Page 42 of The Final Straw

“What do you mean, no? She’s your daughter, for christ's sake.”

“I don’t need to tell you why I said no. If she’s been arrested, then there has to be concrete evidence.” I can’t let her know that I know about the video Barbi sent Olivia. Grady watched it and said the guy looked out of it. If he truly was, Barbi needs to be held accountable.

“How can you treat your daughter this way?”

“Easy. You poisoned her against me, turning her into the woman she is today. You made her a cruel person who goes out of her way to hurt everyone and anyone. All Barbi cares about is herself and what she can get. So no, I'm not getting an attorney and I’m not bailing her out.”

I can hear her seething through the line.

“Kipp. Our daughter is in jail. She’s our flesh and blood and you’re just going to let her sit there.”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing. I had a long talk with our daughter at lunch not long ago and she made her choice. She insists that Grady is a homewrecker which we both know isn’t true, but you insist on telling people. And she only contacts me when she wants money, which is what you’re doing now. So I’m done with both of you. While I’d love to have Barbi in my life, until she changes, it’s not happening. If she’s innocent, the investigation will prove that. Let the police do their job. Barbi’s an adult. She can clean up her own mess. I’m not doing it.”

I know the fireworks are about to happen. Jessica is the biggest cunt of them all and she’s molding Barbi in her image.

“How fucking dare you! Barbi’s innocent. The boy that accused her is obsessed with her. He just so happens to be her best friend, Olivia’s boyfriend. He had sex with our baby girl and when Olivia found out, he cried rape. It’s laughable. A man, raped. Really.”

“Jessica, I’m done. Don’t call me again.”

I hang up the call and turn off my phone. I don’t want to deal with her or my daughter tonight.

“So he did it?” Grady slips his arms around my waist, pulling me tight against him.

“Yeah, looks like he did. They’ve arrested Barbi for rape.”

Chapter 22

Grady

Kipp sits across from me, a heavy silence hanging between us. “So they actually arrested her and are charging her?” I ask, barely above a whisper. “And Jessica wants your money to just make it all go away?”

I stare at him, my mind racing. Barbi? Arrested?

“Jessica’s convinced that Van was obsessed with Barbi. That when Ollie found out about them, she broke it off and Van cried rape.”

With a heavy heart, I finally speak my thoughts, “Kipp, she’s in deep trouble. I saw the video, and the guy did look out of it. She’s guilty. Are you okay?”

Barbi is an asshole, and I have never cared for her, but she is Kipp’s child. His only child. So even though this is the right thing to do, it’s gotta be weighing on him.

“I’m okay. Heartbroken that my daughter is being charged and will be found guilty. However, I refuse to let her go unpunished. You saw the video and said that Van looked out of it. If that’s true, then she should face the consequences of her actions.”

“I agree. And for what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing. By bailing her out or covering her attorney fees, it would convey the message that you believe she was justified in her actions.”

“What are we gonna do?” Kipp asks, his eyes pleading for some kind of direction. “Should we call and tell Ollie?”

This is going to change everything between the three of us. She’s gonna go back to Van, and then where will we stand? But we owe it to Olivia to be honest and tell her what we know. And after all, Kipp is Barbi’s dad.

“We have to tell her,” I say, more to myself than to Kipp. “She deserves to know. No matter what that means for us, she needs to know the truth.”

Kipp nods. “Okay. Let’s call her.”

I reach into the pocket of my discarded jeans and retrieve my phone, quickly dialing Olivia’s number. She answers almost immediately.

“Hello?” Her voice is bright and excited, like she’s been waiting for this call.

“Hi, babe,” I say, wincing at the word. It’s natural for me to call her that, but it feels wrong in this context. “We have something we need to tell you, but we’re wondering if we could do it in person?”

“Why can’t you just tell me over the phone?” she asks, her tone full of suspicion. “Is everything okay? Is Kipp okay?”

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