Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
I found Bailey standing at the door with her fingers in the loops of her jean shorts. “All right. All right.”
“What do you need from me?”
“We need to load up all of her furniture and probably help with some of the heavier boxes.” I showed off my bicep. “I’m a beast, and I can squat your body weight, but I wouldn’t mind some extra muscle.”
“Got it.”
Whitt followed Bailey into her room. She was joking with him like they were long-lost friends. His smile was easy, and hers was bright.
My stomach, however, felt like it had been yanked back on a yo-yo. So much fear rolled into this one meeting, and it had been for nothing. Maybe we’d both needed this time to figure out how important the relationship was to us.
“You coming?” Bailey asked when she saw me holding back.
“Yeah.”
I hurried after them to get the truck loaded. With Whitt’s help, it went much faster. I worked out in the gym several times a week, and still, I was nowhere as strong as him. It was entirely unfair.
We’d finished with almost all the furniture when another car pulled up beside the trailer.
“Shit,” I said, dashing up the stairs and back inside. “Whitt! Bailey! Dad’s here.”
“Fuck,” Bailey snapped. “Why is he back so early?”
Whitt’s brow furrowed. “Wait, does he not know?”
Bailey sighed. “I told you we needed to talk to Dad before moving everything.”
“I thought it’d be better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.”
“Great,” Whitt said, looking between us in consternation. “What are you going to do?”
Whatever I had to.
“Evie Jo! Bailey Lou!” Dad called as he stepped into the house. “What the fuck is going on? Why is there a truck, loaded with stuff, at our place?”
I took a deep breath and then stepped up to the plate. “Because Bailey is leaving.”
“The fuck she is.”
“I’m taking her back to Lubbock with me.”
His face was turning red. “You can’t do that. She’s my kid. I choose what happens to her.”
“Look at how well that’s worked out so far,” I snarled at him. “She is back on drugs. Last year, she overdosed under your watch.”
“She’s an addict,” he cried. “I was doing the best I could.”
I actually laughed. “Your best isn’t good enough. I should have taken her then and there, but I let you trap me. I paid for rehab. I paid for her to come home. I’ve paid for everything since.”
“And you’re going to keep paying!”
“No, I’m not,” I told him, crossing my arms. “I’m done bankrolling your life. I wasn’t in a position to take her before, but I am now. I have a good job. I have a house that I’m renting with some other girls. And I have receipts from the last year that prove I’m the one who’s been taking care of her financially.”
He scoffed. “You can’t just take her away from me. No judge will approve of her going to a sister rather than to her father.”
“Why do you even want her here? You clearly don’t care about her.”
“Hey!” he yelled. “I was out there, looking for her yesterday, just like you were.”
Bailey laughed. “For what reason? You never see me. And when you do, it’s only to remind me of what a failure I am. You don’t care about me or Eve. You never have. Only Gram did.”
“I took care of you after your mom skipped town.”
“What do you want a medal?” Bailey snapped.
“That’s your job,” I added hotly. “You’re a parent. Taking care of us is the bare minimum!”
“If you take her now, it’s kidnapping,” he warned.
This time, I couldn’t stop from laughing. “Is that so? You’d have to take me to court to prove it.”
“Then, I will,” he snapped.
He could see the house of cards crumbling. Instead of seeing what was best for Bailey, he was doubling down. Typical.
“You want your church friends to find out about all of this?”
He winced. If I knew anything about him, he wanted to keep it away from his friends. He wanted to appear on the outside as the perfect father, the perfect man, but none of them really knew him. Worse, they were just as grimy as he was. The call was coming from inside the house.
“You’d need a lawyer!” he blustered. Clearly, he had no other response.
Whitt cleared his throat, stepping into view for the first time. “I actually have a lawyer.”
My dad’s eyes widened in alarm. “What are you doing here?”
“When my girlfriend calls, I come running,” he said simply. “If my deadbeat dad taught me anything, it’s to have a team of lawyers on standby. I didn’t squander that advice at least. Wrights know how to go to bat.”
“That’s…that’s…” he sputtered incoherently.
“You’re neglectful, and I can prove it,” I said, lifting my chin and refusing to back down. “I have a case, Dad. You know I do.”