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She lifts her arm to wave off the crowd. “Everyone is family. And here to celebrate you. You’re right on time. Dad just put the burgers on. Come.” She wraps her arm around my waist, dragging me through the house to the backyard. The moment my dad sees me, he starts hollering.
“The graduate returns!” He laughs, bringing me in for his big dad bear hug. He kisses me on my head. “Welcome back, baby girl. Mom and I couldn’t be prouder of you.” I wrap my arms around him and close my eyes, trying to ward off the tears. I love my dad. He’s been my mentor for as far back as I can remember. I’ve wanted to follow in his footsteps since I understood what lawyer meant. And to imagine I’ll be working at the company he built from the ground up makes me shine with pride.
“Thanks, Daddy.” He offers me one more kiss to my temple and releases me.
“Perfect timing. Burgers are almost done. Get a drink, say hello to your grandmother and Aunt Getty.” He goes back to tend to the grill as I reach for the cooler on the patio and grab a cold beer.
I spend the next ten minutes listening to my grandma complain about her arthritis, and then Aunt Getty who felt it necessary to tell me she’s been constipated for three whole days now. Kipley thankfully saves me by snatching me away and pulling me into his chest, messing up my hair. I try to swat him off, but since I’m like a little mouse compared to him, it’s useless.
“Look who’s home. Congrats, little sis.” He smiles, lifting me up and spinning me.
“Kip, put me down,” I whine, hating that he always has to treat me like a little kid. He does as I ask, but goes back to messing up my hair. “Kip, stop,” I groan again. I don’t have the perfect hair genes like Kip and everyone else. I was blessed with Grandma’s wild genes, and my hair is always a frizzy disaster. My school schedule had been so hectic, I never had a chance to do anything but wrap it up in a messy bun, but today, I took the time to flat iron it. I would prefer my brother not turn my head into a beehive before I say hello to all our guests.
“Sorry. I forget you’re not so little anymore. My baby sister is all grown up.” I pull away and catch his happy grin. Marriage definitely looks good on him. I’m glad he’s happy. It makes me feel guilty for not saying goodbye after his wedding. He may not care, but I owe Stacey an apology. Kip lets me go when an old neighbor starts up a conversation with him. I tell him I’m going to go find Stacey and head back toward the house as the back-screen door opens—and my jaw drops to the ground.
Levi Dent.
Shoot.
Levi
Three goddamn weeks. That’s how long the night in the supply closet has been playing through my mind. The anger hasn’t dimmed. The confusion is still in full-force. The memory of what happened is so fresh, I can still smell her.
My anger erupted when I connected that once familiar voice to a name, feeling the kick straight to my gut and balls. I’d been tricked. The fury of what my friends tricked me into caused a murderous fog inside my head. I was going to kill them. I was also going to kill Hannah for going along with it. Before I had the chance to drag her back and scream bloody murder, she kicked me. Fucking kicked me and ran off. I took off after her, stumbling a few times over my own damn two feet. The realization of what had happened sobered me up real fast, and the second I saw Kip holding his sister, I knew I was in deep shit. Chase and Ben might have thought this was a great joke, but Kip wouldn’t. He was going to kill me. My friend since before puberty, and in a matter of seconds, he was going to find out what I did and kill me.
But she didn’t say a word. She seemed to have a thing for kicking and did the same injustice to her brother, then took off running. When I made it to Kip, he swung his arm over my shoulder and gave me the drunk “best bud” speech. From over his shoulder, I watched Rebecca storm out of a room down the hallway toward us. The second Kip released me, she slapped me, shouting how much of an asshole I was for standing her up and making her wait. How dare I send her to a room to wait for no reason. Murderous rage gleamed in her eyes, but I was confused. I stood her up?
