Page 8 of The Bitter Words

I pick up my phone and dial her number. It goes to voicemail.

My breathing races. “Guns, call her and see if she’ll answer.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

He does. She doesn’t answer.

He swallows hard, fiddles around on his phone, and brings it up to his ear. “Hey, Dad. I was wondering if you’ve seen Livianna today.”

I get out of the seating area and pace the aisle. What if she did something to herself? Her message was detached and dismissive.

It reminds me of my pops. Her words were as if she couldn’t care less about me anymore. I get dizzy as I listen to Bren and his pops speak.

Bren keeps his gaze forward. “When was this?”

There’s a pause while his pops answers.

“And she’s in a good mood?” He raises his head and waits for a few beats. “No, it’s not that. She just sent me a message saying?—”

His pops must interject with some sort of confrontation because Bren turns bright red.

“Dad, it was a publicity stunt. Nothing more than that.”

There are a few moments where Bren just listens.

“Okay, Dad. So I fucked some chick and did a line, but I don’t party like that often.”

I roll my eyes.Liar.

Where I can’t find it in me to lie, Livianna and Bren do it with their parents all the time. I don’t know how they don’t get caught.

Bren slices into my thoughts with his next sentence. “Yes, sir. I understand, but when you see Livianna, will you have her call me? I just wanna explain that Cash wasn’t involved.”

My insides twist and I wanna throw up. I can only imagine what Greg Hemings is saying about that piece of information. Bren releases an irritated breath.

“The truth is his uncle staged the picture and he’s the one who screwed the chick. Cash left right after the shot was taken.” There’s a small pause. “Okay, okay. I gotta go.”

He hangs up and glares at me. “The bullshit I have to put up with because of you.”

“What did your pops say about Lily?”

Probably because I dismissed him, Bren growls. “She’s in the shower, getting ready to go to Malibu Pier for the day. He said she’s fine and even seems in good spirits despite what she read on the internet gossip sites.”

“She went off those instead of calling me to find out what really happened?” I sink into the seat across from him. “Has she not learned anything from the past?”

“Guess not.”

“Fucking hell. This is worse than I thought, but at least she didn’t…”

“Yeah, right. So what’s the plan?”

“I’m gonna get a plane ticket out of here and track her down.”

“But we have a show tomorrow. You don’t have enough time.”

“Like hell, I don’t.”