Page 17 of Corrupt Idol

He grasped her chin. “You should know by now, everything you do is my business.”

She slapped his hand away. “I can take care of myself.”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he warned before he brushed a kiss over her parted lips and headed back into the house.

She didn’t move for a full minute. He never touched or kissed her unless he intended to fuck her so what was that? She let out an aggravated growl and slammed the car door when she got in. She couldn’t take a full breath until she put a few miles between herself and the house.

What game was he playing? What happened this morning in the kitchen filled her with cold terror. He couldn’t want to be discovered. It would shatter their family. Their parents were devout Christians. They wouldn’t shrug something like this off. Their parents didn’t believe in premarital sex, much less a sexual relationship between two kids they had raised as siblings. It was blasphemous and yet within a day of being home, they were closer to being discovered than they had ever been in high school. What the fuck was he thinking? He would ruin their lives and their family would never be the same. Why court such stupid risks?

She walked into Planned Parenthood, was handed a clipboard with a questionnaire, and took a seat. Was she sexually active?Yes. (But not by choice.) Was there a chance she could have an STD?Yes. (Who knew what the hell he did on base?). What was she here for?Test for STDs, morning after pill, and birth control.

The waiting room wasn’t full, which was a good sign. She pulled out her phone and went through the group text with Meg and Reese who took pictures of her things and asked what she wanted them to do. She met Reese and Meg in Algebra in her freshmen year of college and the rest was history. They moved out of the dorms and rented a house where they’d been for four years. Reese and Meg had recently graduated from college and were both happy in their careers. Out of their trio, she was definitely the screw up. They encouraged her to go back to school, recommended better jobs, and urged her toward good, upstanding men, but nothing lasted. Her friends tried their best, but they couldn’t make her better. She had short spurts of motivation, but it died quickly and she reverted back to her mediocre ways. It was no wonder they were moving out. She was holding them back. Reese was engaged and Meg had been with the same guy for two years. They were going to marry, have kids, and excel in their careers while she moved home and watched her mother die.

“Violet Carr?”

She pocketed her phone and approached the nurse who waved her to the back with an impatient look. The nurse reiterated questions she had already answered on the questionnaire, weighed her, and directed her to a room where she was ordered to strip and wait for a doctor.

While she waited, she continued to answer Reese and Meg about what to do with her things. God, by the time she got there, they would have it all sorted. She checked the flights and winced when she saw the price. There weren’t affordable flights to Salt Lake City this week. She checked her credit card statement to see what wiggle room she had. The ticket would max out one of her credit cards, leaving an alarmingly small margin on the others. She needed a job ASAP.

An unfamiliar number popped up on the screen. She ignored it and frowned when the number reappeared a minute later. It wasn’t a Utah or Texas number so she rejected it again. She shivered and clamped her thighs together beneath the thin paper sheet draped over her lap. Why did they make these rooms so cold?

When Dad’s number appeared on the screen, she eyed the closed door before she answered.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Where are you?”

She jerked. “Jesse?”

“I called you twice.”

How the hell was she supposed to know his number? And why the hell would she answer his call? “What do you want?”

“You’ve been gone over an hour. Where are you?”

“Does Dad need me?”

“Where are you?”

The door opened and a doctor came in with a clipboard and a smile. “Violet Carr?”

She hung up. “Yes. Hi.”

“How are you feeling?” the doctor asked.

“Good,” she said and switched the phone to silent when it began to ring. “Sorry.”

She tossed the phone in her purse and tried to shrug off her irritation. Here she was, trying to take care of business and he was trying to track her down. Why did he care where she was? Did he think she was going to jump off a bridge? She banked her temper and focused on the doctor who wanted more details about her sex life.

* * *

As she approached the house,she saw a little crowd gathered on the driveway. Mr. Popular was holding court. Everyone moved aside so she could park in the garage. She waved as she passed, taking in the familiar faces. Her heart sank as she turned off the car. She knew they would expect her to come out and chat with them, but she had never felt less like socializing. Nevertheless, appearances needed to be kept up.

She mentally braced as she walked out of the garage. She was immediately engulfed in a round of hugs and kisses. Her and Jesse being only one year apart meant they knew each other’s friends even though they ran with different crowds. Jesse played every sport he could while she was pulled into student government by her friends and ended up becoming heavily involved in the school newspaper. She wasn’t an introvert or extrovert, but somewhere in between. She didn’t seek the spotlight and preferred to stay behind the scenes organizing. All of that changed in her junior year. When Jesse changed their relationship, she withdrew from everyone. He effectively isolated her in a world of her own where she had no one and she would never forgive him for it.

“God, Vi, you’re lookinggood,” Brody drawled.

She looked him up and down. “You’re not looking so bad yourself.”

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