Page 56 of Filthy Rich

The sound of Bea’s phone alarm going off over and over wakes me up the next day. I rub my eyes and force myself upright, then I notice the time. It’s five-eleven in the morning.

“Bea,” I croak. “Bea, your phone.”

She mumbles something.

I realize it’s a phone call, not an alarm, just as it goes to voicemail. Oh well. I flop back down on the bed. But when it starts ringing again, I drag myself over and pick it up. It says “Mom,” on the phone. I’m assuming it’s Seren, but I’m not totally sure as I swipe to answer.

“Hello?”

“Bea?” It’s definitely Seren. “Bea, is that you?”

“It’s Octavia,” I say. “Sorry, it’s really early here.”

“No, I know, and I’m so sorry to be calling this early, but it’s really urgent. Can you put Bea on the phone?”

My whole body freezes up. A lot of horrible possibilities run through me, like Easton dying or Dave having a heart attack. When I shake Bea awake and hand her the phone, I do it with the knowledge that I have the phone volume turned up to max.

I’m dying to hear what’s going on, and I’m praying it’s not as bad as I’ve already imagined.

“Bea?”

“Mhhmph.” Bea’s rubbing her eyes. “Wha?”

“Wake up, Bea,” Seren says. “You’re my boots on the ground.”

She straightens. “What’s going on?”

“Jake’s dad got out of prison.”

Bea’s eyes fly open. She swears loudly under her breath. “No way.”

“They sent us a letter—or rather, the letter for Jake came here to our place. But I guess it got put in the stack of bills, and you know I only pay those twice a month, but when the water line?—”

“Mom, focus.”

“We didn’t see it until this morning, so here we are.”

“When did he get out?” Bea asks, yawning. “Today?”

“Three days ago,” Seren says. “Have you seen him yet?”

“I’m sure he’s on parole,” Bea says. “He won’t be allowed to travel, right? Won’t he be stuck in New York?”

“Yes,” Seren says. “Because he strikes me as someone who follows all the rules.” I barely know her and I can hear her eye-roll through the tinny speaker of Bea’s phone.

“Okay, so he’ll show up here, and then. . .what do I do? What do we expect?”

“His dad’s not a good person,” Seren says. “First and foremost, he’ll be demanding money from Jake, I’m sure. And then beyond that. . .I was hoping you could tell me what happens. We’ll have to kind of make decisions as things happen.”

They talk about options for a few more minutes, but eventually, they hang up. I expect Bea to collapse back into a gently snoring heap, but instead, she rounds on me. “What did he say last night? Did he say he was with May?”

I shake my head. “He said. . .” I whip out my phone so I can read the text. “He said, ‘I’m busy. Something just came up. I’ll text you later with my filming schedule, once they confirm May can start right away.’”

Bea sighs. “So maybe he went out with her, and maybe his dad showed up. He didn’t give us any clues at all. I can see why you were a mess.”

My shoulders square. “Hey, I wasn’t a mess.”

Bea rolls her eyes. “Well, it’s too early to do anything but plan. Today, we have the videos they want us to film for social, and then tomorrow we have the endorsement meetings.”

---