Chapter 23
Briggs
On the ride to the police station, Ella explains to her dad what happened the night of the hit-and-run.
He’s angry she wasn’t truthful with him, but instead of yelling at her, he tells her he loves her and that everything will be okay.
I feel a surge of rage seeing her dad treat her like that, which isn’t right, but it’s a reaction built up over years of seeing people with fathers like Ella’s and wishing they were mine.
I need to get over it, but that’ll take time.
When we get to the police station, my father is there, along with the three lawyers he hired to defend me. I’m sure he’s already made up a story to protect the Chadwick name from being harmed, a story he’ll leak to the press to make sure I’m not portrayed poorly in the news.
“Briggs!” he races up to me and gives me a hug. It’s a quick, business-like hug, but enough to make my whole body go stiff. I don’t want him touching me, and he wouldn’t if there weren’t people around. The hug is all for show as he plays the role of caring father.
“You can go,” I tell him. “I can handle this.”
He takes me aside, lowering his voice. “Why didn’t you tell me about this? We could’ve been working on a plan this whole time.”
That’s all he cares about: coming up with a plan that makes us look good. He doesn’t care that a man died. Even if I were the one who hit the guy, my father wouldn’t care. He’d only be concerned with covering it up.
Susan approaches us. “Mr. Chadwick, we’d like to ask your son some questions.”
My dad steps in front of me. “My son is not answering your questions. You can talk to his lawyers, but only after they’ve had time to consult with him.”
“Sir, we’re not arresting him,” Susan says. “We’re simply asking him to tell us what happened.”
“Where do you want me?” I say, going around my dad.
“Briggs!” my father yells.
“Right this way.” Susan turns and walks down a hall.
“Briggs!” my dad yells. “Don’t you dare say a word to her!”
I ignore him and follow Susan. She takes me to a room and shuts the door. I was expecting to see Ella and Calvin here, but the room is empty.
“Where’s Ella?” I ask.
“She’s in a different room. She’s being interviewed by one of my colleagues.”
So it’s just me? Shit. Maybe I should get my lawyer in here.
“Is something wrong?” Susan asks.
“No. Go ahead.”
I don’t need a lawyer. I have nothing to hide. Susan saw the video. She saw what happened.
“Tell me about that night,” she says.
An hour later, after I’ve told the story multiple times and answered all her questions, Susan finally lets me leave. I walk back to the front of the police station and see Ella and her dad standing there. Calvin’s sitting in one of the chairs.
“Did my dad leave?” I ask Ella.
“I guess. He wasn’t here when I came out.”
Susan walks up to Ella’s dad. “Roy.
“Not now,” he says, looking away from her.
“Roy,” she says in a pleading tone. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Ella, let’s go,” he says, ignoring Susan.
“Briggs is coming too,” Ella says, “and Calvin.”
“All of you get in the truck,” her dad says, motioning to us. “We’re leaving.”
We go outside and pile into the truck. It’s an extended cab, so Calvin and I sit in the back.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this,” Ella’s dad says to her as he drives home. “How could you not tell me?”
“I was afraid to. I didn’t want you being disappointed in me.”
“Honey, you know I love you no matter what. All you had to do was tell me and together we would’ve figured out what to do. I’m your dad. My job is to help you.”
I feel that rage building again. I look over and see Calvin fisting his hands. Is he feeling the same rage I am? That jealous rage that comes from wanting something so damn bad, but knowing you’ll never have it?
“I’m sorry, Dad,” Ella says.
“We’re going to get through this. Everything will be okay.” He looks at me in the rearview mirror. “As for me adopting two more teenagers, I’m not so sure about that. But we’ll figure something out.”
“I can get a hotel,” I tell him.
“I’m kidding, Briggs,” he says. “As long as one of you is okay with a sleeping bag on the floor, you’re welcome to stay.”
If Ella needed a place to stay, my father wouldn’t allow it, even though we have a house full of empty bedrooms. My father is the reason Ella’s dad is losing his house, and yet he’s still letting me stay there. I don’t understand it. I didn’t know people like him existed.
“Dad, you can’t break up with Susan,” Ella says. “She was just doing her job.”
“By arresting my daughter?” he huffs. “I don’t see how we come back from that.”
“She didn’t arrest me. She just asked me questions.”
“Ella, this isn’t something you need to be getting involved in. It might turn out that Susan and I just weren’t meant to be.”
“Dad, you love her. You can’t just let her go.”
We’re in the driveway now, and he parks the truck. “Anyone hungry?”
“Starving,” I mutter.
“Me too,” Calvin says.
“Pizza?” Ella says as we go into the house. “I’ll order it.”
“I’ll pay for it,” I say.
“Let me,” Calvin says, pulling a wad of hundreds from his pocket. He hands one to Ella.
“Um, thanks,” she says, staring at the wad of cash as Calvin stuffs it back in his pocket.
Ella orders the pizza, and after we’ve all eaten, we sit in the living room like we’re waiting for something to happen.
The doorbell rings, and we all jump.
“I’ll get it,” Ella says, going to the door. “Susan,” I hear Ella say.
Ella’s dad lets out a sigh.
Susan appears with Ella. “I just wanted to give everyone an update since my calls went unanswered.” She looks at Ella’s dad as she says it. She called him several times since we left the police station, but he wouldn’t pick up.
“What’s the update?” I ask Susan.
“Finn and Parker have been charged and are currently in jail until their parents post bail, which probably won’t happen until the morning.”
Earlier, Susan told us the cops couldn’t find Finn and Parker when they went to arrest them. I told them they probably left town, and sure enough, the cops pulled them over about an hour south of here.
“What are the charges?” Calvin asks Susan.
“Finn’s charged with a felony hit-and-run, which is typical for cases where the victim dies. We can’t charge him with intoxication while driving since we weren’t able to administer a test proving he was drunk that night.”
“I told you he’d been drinking,” I say.
“That’s not enough to charge him. We’d need a blood alcohol test to support the charge.”
“What will happen to him if he’s convicted?” I ask.
“It could range from a fine to a couple years in prison.”
“That’s it?” Ella says. “That’s all he’d get for killing a guy?”
“What about Parker?” I ask.
“He’ll probably get a fine,” Susan says.
“From what the three of you told us, and from what we saw on the video, Parker was clearly more concerned about getting to the party than helping this man. The judge will consider that in his decision and will likely go harder on him than if Parker had tried to help the man.”
“What about us?” I ask. “Ella and me.”
“Ella clearly wanted to stay with the man,” Susan says. “The three of you agreed on that when we questioned you, and I can tell on the video she was trying to get everyone to stay behind. Because of that, she won’t be charged.”
Ella lets out a sigh of relief.
“As for you,” Susan says to me. “You ultimately made the decision to leave and you were the one driving the vehicle away from the scene.”
“Finn was drunk,” I tell her. “I couldn’t let him drive.”
“I understand that,” Susan says, “but we can’t prove that Finn was drunk, so that’s not going to work in your favor. But stopping at the pay phone to call for help will look good to a judge.”
“Judge,” I repeat. “So you’re saying I’m being charged?”
“Not quite.”
“What does that mean?”
“I can’t tell you just yet. Hopefully, by tomorrow I’ll have an answer.” Susan glances at Ella’s dad, who hasn’t looked at her the entire time she’s been here. “Well, that was all I had. I’ll let you all continue your evening.”
“Dad,” Ella says in a hushed tone, urging him to walk her to the door.
He doesn’t, so Ella does.
When Susan’s gone, Ella stalks up to her dad. “What is wrong with you? You wouldn’t even look at her. Didn’t you hear her? I’m not getting charged with anything. You don’t need to be mad at her.”
“Let it be,” he says, getting up. “I’m going to bed.”
We all get up as he goes to his room.
“What do you think she meant?” I ask Ella. “Why didn’t she charge me? Why is she waiting?”
“I don’t know.”
“Could I get a ride?” Calvin asks Ella. “I can pay you.”
“Calvin, you can’t go home, not with your dad there.”
“I wasn’t going home. I was going to stay with Oliver. I just texted him and asked if I could stay the night.”
“Does he know what’s going on?” I ask.
“He might’ve seen it on the news, but he doesn’t know I was involved.”
“I meant about your dad.”
“No.” Calvin looks down. “I haven’t told anyone. I didn’t want anyone to know.”
I walk over to him. “How long do you think you could stay there? At Oliver’s house?”
Calvin shrugs. “Maybe a couple nights.”
“You think if you told him about your dad he’d let you stay longer?”
“Probably, but I don’t want to tell him.”
“I didn’t want to tell anyone either,” I say, “but keeping it a secret is just helping your father, not you.”
“How old are you?” Ella asks Calvin.
“Eighteen.”
“Then you don’t need to go back there,” Ella says. “You can stay with friends until you go to college.”
“My dad won’t allow it.”
“Your dad doesn’t get a say in it,” I tell him. “You’re an adult. You can do what you want. Do you have money?”
“I have a trust fund, but there’s a limit of how much I can take out. But I could do some contract jobs to make money. I’m already working on a few that are almost done. I should get paid in a few weeks.”
“Then you don’t ever need to go back here,” Ella says. “You have money to live on and friends who will let you stay with them.”
Calvin looks torn, and I think I know why.
When you live with an abuser, you start to believe their lies.
You start to think you’re worthless and can’t survive without their help.
My father didn’t start the physical abuse until just recently, but he’s been emotionally abusing me my entire life, telling me I’m not good enough or smart enough, and how I need him and his money to survive.
Part of me believed him. It’s why I’ve been trying so hard to get the car, thinking money is my ticket to freedom.
But the truth is, I don’t need money to get a new life.
I can make it on my own, even without the money.
It’s my father and what he said about me that was holding me back.
He made me doubt myself, just like Calvin is doing right now.
“I know you’re afraid to leave,” I tell Calvin, “but trust me, you’ll be better off without him. You don’t need him in your life.”
“He won’t let me leave.”
“It’s not his decision. And you don’t need his permission. You can do this, Calvin. You’re smart. You make your own money. You’re basically running a business while going to high school. Does that sound like someone who can’t live on their own?”
He shakes his head.
“Where are you going to college?” I ask.
“MIT. Oliver’s going there too.”
“So in a few months you’ll be thousands of miles from home. You just need to get through the next few months without going over there. Your dad will try to get you to come back, but you need to tell him no. You think you can do that?”
“I don’t know,” he mutters, with zero confidence.
“If I can do it, you can do it.”
He looks up at me. “You’re not going back?”
“Hell no. That bastard’s done controlling my life. He’ll still try, but I’m not going to let him.”
“We can help you,” Ella says to Calvin. “When you feel like going back, just call one of us.” She glances at me like she didn’t mean to speak for both of us. “Or just call me. Or you can come over. Whatever you need to do.”
“You can call me too,” I say, although I admit it feels strange saying that to a guy I used to pick on and threaten.
That part of me is still there, the part that uses fear and intimidation to get power over people.
I learned it from my father, and it’s going to take some time to get rid of it. For now, I just need to push it aside.
“So can I get a ride?” Calvin asks, looking more hopeful than he did just moments ago. Knowing he has people he can count on, who know his secret, seems to take away some of his fear of being on his own. “I told Oliver I’d be there in a few minutes.”
We drop Calvin off at Oliver’s house, then go back to Ella’s place and watch a movie, falling asleep on the couch. I wake up at midnight and carry her to her bed. She doesn’t even wake up.
I return to the couch for the night. I’m exhausted, and I have a feeling the next few days will be even more exhausting.