Page 388 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

“What about college?” she asks airily, her nose jutting into the air. “Can I date then?”

I shrug. “Guess we’ll see when we get there.”

She makes an angry sound and turns to stare out the window. “You’re a fucking dick.”

I shrug, letting her anger slide right off me. With a sniff, Harper rummages in her blazer. She crosses her legs, exposing an extra inch of her thigh, and then tugs down the hem of her skirt like I’m a fucking perve.

“I’ve seen it all already, Sis,” I growl. “Or did you forget?”

Her cheeks go red, but she refuses to look in my direction as she puts her phone to her ear. “Hey, Sean. Hope I’m not bugging you.”

Anger jolts through me. I slam on the brakes. If Harper hadn’t buckled up, she’d have a broken head right now. Her phone disappears with a thud into her footwell. “What the hell?” she gasps, yanking at the belt digging into her chest. With a whip of her head that sends her dark hair flying, she glances at the road behind us. “You could have killed us!”

“Pick it up,” I say calmly before pointing at her cell phone. “Delete his fucking number.”

“Fuck you!” She fumbles with her seat belt. “Let me out!”

“I have to drive you back home,” I say, my voice a dead monotone as I put the SUV into drive and pull off smoothly. “So that’s what I’m gonna do.”

She punches my shoulder, then again. Again. I let her. Better she takes that frustration out on me than she lets Dad have it. I know for a fact he’d let her have his belt. He’s done it with me and Rosie plenty.

“Delete it, Harper.”

“Go to hell.”

Again, I slam on the brakes.

Again, Harper jerks forward. She lets out a strangled scream and redoubles her efforts to take off the belt. This time, she succeeds. I have full control over the doors from the driver’s seat and I lock it before she can wrench it open. She’d need a brick and a strong throwing arm to get out of here.

Her hands are in fists, and she pummels them into me when I reach over and grab her phone from the footwell. Her phone’s locked, and it’s the kind that needs a pin or her fingerprint to unlock it.

“Pin.”

“Burn in hell.”

“Pin.”

She doesn’t reply.

I grab a fistful of her hair and yank back her head. She gasps and grabs my wrist, but as soon as I twist my hand, she freezes up. I hold the phone in front of her.

“Unlock it.”

Her finger trembles, but she unlocks it without a fight. As soon as I release her hair, she huddles in the corner like a kicked dog. I hunt through her contacts. There are surprisingly few of them, and most of them are things like “bakery” or “vet”. I delete Sean’s number as soon as I find it then toss the phone into her lap. “Trust me, you’re better off without him.”

She snorts at me, but it sounds defeated. “Thanks, brother dearest. What would I do without you?”

I smile despite her sarcasm. “You’ll be thanking me later, princess.”

Chapter 12

Harper

I sigh as I fall tummy-down on my bed and burrow my face into the cool silkiness of my pillows. I don’t even bother taking off my school shoes, my blazer, undoing my hair. All I want to do is sleep.

School was brutal. I had an awful hangover and didn’t dare to go down to the pool house for a shot of whiskey to see me through the day. Then there was the awkward drive to school with Jude, and a day spent avoiding him, everyone else, and the sun. Thankfully, I managed to buy a half-pint of vodka off one of the cheerleaders, and that saw me through the rest of the day. But nothing’s better than a good old nap.

I’ve just started dozing when I hear someone opening my bedroom door.

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