
"Dating a guy he wouldn't like."
"Like me?" I say, jokingly.
"Definitely you." She leans against her truck, her hand on her hip. It draws my attention to her legs, tan and lean and begging to be touched. She's wearing cutoff shorts and I can't stop thinking about the last time she wore those, and where my hand ended up. It almost went there again today, when we were in the bathroom. If we hadn't started fighting, who knows what would've happened?
"My dad already told me to stay away from you," Ella says. "And your friends."
"When did he say that?"
"When I got home the night of the accident. Remember how he accused me of sneaking out to go on a date with you?"
"Why would he even think that? I'm not exactly your type."
"I have no idea, but your dad seems to think the same thing. He acted like we're secretly dating."
"Yeah, he asked me about it last time you were here. I told him we're just meeting to do an assignment, but he obviously didn't believe me or he wouldn't have made that comment tonight."
"Are we giving off some kind of sign that we're attracted to each other?"
I smile. "You're attracted to me?"
She rolls her eyes. "If I wasn't, I wouldn't have let you kiss me."
"You were attracted to me before and didn't let me kiss you," I say, folding my arms over my chest.
"I wasn't attracted to you," she insists. "I hated you."
"You can hate someone and still be attracted to them."
"Or repulsed by them."
"You weren't repulsed." I step closer to her and lean down to her face. "I saw the way your body shivered whenever I got close to you."
She looks away. "That's a sign of being repulsed."
"And when I touched you behind the school that day." I lower my mouth to her ear. "The way your breath sped up? The way you looked at me? You may have hated me, but a part of you wanted me more than you'll ever admit."
She turns her head and I see her neck move as she swallows. She's breathing hard, like she was that day I backed her against the wall. It's turning me on, and I really want to kiss her, but I can't risk my dad seeing. Knowing him, he's watching us right now from the house.
"I need to go," she says, hurrying to open her door.
I take a step back. "I'll call you tonight."
"You sure that's a good idea?" she asks as she gets in the truck. "What if we become suspects and they go back and look at our phone records?"
"We'll say it was about our assignment. But it's not going to come to that. They're not going to find out."
I keep saying that so I'll believe it because I don't even want to think about what'll happen if the cops find out what we did. Ho
nestly, I'm more worried about what my father would do than what the cops would do. My father wouldn't care about the accident. He'd care about me getting arrested and embarrassing him. He'd be furious, and he'd take out all his anger on me. If I ever do get arrested, I'd rather sit in jail than be home alone with my father.
Ella leaves and I go back in the house. I walk past my dad's office and see the door is still closed. Hopefully, he'll be in there all night. He didn't seem drunk, but that doesn't mean he won't come find me and yell at me for something.
I go in my room and lock the door, my mind still on Ella. Every time we kiss, I want more. I've never felt that way about a kiss. I'm always hurrying to move past it to the sex. It's not that I don't want that with Ella, but I'm not in a rush to get there, which shocks the hell out of me. I don't know what that means. Why am I okay taking things slow with Ella but not some other girl?
My phone rings and I see Aubrey's name on the screen. I can already feel my chest tightening. It's the same feeling I get when I'm around my dad, and yet I didn't realize that until just now.
"Hey," I answer, noticing my jaw is tight too. Has she always caused this reaction in me and I just didn't notice?
"We need to talk," she snaps.
"What about?" I ask, but I know exactly what she's going to say. She'll start by telling me I'm ignoring her and then ask me all these questions in an attempt to reassure herself that I still find her attractive.
"I'm tired of being ignored. This has to stop. I don't know what's going on with you, Briggs, but this isn't a relationship."
"Got it. Anything else?"
"What?" she asks, sounding confused.
"You said you wanted to talk. Was that it, or was there more?"
She's quiet a moment, then says, "Are you not attracted to me anymore? Is that why you don't want to see me?"
Just like I predicted, she's asking about her looks. She's a freaking model, and yet she's insecure about her looks. I could compliment her all day and it still wouldn't be enough.
"You're gorgeous," I tell her. "But until you actually believe that yourself, people telling you that isn't going to make you feel better."
She huffs. "What are you talking about? I know I'm hot."
"Then why do you keep asking me?"
"Because sometimes a girl likes to hear her boyfriend say he finds her attractive."
"If I didn't find you attractive, we never would've dated."
"Then come over here and show me," she says in a flirty tone. "I miss you, baby. We haven't done it in weeks."
She doesn't even like sex, but she thinks saying that will convince me to go see her, and it would have before, but not now. Ever since the accident, I've seen things differently. It's like everything's clearer, and I no longer want what I thought I did. I mean, fuck, I want Ella. If that doesn't show I've changed, I don't know what would.
"I'm waiting," Aubrey says in her sultry voice. "Naked. In the sheets. All I need is you."
"I'm not coming over."
"What? Why?" She's suddenly angry, which is typical Aubrey. She acts all sweet to get what she wants, and if she doesn't, she gets angry and starts yelling and screaming, and if that doesn't work, she adds some tears.
"We're done," I tell her. "I'm breaking up with you."
"You are NOT breaking up with me! There's no one better for you than me and you know it! How could you even think that—"
"I've already made my decision. It's over."
She's still yelling when I press end on the phone. I set it on the nightstand and lay down on the bed, stretching my arms out as I feel my chest loosen and my airways open up. I take a deep breath, loving how that feels, and loving the idea that I never have to endure another argument with Aubrey.
I'd rather be single than date a girl like Aubrey. And if I decide to find someone else, I want a girl like Ella, someone who's easy to be around and easy to talk to. That's hard to find, so maybe I'll just be alone for a while.
Or maybe I'll be with Ella. Yeah, right. Me and Ella? Never gonna happen. She'll kiss me, and maybe even do more, but actually be with me? Never, especially when all this blows over and I'm forced to focus back on being valedictorian. She probably thinks I forget about that, or let it go, but I can't. I won't. I have to be free of my father, even if that means giving up whatever might've been with Ella.
Chapter Four
Ella
"How was your date?" I ask my dad as I'm having breakfast.
"Great!" He smiles as he goes to the fridge. "We went out for something to eat after the concert. Sorry I was so late. You got my text, right?"
"Yeah, and don't worry about being out late. I don't mind." I finish the last of my cereal and bring my bowl to the sink.
He comes over to me. "You sure you're okay with this? I feel like I should've given you more of a warning this was coming."
"Warning?" I laugh. "You make it sound like this is something bad."
"It is when you're not prepared for it. This is the first woman you've seen me with since your mom. That can be a lot to deal with when you're used to it being just you and me."
"But soon it'll be just you, and I want you to have someone." I put my hand on his shoulder and look him in the eye. "Dad, I promise you, I am one hundred percent on board with this."
"You're not just saying that, are you?"
"No, so stop worrying about me." I go to the fridge to grab my lunch. "Susan seems nice. Why didn't you tell me she's a cop?"
"I guess I never thought about it. She doesn't talk much about work. A lot of times she can't, especially now that she's working in investigations."
"Did she tell you any more about that case? The hit-and-run?"
"She mentioned she'd be going to see the victim today. She's hoping to speak with him if she's able to."
"Why wouldn't she be able to?" I ask, stuffing my lunch in my backpack.
"I'm guessing because he's on a lot of drugs that knock him out."
"Did she say if the cops have any idea who he is?"
"They do, but they aren't releasing that information yet."
I walk up to my dad. "But she told you?"
"She did, but I gave her my word I wouldn't say anything."
"Even to your own daughter? C'mon, I'm not going to tell anyone."
He eyes me. "Why are you so interested in this? You don't even like watching the news."
"I've just never met a cop before, or detective, whatever she is. I think it's kinda cool."
He smiles. "I'm glad you like her. I thought you two would get along. Maybe you could have lunch with her sometime, get to know her a little better."
"I'd be okay with that." I lean against the counter. "So who's the guy? I swear I won't tell anyone."
He chuckles. "Get to school. You're going to be late."
"You're really not going to tell me? Can you at least give me a hint?"
He hesitates, then says, "Let's just say if anyone was going to be hit, I'd rather have it be someone like him than someone else, not that I want it to happen at all, but you know what I'm saying."
"Not really. Are you saying he's a bad person?"
"I've already said too much. Get to school, honey. I'll see you this afternoon." He walks to the coffee maker and refills his mug.
"Are you seeing her tonight?" I ask, grabbing my backpack and keys.
"I hadn't planned to. Why?"
"I think you should. It'd be better than sitting around here all night."
He turns back to me, smiling. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"
"No. You just seem happier now that you're dating her. If she makes you happy, you should spend more time with her."
"I'll think about it."
"Just call her. Invite her over for dinner." I walk to the door, and when I turn back, I see him watching me, a confused look on his face.
He needs to invite her over. I need to know what that guy says, assuming Susan's able to talk to him. I wonder what my dad meant when he made th
at comment that implied the guy deserved to be hit. Is he a criminal, and if so, what did he do?
I need to talk to Briggs about this, but when I get to school, I can't find him. He's usually hanging out in the hall with Finn and Parker, and sometimes Scarlett and Aubrey are there too.
Yesterday, I really felt like Briggs was being honest when he said he was breaking up with Aubrey, but today I'm back to reality, knowing he won't do it. Even if he did, she'd find a way to get him back. There's no way Aubrey's letting him go.
I spot Finn in the hall and race up to him. "Hey, have you seen Briggs?"
He ignores me and keeps walking.
"Have you seen him or not?"
"Don't talk to me," he mutters. "People are watching."
I look around and notice people stopping and staring at us.
"Go to hell!" I yell at Finn before storming off. It was all for show and seemed to work. The people who were staring are now continuing down the hall.
I get out my phone and text Briggs, wondering why I didn't just do that earlier.
"Hey, Ella," Charlotte says, startling me.
"Hey." I turn to face her, hiding my phone in my pocket. If she saw me texting Briggs, I'd have a lot of explaining to do. "How was the dinner last night?"
Charlotte's parents made her go with them to some fancy dinner party downtown.
"Boring. At least there was a hot guy there. He looked just like Briggs, but not as tall."
"Did you talk to him?"
"Yes, but he has a girlfriend. What did you do last night?"
"Just studied. Oh, and I met my dad's new girlfriend."
"Your dad's dating?" Charlotte says, sounding shocked. "Like on one of those apps?"
"No, he met her at the coffee shop he goes to before work. They've been friends for a few months. She came over to the house last night. You'd like her. She's a detective."
"Are you serious?" Charlotte's eyes bug out. She loves crime novels, and she's obsessed with those true crime shows. Meeting an actual detective would be her dream.
"You should come over sometime when she's there and meet her."
"How many cases has she had? Any murders? She had to have had murders. Did she tell you how many?" Charlotte's talking really fast, which is what she does when she gets excited.
