Page 460 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

“Did you report this to the police?” Wayne says as he slowly gets to his feet. He steps to the side, craning to look at Harper. I follow, and he grimaces at me when I block his view again. “Did they take a statement? Were the boys questioned? A case opened?” His voice is growing deeper, louder, sterner.

“I didn’t,” Harper whispers, “I mean, I was too scared to?—”

Wayne barks out a dry laugh.

Harper pushes past me. “I promise, I’ll go to the sheriff’s office tomorrow, Mr.—”

“Enough.”

My stomach turns over at the sound of his voice. I’m not in the least surprised that Harper stops talking. Even I’m starting to regret speaking up.Wayne takes turns looking at us, the disgust in his eyes slowly building until he’s openly sneering at both of us.

“When was this party?” he asks quietly.

I drop my head and close my eyes. I’m not a friend of failure. I hate the way it makes me feel empty, worthless, fragile as fuck. “A while ago,” I murmur.

Wayne breathes out heavily through his nose, sets his phone down on the kitchen island, and turns back to us with his hands on his hips. “So the methamphetamines they found in your blood, was that from a different party? Or do you dope up before every Friday night game these days?”

I drag my hands over my face, no fucking clue what to say. I shouldn’t have mentioned the drugs at Sean’s party—but I wasn’t even sure what I was going to say. I should tell him they drugged her.

No, fuck it, I should shut the fuck up. We’re both in even bigger shit than when we walked in here.

“What did Heller say about the test?” I ask.

“PrincipalHeller has expelled you.” Wayne takes another breath. “Bothof you.”

Harper’s shocked gasp feels like a physical blow, and I’m already reeling mentally.

“Dad, please, isn’t there something you can?—”

“You want this to go away?” Wayne’s eyes are too bright, too feverish for me to think for a second that he’s going to agree to use his influence to get us out of this shit. “Sure, son.” He picks up his phone and pantomimes making a call. “I’ll just call the principal and tell him my degenerate children should be given a second chance so they can learnnothingfrom this and get away witheverything.”

Harper sags like she’s seconds away from sitting down on the kitchen floor. Wayne’s hand darts out and grabs her arm, hoisting her up straight again. “No, Harper, Jude. What you two have done is inexcusable. Youwillbe punished.”

“But I didn’t—” Harper wails.

Wayne shakes her so hard, I hear her teeth clack together. She gasps, puts a hand to her mouth, and brings it back coated with blood where she bit her lip.

I don’t know what the fuck comes over me, but I can’t bear him touching her anymore. I can’t even stand the fact that he’s breathing the same air as her. That he made herbleed.I charge forward, taking my father completely by surprise. I’m distantly aware of Harper’s gasp, Diana screeching at me to stop, but by then I already have him bent backward over the island, my forearm pressed against his throat, the other raised to punch him.

Harper grabs me, perhaps Diana too. But they’re too small, too weak to stop me.

My father’s body goes weak when my fist slams into his jaw. The second blow has him slithering out of my grip to land on the tiled floor.

Then Harper’s face floods my vision, her bright blue eyes glittering with tears. “Stop!” she whispers furiously. “Jude, stop!”

Her voice, the panic in her eyes, it’s the only thing that stands a chance to snap me out of my rage-induced trance. I step back, letting out the breath I’d kept trapped inside my lungs in a short, harsh huff.

Diana is on her knees beside Wayne, sobbing like he’s fucking dead, while he groans and nurses his jaw.

“What did you do?” Harper says.

I drag my eyes to her. Swallow. “I don’t know.”

She presses her knuckles against her mouth and glances down at Wayne as he rolls onto hands and knees before slowly pushing himself up to a stand.

He leans on his hands, his back to us, and says nothing for a long time. I lick my suddenly dry lips and start to move forward.Diana points a shaking finger at me like she’s about to curse me, and I stop moving.

“Pack your bags,” Dad says quietly, his voice rough.

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