Page 60 of Corrupt Obsession

She mentally reeled. “Tucker’s in the hospital?”

“Yes,” Dad said tersely. “And I want to know why. The only reason Jesse would have given Tucker such a beating is because of you. So, Vi, what happened?”

Her rash behavior was coming back to haunt her. This was proof that no one got away with anything. Would she have to admit that she let Tucker touch her inappropriately and that’s how Jesse found them? Knowing how upset and disappointed her parents would be made her eyes fill with tears.

“Oh, honey,” Lynne said sympathetically and started toward Violet, but Dad held up a hand, stopping Lynne in her tracks.

“I need answers,” Dad said curtly. “We’ve been lenient with you two because you’ve never given us any reason not to trust you, but I never thought I’d get a call saying Jesse put someone in the hospital. Do you know how serious this is? Tucker could press charges for assault!”

The blood drained from her face.

“Why did you break up with him?” Dad demanded. “Did he do something to you? Is that why Jesse attacked him?”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She had no idea what to say. She willed Jesse to walk through the front door and jolted when Dad slammed his fist on the table, rattling their empty plates and cups.

“I knew I shouldn’t have let you date that kid. He had trouble written all over him. I thought you had enough discernment to break it off. Now, I hear Jesse had to intervene on your behalf and beat him senseless. Do you have any idea how serious this is? What the hell happened that would make Jesse…?”

The front door opened. Jesse strolled in with his hands in pockets. She had no doubt he’d gotten out of that sticky situation with Mr. Davidson just fine. No one would suspect Jesse of doing anything immoral or unlawful, especially when he was dressed so impeccably. Jesse scanned the room with a benign expression, which vanished when his gaze landed on her distraught face.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“A lot at the moment,” Dad said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Okay, about what?” Jesse asked, showing no sign of discomfort or guilt.

“About the call I just got saying you’re responsible for putting Tucker in the hospital.”

Jesse stared at him for a moment before he asked, “When did he go to the hospital?”

“Today.”

“For what?”

“A skull fracture, a nasty concussion, and a few other presents you gave him.”

“But that happened on Wednesday. If Tucker was hurt so badly, why wait so long to go to the hospital?”

“He thought the pain and dizziness would pass, but his parents finally forced him to get checked out.”

“I-Is he going to be all right?” Violet asked, twisting her hands together.

“That hasn’t been decided yet,” Dad said testily. “And what I want to know from both of you iswhyhe isn’t all right.” Dad focused on Jesse. “You want to explain yourself?”

There was a long silence before Jesse said, “I want to talk to you alone.”

Violet took a step toward him, hand extended to stop him from saying anything.

“Stop right there,” Dad ordered and shot her a hard look. “Start talking or go to your room.” He raised a brow. “What’s it going to be?”

She willed Jesse to look at her, to give her some clue about what he was about to tell them, but his gaze didn’t waver from Dad. Why did he want to talk to their parents alone? He wouldn’t make matters worse by talking aboutthem, would he? It was bad enough that her recklessness led to Tucker being in the hospital.She didn’t need Dad to know she’d also kissed Jesse, which led to her losing her virginity.

“Violet, go,” Dad said.

She lingered a moment longer but had no choice but to retreat. She couldn’t say anything without possibly contradicting whatever story, or truth, Jesse decided to tell. She walked to her bedroom, closed the door, and eyed the window. For the first time in her life, she considered running away, but that would be short-lived, embarrassing, and even more incriminating if Jesse didn’t tell their parents everything.

She sank onto her bed and buried her face in her hands. Ten minutes ago, she felt worldly, mature, and powerful. Now, she was terrified of what repercussions lay in wait for her, Jesse, and Tucker.

What if Tucker sustained permanent brain damage? She had a flashback of his head slamming into concrete. Even though she witnessed firsthand the damage Jesse had inflicted, she hadn’t even texted Tucker to make sure he was okay. Her only concern had been to break up with him once he returned to school. What was wrong with her? Technically, she was still his girlfriend, yet she hadn’t checked on him and had moved on with another guy while he was recovering from his injuries.

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