Page 89 of The Off-Limits Play

CHAPTER32

CARSON

Panic surges through me as Nylah gives me a worried frown. I try not to let it show, keeping my voice in check and giving her the only advice I can.

“Lie. Just… lie about everything. Or better yet, don’t answer the phone.” I wince, hating myself for saying it, but what the fuck else am I supposed to do?

She snickers and lightly pats my cheek before giving me a nervous grin.

That’s not helping. Now I don’t know what she’s gonna say, and the urge to rip the phone out of her hand is overwhelming.

My fingers tingle, and I’m seconds away from throwing her phone out my window when she answers the damn call.

“Hey, Dad.” Her voice is bright and chipper.

Too bright?

Too chipper?

“Where are you?” Coach barks loud enough for even me to hear it.

Yep, definitely too chipper.

I lean in and she tips the phone away from her ear so I can be a part of this. Why I even want to be a part of this is beyond me. I should be packing my stuff and getting ready to hit the fucking road.

“Well, good morning to you too.” Nylah’s managing to keep upbeat. I don’t know how she doesn’t go on the immediate defensive.

Coach sighs, his voice dropping to a softer, gruffer bark. “I came past your dorm to check on you—figured you might have had a rough night with that storm blowing through—and you’re not here. Your roommate isn’t there either, and no one on your floor knows where you are. Nylah, what is going on?”

“You went door-to-door on my floor?” Nylah sits up. “Dad!”

“Well, what was I supposed to do?” Her dad sounds exasperated as she once again avoids the question. “Why weren’t you answering your phone? Your Mom texted you, asking if you were okay.”

“She did?” Nylah puts the phone on speaker and I hold my breath, hoping he can’t hear me breathing beside her. Pulling up her messages, she checks the screen, and there are three texts. She quickly reads them and winces. “Sorry. I was at the party, and I didn’t hear my phone.”

“We were really worried about you! When the thunder and lightning started, we had no idea how you were going to handle it.” Coach’s bark gets a little louder. “I wanted to drive out last night and find you but figured you’d never forgive me. But the least you could have done was checked in with us.”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Nylah’s eyes bulge, and she cringes before squeezing her eyes shut and blurting, “I had a great time at the party. You seriously have nothing to worry about. The storm didn’t even bother me.”

“So, did you spend the night there or something?”

“Um… yes?”

I squeeze my eyes shut and cringe. Seriously? Why did she make that sound like a question?

“Nylah Destiny Jones, you better stop lying to me right now!” he shouts, and she doesn’t even flinch. “Tell me exactly where you are. I’m coming to get you.”

Closing her eyes, Nylah lets out a tired sigh. “Dad, we talked about this. You’re not allowed to treat me like a little kid anymore.”

“What are you hiding?”

Her eyes pop open, and she glances at me. “Nothing. I’m not hiding anything.”

“Thentell methe truth!” he thunders.

And once again, no flinching from the girl beside me. She’s fucking incredible.

With a huff, she rolls her eyes and rattles off a few facts. “I went to the party last night and ended up falling over.”

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