Page 4 of Out of Place

I shrug. “I went out with Serena. We had a few drinks.”

“A few drinks?” He raises his eyebrow at me. “Is that why Rhett had to peel you off a bar and bring you home in the middle of the night?”

Jesus. What a little snitch.

I don’t answer. I just shrug again.

“This behavior cannot continue, Olivia.”

I roll my eyes. Here we go with this conversation again. We’ve had it so many times. Get your life together, Olivia. What are you doing for your future, Olivia? You need to be an outstanding member of society, Olivia. God, I’m so fucking tired of their judgment. I wish they would leave me alone and let me live my life.

“Not only are you hurting yourself, but you’re hurting this family,” my father tells me.

“Oh my god.” I throw my arms up in frustration. “How am I hurting the family by going out with my friends?”

“You’re embarrassing us,” my mother says. Embarrassing. Huh. That’s new. Usually, I’m a disappointment. A failure. A disaster. But I haven’t been an embarrassment yet. I won’t lie; it kinda stings. “Your nipple was on the cover of a gossip magazine last week.”

I wince. That wasn’t my greatest moment. But it wasn’t my fault the paparazzi was right there when I tripped on the sidewalk and my dress slipped. I knew I should’ve put my nipple pasties on that night, but Serena told me not to worry about it because the dress was sexier without them.

“And you’re in a different bar every other night,” my dad continues. “You have no direction. What are you doing with your life besides partying?”

He pauses like he expects me to answer, but I stay silent because he already knows the answer.

Nothing. I do nothing. I went to college to keep up with appearances and to party, but that was years ago. Now, I rely on the Sterling name to keep me relevant and to keep up my lifestyle. Really, it’s their fault I’m like this. They have so much money that I don’t have to do anything with my life. I just live off the stipend my father gives me.

“Exactly as I thought,” he says. “So now you’ve left us no choice.”

That gets my attention.

“We’re sending you to live with Aunt Dottie,” Mom tells me.

I laugh. “What? Aunt Dottie? Have you lost your minds?”

Mom shakes her head. “No. She needs help on the farm, and you need something to do. This will be a great time to prove yourself. You need to get out of this city and away from these people. Do some hard work.”

“Hard work? What do you want me to do? Become a farmer? I don’t see how sending me to bum-fuck Georgia will do anything for me,” I whine. There is no way this is happening.

“You’re going. End of story.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m an adult. You can’t make me do anything.”

Dad raises a brow at me. “If you want to keep your credit cards, you’ll go. You’re supposed to gain access to your trust fund next year, but I won’t allow that if you’re still acting like this. You need to prove to us that you deserve this money. So far, all you’ve shown is that you can spend money on clothes and booze.” I also have an extensive shoe collection, but this doesn’t feel like the right moment to bring that up.

“So, what? I’m supposed to pack up and move my whole life to live on a farm with an aunt I’ve seen once in my life?”

“Yes,” they agree in unison.

I tap my foot, trying to think of a way out of this. But I’m nothing without my money. I can’t actually do anything, so I wouldn’t be able to get a job. If they took away my inheritance, I’d be left with nothing.

I look into their eyes to see if they’re bluffing, trying to scare me. But they both look. . . sad. Fuck.

“Well, it sounds like I don’t have a choice. When do I leave?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest, mentally making a list of all the appointments I have to make before I leave.

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow?” My eyes nearly bug out of my head. “I can’t get everything done in a day! I need to get my hair done, my nails filled. I don’t even have any farm clothes. I have to go shopping.”

Dad shakes his head. “Tomorrow. You can keep one credit card, but it can only be used on necessities while you’re there. If we find out you’re using it on other things or if Aunt Dottie says you’re acting up, everything is gone. Are we clear?”