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SIX
My brother was on the phone with our dad before he even completed a full U-turn to head back up the road we were on.
“I found Bailey,” he announced. He cut his eyes over to me, staying silent as he waited on Dad to finish speaking. I stared down at my hands resting on my lap. “She was with a kid named Seth.”
“What the hell was she doing?!” I heard Dad yell through the line.
“Fucking,” Trent snarled. I flinched. He made what Seth and I did sound so vulgar. “She decided to have a quickie in the front seat of this kid’s fucking truck.”
“What the fuck is wrong with her?!” Dad yelled. “Has she lost her goddamn mind?!”
I closed my eyes, swallowing past the lump of tears in my throat. I should have never agreed to this insane deal with Seth. I knew nothing good was going to come out of it.
But I was so desperate to save him from himself. Still was. And I didn’t fucking understand why beyond the fact that I couldn’t relive the shit Trent had done to himself.
“I’m bringing her home,” Trent told Dad. “And I’ve forced that kid to follow us. He dragged her into this shit, then he can face the fucking music with her.”
A moment later, Trent hung up the phone, dropping it down into the center console. He glanced over at me and released a soft sigh. “Bailey,” he said, forcing his voice to lower, though I could still hear the rage in his tone, “I don’t know what the fuck you and this kid have going on, but you need to quit it. I know you want to help him, but he’s changing you, and you two have barely begun fucking around.”
“I can’t,” I whispered. My hands shook in my lap. I shoved them between my thighs so he wouldn’t notice. “I can’t stand back and watch him do this to himself.”
Trent shook his head at me. “You can’t save everyone, Bailey, and I’m afraid he’s only going to drag you into his pit with him.”
I didn’t say anything in return because I had a feeling that was going to happen, too.
But I had to try, no matter what kind of shit I landed myself in.
* * *
My dad was livid.There was no other word for it, and I felt like crawling into a hole and dying.
“What in the hell has gotten into you?” My dad yelled as soon as I walked into the house. I winced. I could count on one hand the number of times my dad had raised his voice at me. And it had never been as bad as this.
I was the good girl. I never got into trouble. I never did anything that I wasn’t supposed to.
All of the bad shit got left to Trent as we were growing up. He was the rebel child—not me.
“Sit down!” Dad bellowed. I quickly dropped onto a kitchen chair. “Where’s that fucking boy that you skipped with?” he demanded.
“Right here,” Trent said, coming inside with Seth. “Sit,” Trent ordered, pointing at the table where I was already seated. “And not near my fucking sister.”
Seth sat down at the other end of the table. He wouldn’t even look at me.
Dad glared between the two of us. “You, young lady, are fucking grounded,” Dad snarled at me. “I want your phone, your laptop, and your tablet. If you need your laptop for school, you will use it under my supervision, understand?”
I nodded at him. “Words, Bailey!” he barked.
I flinched. “Yes, sir,” I whispered.
Dad gestured between us. “And you two will stay the fuck away from each other, am I clear? If I catch you two together, there will be hell to pay.” Dad pointed to the door. “Kid, get the fuck out. And if you know what the fuck is good for you, you’ll stay away from my daughter.”
Seth got up. I could finally feel his eyes on me, but I kept my eyes locked on the table. My chest was tightening, and I was afraid that if I looked up at anyone, I was going to lose it. That panic attack was sitting right at the edge, waiting to take over.
“Eyes on me,” Dad snapped at me.
I jerked my head up at his command, my airways closing up. My hands began to shake uncontrollably. I whimpered, my hands instantly moving to claw at my shirt.
“Fuck.” Trent gently pulled me out of my chair and sat me on the floor. Hot tears were sliding down my face as he applied pressure between my shoulder blades and forced my head between my knees. “Breathe,” my brother softly ordered. “Just breathe, Bailey. It’ll pass. It always does,” he soothed.
I could feel Dad on the other side of me, his hand wrapping around the back of my neck in a strong, steady grip, and between him and my brother, they grounded me. “Focus on my hand,” Dad gently ordered, the anger now gone from his voice. “Feel the heat. Feel the callouses, Bailey.” I sucked in a sharp breath, thankful for the air I was now getting into my lungs. “There you go. Good girl. Just keep breathing.”
I sobbed, lifting my head up. Dad wound his arms around me, pulling me onto his lap, gently rocking me back and forth. “Just breathe,” he soothed. “I’ve got you. It’s going to be okay.”
I slowly opened my eyes, watching as Trent got up and ushered Seth out of the house.
But not before I saw the horrified look in Seth’s eyes.
I shut my eyes again, more tears sliding down my cheeks.
Yeah, Seth. You’re not the only fucked-up one in this world. I just hide my shit better than you.
