Page 39 of The Anti-Bachelorette (The Anti-Bachelorette 1)

Chapter 11

The next two days drag on. Still no word from Alaric. My dad never voluntarily gives me any information either. I tried to casually bring up the subject by saying some contractors wanted to talk to him even though I already was able to answer their questions myself. My dad just kind of side stepped the question and said he’d be back soon.

On the third day, when I walk into my dad’s house, I hear him talking to someone. I walk in and see him and Alaric talking in the living room. Both men look upset. They both hear me walk in and turn to me. My dad’s eyes look worried once he sees me. “Hi Em.”

I give my dad a small wave and then my eyes glance over to Alaric’s. “What’s going on?”

My dad walks up to me and places a hand on my shoulder. He leans down and looks me in the eye. “Hey Em, I want you to go to your place and pack a bag for a couple of weeks.” I open my eyes wide in surprise. I would think he was joking, but with the way he is looking at me, I know he is not.

I nervously look back up into his eyes. “Why? What’s going on?”

He just pats my shoulder. “You probably won’t need to stay away that long, but just in case. Alaric is going to take you away for a few days.”

My eyes shoot over to Alaric’s and then back to my dad’s. “What do you mean? Why would we need to go away? Is everything okay? What about you?”

My dad steps back. “I’ll explain everything, but for now please just go pack that bag and then head straight back over here. Okay?”

I want to protest and ask more questions, but the way my dad is looking at me is freaking me out. He’s never looked this serious about something before. I quickly run over to my house and begin throwing clothes in my bag without really thinking about what I’m grabbing.

As soon as I am done grabbing some toiletries, I run back over to my dad’s place. I don’t see my dad or Alaric in the living room anymore, so I head over to their bedrooms. I pass Alaric’s room first, and I pause as I look in at him. He’s reaching into his nightstand, and then I see him pull out a pistol and put it in the back of his waistband and pull his shirt overtop of it so that it is hidden.

I quickly run over to my dad’s room. He is just hanging up a call with someone when I walk in. “Dad. What’s going on? Why is Alaric bringing a gun?”

My dad steps closer to me and leans down to my level. “It’s just a precaution. Everything is going to be okay.”

I don’t let him skate around the details this time. “A precaution for what? You still haven’t told me what’s going on? Are we in danger?”

My dad’s mouth forms into a thin line, and his eyebrows crease together. He rubs his hand up my arm to calm me down. “You know Alaric left all those years ago because he had issues with his family?”

I just nod and look up into his eyes. He continues. “Well, his brother Jeremy was just released from prison last week. We just found out a few days ago. He wasn’t supposed to be out for another 10 years, but the prisons were overcrowded, and he was let out on early release.” My dad blows out a breath. “Jeremy tried contacting Alaric a couple days ago about collecting what he owes him.”

I look at my dad confused. “What does that mean?”

My dad’s frown just deepens. “Jeremy blames Alaric for getting busted all those years ago. He kept coming to Alaric for money to pay different people off, but eventually Alaric had enough. He wasn’t going to support his family’s bad habits anymore. Jeremy got busted robbing a gas station a couple weeks after Alaric left town.” My dad lifts his shoulders and exhales hard again. “Jeremy heard Alaric was back in town and doing quite well for himself. He wants Alaric to start supporting him again. He’s back hanging around with the same rough people as before. They are not good people Em. They aren’t afraid to hurt people.”

I swallow hard. “They want to hurt Alaric?”

My dad sighs. “We’re not sure yet. That’s why he’s taking you out of town. They already know Alaric is staying with me, but they don’t know about you. I just want you gone for the next couple days or weeks until we understand the whole situation more clearly.”

I look at my dad more worried than before. “What about you?”

My dad gives me a reassuring smile. “I’m going to stick around and keep things running around here. Besides, we’re starting that new job a couple hours north. I will probably just rent a room and stay up there for the next week.”

I’m relieved to hear my dad will not be staying here alone, but I am still worried and he can tell, so he adds on. “I’ll call every night to check in. Everything’s going to be okay. They probably will just move on after a couple of days. I don't want you to worry.”

I look back up at my dad and whisper, “Jeremy is the one who used to hurt Alaric, isn’t he?”

My dad frowns again. “Yes.”

I hate to think about Alaric that way. I knew he grew up in a bad home, but he’s always such an asshole to me. I just like to think he’s a jerk, but I’ve always known he used to be that little defenseless boy that my dad had to rescue.

I close my eyes for a moment and wrap my arms tightly around myself. I won’t let anyone hurt Alaric again. I have to be brave for him. For my dad too. I look back up at my dad and give him a small smile so that he doesn’t worry about me. “Okay. I’m ready to go.”

My dad rushes out of the room towards Alaric’s, and I follow him. He goes in. “You good? Do you need any more cash or anything?”

Alaric just nods at my dad. “I’m good.” Then he looks over to me and gives a smirk. “Unless princess over here is going to be picky.”

I just roll my eyes. “You literally can’t turn off asshole mode huh? Not even in a time like this?”

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