Page 144 of Chaos at Westbrook High

I didn’t tell Hailey because I wasn’t sure if he’d actually go through with it. I didn’t want her to get her hopes up just for him to change his mind when push came to shove.

Standing from his seat, my dad squeezes my shoulder before looking at Derek. “Ready?”

He nods, rounding the island to get to Hailey. There are tears in her eyes as she stands and hugs him tightly, her face pressed against his chest.

He glances at me over her head. There’s a warning look in his eyes that tells me he’ll kill me if I hurt her. I would never, but the look in mine tells him I’ll do whatever I want with her. His nostrils flare. I laugh under my breath.

Hailey releases him, and I take her wrist and guide her back to my chest, letting her lean on me as she watches her brother go. Halfway to the elevator, he stops and turns around, closing his eyes briefly before he forces them to meet Callie’s.

“I’m sorry, Callie.”

Her face doesn’t change as her gaze collides with his. “I know you are,” she says after a few beats, her voice soft. It’s not forgiveness, but it’s more than he was expecting from her.

He swallows, nods, and follows my dad into the elevator.

Damon frowns at the side of Callie’s face.

“You’re a better person than me, little Kingston,” Levi says quietly, his jaw locked.

Feeling all the eyes on her, Callie gets up, grabs another tray of brownies she hid behind some shit on the counter, and holds it up. “Who wants to get high?”

By the time our dad gets home from the airport, we’re all sprawled out on the couches in the living room watching a movie. Hailey’s lying back between my spread legs, her head on my chest, my arms wrapped around her middle, my scalp tingling as she runs her nails through my hair.

She’s never smoked a joint before, but she wanted to try a brownie. Wren and Callie only let her eat half of one before Wren shoved the other half in his mouth, grinning as he did it.

I know Hailey’s feeling the effects of the weed now because her eyes are glassy and she’s eaten almost an entire bag of chips by herself.

Our dad takes one look at us all and glares, his accusing eyes landing on Callie.

“What? I saved you some,” she says around a mouthful of chips, holding the tray up for him.

His glare deepens as he snatches the tray. Instead of tossing it, he picks up one of the brownies and takes a bite out of it. Callie smirks and leans back into Damon’s chest, her legs resting on Wren’s lap, who’s half asleep on top of Levi.

“Was he okay when you dropped him off?” Hailey asks, her gaze lifting up to my dad.

“No, but I think he will be. I think that place will be good for him,” he says quietly, perching on the arm of the couch. Eyes on the TV, he’s quiet for a few moments before he says, “Speaking of therapy?—”

We all groan as one.

“I can't afford therapy,” Hailey says.

“Neither can I,” Callie adds.

“Neither can I,” Wren and I say together.

The exasperated look on our dad’s face makes Hailey giggle, her hand slapping over her mouth. I hold in my laugh and press my lips to her head.

“We’ll go.” Damon speaks for all of us, the asshole. “On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to go too.”

Our dad locks his jaw, then nods. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Damon echoes.

I smile to myself while no one’s looking.

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