Page 452 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

Dad says nothing as she leaves. Says nothing as he steps into the pool house and regards the bottles of booze behind the bar. I doubt he even has any idea how many there are supposed to be...but the gaps where a bottle of Jim Beam and Baileys were are blatantly obvious.

Then he turns and heads outside.

I wait a beat, and then follow, frowning. “Dad?”

His silence is freaking me out. I break into a trot to catch up to him and follow right behind as he heads to the front door. There’s a keyholder against the wall where we all hang our car keys. He takes the Range Rover’s keys off their hook and puts them in his pocket. I’m still opening my mouth to protest when he turns and holds out his hand. “Phone.”

My stomach sinks straight into hell. “What? Why?”

“Because I’m yourgoddamnfather, and I said so.”

A part of me still wants to protest, but that’s the dipshit part of me that’s going to get me belted. Trembling with frustration, I dig in my pocket and hand over my phone.

Dad puts it in his suit pocket. “Is thereanythingelse you’re not telling me?”

I stare right back, not batting an eyelash.

“Anything, son.”

I shrug. “Bailey’s was her favorite.”

I expect him to slap me. That’s his MO. But it’s as if those words deplete his energy reserves. His shoulders sag, and the furious glint in his eyes fades.

He ducks his head and runs his knuckles over his mouth. “Go to your room.”

“With pleasure.”

Chapter 56

Jude

I’m half an hour into an NFL highlights show when my internet dies. I don’t even bother trying to restart my PC’s Wi-Fi because I already know what’s happened. Dad’s cut me off.

I groan and go lie in bed to take a nap, but the day’s events keep playing through my mind.

I try jerking off, but it feels like I’ll go into muscle failure before I come, so I abandon that idea. Instead, I take Harper’s phone out of its hiding place in my closet and turn it on. I remember her pin from when I made her delete Sean’s number—and she hasn’t bothered to change it.

I go through her messages, looking for a clue as to where she might be. Her last message came from Alex.

U OK?

Of course he’d pretend to be worried about her. It’s obvious he wants to get in her pants. I almost send him a reply, but I’d rather wait to find out where Harper really is before getting involved. I don’t want some nasty message I send to be traced back to me.

Then I see all the messages from Talia. The last one sends a cold wave through my body.

WHERE R U? U SAID I’D GET MY MONEY 2DAY.

Does that mean Harper’s not at school? This message was sent about an hour before Alex’s. I read the rest of the messages, my muscles growing tenser with each one. So Talia sold Harper the drugs that might end my football career. I’m in half a mind to hunt the bitch down and make her pay.

Oh, right. I’m grounded. Dad took away my car. If I wanted to do that I’d not only have to sneak out of the house without them finding out, I’d have to get a lift, too. I’m pretty sure Dad’s tracking my credit card, so he’d see something come up for an Uber.Suddenly wish I had more cash to my name.

Fuck, Sis, how do you do it? Every time I think I’ve fucked you over, you turn it back on me.

My grudging respect for her is starting to fester into something approaching admiration.

A worthy opponent indeed. I kinda wish she hadn’t run away right when this was becoming so fun.

The sun is starting to set and Harper isn’t home yet. That should be the end of it, except...

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