Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98909 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“Okay?” My head is spinning.
“And if they come by to interview you about your brother, call me right as you sit down with them. You do not have to go near the police station. But you do need to be as helpful as possible. Call me for anything.”
“I will.”
“Now let’s get your personal effects so you can go home.”
And so we do.
Ebola
Luke
Apparently I contracted Ebola in jail.
Well, not actually. But based on the silence and the stares that greet me when I walk into the Alpha Delt house, you’d sure as shit think I was a carrier for a deadly disease.
Wary eyes track my movements as I enter the living room. Keaton is nowhere to be seen, but Judd, Tanner, and a few others sit on the couch, dropping their video game controllers to their laps at my entrance. In the dining room, Jako and Zimmer are bent over a stack of textbooks. Their heads snap up when they spot me, and Jako is immediately on his feet.
“Bailey!” he calls out in relief, and he’s the only person in the room who looks happy to see me. Once again, I wonder where Keaton is. I’ve been trying hard not to think about him. But now I have to.
He watched the cops push me into a cruiser. I feel nauseated every time I remember that.
“Hey,” I greet everyone, awkwardly shoving my hands in my back pockets.
“How was prison?” cracks Judd.
I give him a look that would make most people quail. But not Judd. I knew my housemates would ask questions, but it grates that Judd is the one to lead off the Inquisition. He’s sporting a black eye, too, which just makes him look more like the surly hooligan that he is.
“I wasn’t in prison,” I reply as evenly as I can manage. “I spent the night in holding.”
“Same diff.”
“No, not the same at all.” My stiff legs carry me to the center of the living room. I sweep my gaze over the guys on the couch and then the rest of the bodies that are slowly filling the room. “I’ve got an announcement to make,” I tell everyone.
“Oh, there is absolutely no need,” Judd taunts. He stands up and moves toward me so that we’re facing off in front of the coffee table. “We know far too much about you already.” He glances around. “There’s no way you’re going to be president.”
Our current president appears at my side, rolling his eyes. “Keller,” Reed chastises. “Enough.”
Judd’s lip curls. “Are you serious? Your replacement just got arrested, Reedsy!”
“And released,” I interject. “The charges will be dismissed. I didn’t steal anything.”
“You stole plenty,” Judd drawls. “You’re disgusting.”
“And you don’t know what the hell you’re saying,” I growl. “On Friday when I got back from a run, Jako let me know that my older brother Joe came by.”
Jako steps forward with a nod. “Right, but—”
“I was worried,” I press on, “because Joe did time for breaking and entering a while back. So I went upstairs to investigate and discovered he stole some cash from my room. At the time I thought it was just the cash. But as it turns out, he…” I draw another breath. “He also stole my Darby ID.” Shame and disgust twist my stomach into knots. “And then he used that ID to steal some computers from the school.”
“Shit,” Jako says quietly.
“Seriously?” Judd is having none of it. “That’s supposed to make us feel better?” He turns to Reed. “He just admitted to letting a convicted felon roam around unaccompanied in our house!”
Jako speaks up again, his tone hard. “No, I did that. I let Luke’s brother into the house, so anything he took from us is on me.”
“No, it’s not,” I say firmly. “It’s on me.”
“Damn right,” Judd says viciously. “I am fucking done with this. I vote to impeach the cocksucker in chief—”
“Judd,” Reed snaps.
“Again with this shit?” Zimmer says from right behind me. “How many chances does he get, Reed? Muzzle his bullshit or I am fucking done, too.”
My poor, tired brain is trying to keep up. Although “cocksucker” is one of Judd’s favorite words. It sounds like he knows…
“Hey,” a stiff voice says from the stairs.
I turn my head, and Keaton is right there, walking toward me. His hazel eyes conduct a quick head-to-toe tour of me, as if he’s assessing me for damage.
But, Christ, all the damage is his. Keaton’s lip is split. There are deep circles under his eyes, and there’s a tightness in his expression that I have never seen before.
“Shut it, Judd,” Keaton says now. “If anyone is getting tossed out of Alpha Delt, it’s you.”
“Yeah?” The asshole takes a step toward Keaton. “Let’s have that vote. It might not turn out the way you think. Are you even gonna show up and participate? Or will you pussy out again and let Bailey call the shots?”