Chapter 4
Ella
“Got everything?” my dad asks as I put the broom in the back of the truck.
“Yeah. I think so.”
“I’ll see you at home.” He opens the door to his truck. “How about we go out for dinner? I’ve been out with Susan so much we haven’t had much father-daughter time.”
“We’re together every afternoon. And every weekend.”
“That doesn’t count. We’re working. Let’s go out and celebrate.”
“Celebrate what?”
“Who says you need a reason?” He smiles. “C’mon. You can pick the place.”
“I don’t know, Dad. I have a lot of homework and I need to study for a test.”
“Just think about it. You can let me know when I get home.” He gets in the truck and leaves to drop off the trailer.
I go back to the house and take a long, hot shower, trying to stop my mind from wandering to Briggs.
It keeps doing it, and it’s really pissing me off.
What’s even worse is that they aren’t thoughts about how much I hate him, but about the two of us together.
Like right now, being in the shower makes me think of being in Briggs’ room, walking in on him as he gets out of the shower.
I can see him with a towel around his waist — those broad shoulders, those six-pack abs — then the towel falls down, giving me a view of the rest of him.
I notice I’m touching myself and immediately stop.
Dammit! I shouldn’t be getting turned on by that asshole!
Why does he keep showing up in my head? I just want to forget about him! He took my house! I should hate him for that . . . so why don’t I? Is it because I don’t want to believe it? Or is my heart betraying me, wanting to be with Briggs despite what he’s done?
Back in my room, I’m finishing getting dressed when I hear my dad.
“Ella,” he yells from the living room. “What’d you decide?”
I don’t feel like going out, but he seems excited about having dinner with me, so I feel like I should go.
He’s been in a really good mood lately, which doesn’t make sense since we’re losing the house soon.
I think it’s Susan making him feel that way, but I’m not ready to accept that.
I’m not ready to accept that he’s falling in love with a woman who’s not my mom.
I like Susan and think she’s good for him, but this is all happening so fast. The other night, I heard Susan telling my dad he could stay with her after he sells the house.
Maybe she meant he could stay there until he found a new place, but it almost sounded like she was asking him to move in with her for good.
“Ella?” my dad yells. “Did you hear me?”
“We can go to dinner,” I say as I leave my room.
He’s in the kitchen, going through the mail. “We don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”
“I want to,” I say, walking up to him. “I just have a lot to get done.”
He sets the mail down. “Are you sure that’s it?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You haven’t seemed like yourself this week. Did something happen at school?”
“Dad, you’re reading too much into it. I’m just tired. I have a lot of tests coming up and I’ve been studying a lot.”
He folds his arms over his chest. “So this wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain young man?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I haven’t seen a three-hundred-thousand-dollar Porsche in my driveway for a few days now. Might even be a week since I’ve seen it.”
I stare at him. “Are you serious? That car is worth three hundred thousand dollars?”
“Maybe a little less, but close to three hundred.”
Holy shit. I had no idea it was worth that much. I didn’t even know they made cars that cost that much.
“I assume this is about what his father did?” my dad says. “Convincing the city to take our house?”
“It wasn’t his dad, it was him. Briggs told his dad to do it.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“No, his dad did.”
He nods.
“What?” I say. “Why are you acting like you don’t believe me? Briggs’ dad told me it was Briggs’ idea. His dad wouldn’t just make that up.”
“You sure about that?”
I look at him, trying to figure out what’s going on here. “Dad, do you know something you’re not telling me?”
“No, but I will say that I wouldn’t believe too much of what Briggs’ father tells you. It sounds like he’s been involved in some shady business deals.”
“How do you know that?”
“I might’ve had Susan do some research for me. She has access to information that’s not public.” He points his finger at me. “That’s just between us. You don’t tell anyone that. She could get in trouble if anyone found out I asked her to look into this.”
“Yeah, okay. So what’d she find out?”
“Briggs’ father has been accused of bribing people to get what he wants. He’s smart enough to cover his tracks so they can’t charge him with anything. He’s also been accused of inflating the value of investments at his firm to get new clients.”
“He’s a sales guy. Aren’t they all like that?”
“This goes beyond that. I can’t get into details. I just want you to know that the man can’t be trusted. Don’t believe everything he tells you.”
“Why would he lie about Briggs wanting to tear down our house?”
My dad shrugs. “Maybe to get you away from him. I’m sure Mr. Chadwick doesn’t want his son being seen with someone in our income bracket.”
“Someone who’s poor. You can say it.”
“Ella, we’re not poor. I hope you don’t really think that.”
“I don’t, but compared to Briggs and everyone else around here . . .”
“They’re not the norm. You can’t compare us to them.
I make a decent living doing what I do. We’ve never struggled.
We live a simple life because that’s what I choose.
It’s what I’m comfortable with. We could afford a better house and better cars, but it still wouldn’t be good enough for someone like Mr. Chadwick.
People like him don’t want their children being around people like us.
They think we’re not smart enough or rich enough or good enough.
That’s why I didn’t want you being around Briggs.
I didn’t want him making you think you’re not good enough. ”
“He didn’t, at least not recently.”
“What does that mean?” my dad asks, his brows drawing together. “Are you saying Briggs—”
“No. Just forget it. Why are we talking about this? It doesn’t matter if Briggs’ dad lied or didn’t. Our house is still being taken from us because one, or both of them, told the city to tear it down.”
“Honey, I’m not defending Briggs. Believe me, I’d rather keep him and his father out of our lives. I’m only saying this for your sake. Because I don’t like seeing you like this.”
“Like what?”
He sets his hand on my shoulder. “You’ve been moping around this house for almost a week now, or since whenever it was you stopped talking to Briggs.”
“It has nothing to do with Briggs,” I insist. “And I’m not moping. I’m just tired.”
“I’ve seen you tired, and it’s not that. You seem sad, and I’m worried. I know you’re still having this disagreement with Charlotte, so maybe that’s part of it, but I think it also has to do with this fight you’re having with Briggs. That’s when I really noticed a change in you.”
“I haven’t changed. You’re just super happy now and it’s making everyone else look like they’re not.”
He smiles. “I am happy. But that isn’t affecting how I see you. I know my daughter, and I know when she’s hurting.”
I look away. “I don’t want to talk about this. Are we going to dinner or not?”
“Why don’t you just talk to him? You don’t have to be friends with him. In fact, I’m hoping you’ll stay away from him after this, but I think you need to resolve whatever this is that’s making you feel this way so you can move on from it and feel better.”
I shake my head. “I’m not talking to him. I don’t need to.”
“Then how about Charlotte? Have you tried working things out with her?”
“Only about a million times. She won’t talk to me at school and she won’t pick up the phone when I call. I even went to her house, but she wouldn’t answer the door.”
“What happened with you two?”
“I don’t want to get into it. It’s . . . complicated.”
“Why don’t you try again? Go to her house and tell her you want to talk.”
“I’ve already done that. If I go there, she’ll slam the door in my face.”
“Try again. You know how many times I had doors slammed in my face when I was trying to sell my lawn service to people?” He chuckles. “It didn’t stop me. I just kept going back. I went to this one house at least ten times. The man at the door was so impressed I hadn’t given up that he hired me.”
“Who was it? Do I know him?”
“Mr. Morton.”
“The old guy? The one who died last year?”
“Yes. He was one of my best customers, but I never would’ve got his business if I gave up after one try.”
“I’ve tried more than once with Charlotte.”
“Keep trying. The Quinns never give up.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Go talk to her right now. We can have dinner some other time.”
“Now? I’m not ready. She’s probably not even home.”
“This isn’t a choice,” he says, sternly, holding my shoulders. “I’m ordering you to do this.”
“And you know I won’t listen.”
He steps back, smiling. “You’re right, but I still want you to do it. The longer you put it off, the harder it gets. Just go over there and see if she’ll listen to whatever you have to say. If she tells you to leave, come back here and we’ll go to dinner.”
I take a moment to think about it. I don’t want to go over there, but I know I should. My dad is right. It’ll only get harder the longer this goes on.
“Okay, I’ll go,” I say with a sigh.
“That’s my girl. I’m going to go clean up. Text me if you’re staying there so I’ll know I’m on my own for dinner.”
“Where’s Susan tonight?”
“She’s working on the hit-and-run case. I’ll see her tomorrow.” He goes to his room.
Why is Susan working on the case tonight? Did something happen? Did she get new evidence? What if the texter sent the video to the cops? If he did, would he tell the guys before he sent it?