I can’t do this anymore.
Chapter 14Harper
“Where were you last night?” I crossed my arms, watching Momblearily pour herself a cup of coffee from the pot that I’d made. My face was stony. Impassive. But inside my chest, my heart was pounding like a drum. I didn’t smell booze, but I’d been here before.
This is how it starts.
“Jesus, Harper, who is the mother and who is the teenager?” She laughed half-heartedly but wouldn’t look at me as I took a seat at the counter. She was still in her pajamas—sweatpants and a T-shirt. Blond-gray hair tied in a messy ponytail.
“Well?” I asked as Dash thumped upstairs, getting ready for school. “You don’t have work?”
“Because we worked late, I don’t have to come in until ten,” she said. “Is that okay with you? Does that satisfy the Inquisition?”
“What could you have possibly been doing at a dentist office until nearly eleven p.m. last night? Or do I even want to know?”
“We were filing old patient records, Ms. Nosy,” Mom said. “Dr. Hensley’s cabinets are a mess, and he decided it was time to upgrade and digitize. I’ll probably go back tonight too, which is why I camedown this morning. So we can coordinate schedules.”
I narrowed my eyes, studying her. She might be telling the truth, but when you grew up on red alert all your life, you learned to trust your instincts. And my gut was twisted into a thousand knots of suspicion.
“Sure,” I said. “That makesperfect sense. I just hope the good doctor remembers to pay you overtime for all those extra hours and late nights you’re putting in.”
Mom set her coffee mug down and fixed me with a wide, fiery stare. “Do you have something you want to say to me, Harper Renée?”
“Yes,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. “My car broke down yesterday. It won’t be fixed until this afternoon, so you need to drive Dash and me to school.”
Her head jerked. “It what…? Okay. How much to fix it?”
I shouldered my backpack. “Don’t worry about it. I got it covered.”
“Harper—”
Without taking my eyes off her, I craned to call up the stairs. “Dash, let’s go!”
My mother set her coffee mug down and slid off the stool to get her key and slippers.
“What a morning,” she said with a light laugh. “You’re upset for no reason. Now tell me about the car.”
“Later,” I said as Dash flew downstairs. “We’ll talk later.”
She sighed. “Honestly, Harper…”
But she didn’t finish her sentence. Dash grappled with his shoes, and she helped him tug his jacket on before we headed out the door. All smiles. But the queasy feeling in my stomach wouldn’t quit.
Not again, I thought on the drive out.Please God, not again.
***
In chemistry, Langford was taking his sweet time to arrive, and the seat beside me remained empty too. I had hoped Orion would be early so I could give him the check in my bag before class started without a scene. But when my lab partner showed up, it was like athundercloud rolling in.
Orion tossed the expensive leather bag that served as his backpack on the table with a slam and took his seat.
“Greetings and salutations, Bennett,” he said, his smile tight. Stiff.
I frowned. “Um,hi. You okay?”
“Oh, brilliant.” He rubbed his eyes. “Another day in paradise.”
I tucked a curl behind my ear. “Right. So listen, I appreciate it a lot, but you didn’t have to do that.”
