Chapter 24
Briggs
Monday morning, I’m woken up at six by Ella’s dad making noise in the kitchen.
“Sorry to wake you,” he says. “I have to be at work soon. I just needed to get something to eat.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I say, sitting up. “It’s your house.”
He comes over to me, sitting in the chair next to the couch. “About your situation, I’m trying to find a more permanent place for you to stay. I’m okay with you being here a few days, but it’s not a big house and I’m not really comfortable having you and Ella—”
“I got it. I’ll be out of here by the weekend, or sooner, if that’s what you want.”
“Briggs, I’m not kicking you out. I’m just saying this isn’t a permanent solution, and I’m not just talking about you living here. I mean, with you being a minor . . . your father may want you back with him, and he has the right to take you. I don’t need more trouble from your father.”
I nod, knowing he’s right. The last thing Roy needs is my dad coming after him, although he’s probably already working on a plan to destroy Roy’s business.
Shit, what if he is? The only chance I have of stopping him is to do what my father wants and move back home.
But there’s still a chance he’d go through with his plan.
He’d do it just to hurt me, knowing it would hurt Ella.
“Give me some more time,” Roy says, getting up.
“I’ll come up with something.” He walks back to the kitchen.
“Ella will be up soon. You might want to take a shower before she takes over the bathroom. There are towels in the cabinet.” He points to my shirt, which is his, the one I borrowed.
“You can go in my room and take whatever will fit.”
Nothing of his will fit me. He’s shorter than me, with a much smaller build. I’m wearing one of his t-shirts that Ella said was too big on him, and even that is tight on me.
I walk over to him. “I’m going to go over there this morning and get my things.”
“Your house?”
“Yeah. My dad will be at work so I won’t have to see him.”
“What about school?”
“I’m skipping today. I need to get my car and get some stuff from my room. I left without taking anything. Everything I need for class is back at the house.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“Thanks, but I can do it myself.”
“I can at least give you a ride.”
“I don’t want you having to leave work. I’ll just walk. It isn’t far.”
He nods. “How about some breakfast?” He slides a cereal box over to me.
“No, thanks. I’m going to take a shower.”
When I’m done with the shower, Ella’s in the kitchen having breakfast. I tell her my plan for going to my house. She doesn’t want me to go back there, but I don’t have a choice. I need to get my things, and I need to go there when my dad’s at work.
* * *
When I get to my house, it feels strange being back. I’ve only been gone a day, but it feels like so much longer. The house feels darker and colder than I remember, maybe because Ella’s house feels so much lighter and warmer.
I go up to my room. It looks the same as I left it. Grabbing a duffel bag from the closet, I start filling it with clothes, not bothering to fold them. I don’t want this to take long. I just want to get my stuff and get out of here.
The duffel bag isn’t big enough to hold everything, so I go downstairs to get a suitcase from the storage closet in the hall.
“Briggs.”
I hear his voice and freeze.
“What a pleasant surprise.”
I turn and see my father standing behind me, a sneer on his freshly shaved face. He’s wearing his work clothes — black suit, white shirt, gray tie — so why isn’t he at work?
“I’m just getting my things.” I take the suitcase and go around him.
He grabs my arm, jerking me back. “Not so fast. I think we need to have a little father-son chat.”
“Don’t touch me,” I say, my jaw clenched, my arm muscles stiffening under his hand. I drop the suitcase, getting prepared to defend myself against whatever he’s about to do.
He keeps hold of me. “You think you can leave? Think you can survive on your own? You wouldn’t last a day without me. You’re just a child. An ignorant, na?ve child with no skills and no knowledge of how the world works. You need me, Briggs. Without me, you’re nothing.”
“Nice speech,” I say in a sarcastic tone, letting him know his words don’t affect me. “What else you got?”
He grips my arm tighter. “Don’t you dare get smart with me!”
“Oh, so now I’m smart?”
He lets go of my arm and shoves me against the wall. “I have had enough of this!”
“Yeah, me too.” I shove him back, hard enough that he slams into the wall across from me.
“How dare you!” He comes at me, but I move out of the way.
I hurry down the hall, toward the front door. My stuff will have to wait. I need to get out of here. But when I reach the foyer, I realize I don’t have my car keys or my phone. I left them upstairs. Shit!
Something slams into the back of my head, and I stumble forward, seeing stars.
“You will not disobey me!” my father yells.
I turn and see his arm raised, his fist headed toward my face.
The doorbell rings and his fist freezes in front of me.
“Who the hell is that?” He glances at the door.
“Answer it and find out.”
“Quiet!” he whispers.
The bell rings again, followed by knocking.
“I’ll get it,” I say, going to the door, feeling dizzy from whatever hit my head.
“Briggs, no!” my father yells, but I’ve already opened the door.
There’s a woman standing there in a black suit, holding a badge. Next to her are two police officers.
“We’re here to see Briggs Chadwick,” the woman says.
They’re here to arrest me. I shouldn’t be surprised. I knew this was coming.
My father appears beside me. “I’m Briggs’ father. Briggs will not be speaking to the police without his attorneys present. There are no charges against him, and until such charges have been filed, you are not allowed on my property.”
The woman looks at me, then back at my dad. “We have an arrest warrant for—”
“On what charges?” my father says, raising his voice. “My son did nothing wrong. He wasn’t even the one driving that night. It was—”
“Sir, this isn’t about your son,” the woman says. “We’re here for you. We have a warrant for your arrest.”
The officers come into the house and read my father his rights as they handcuff him.
“What the fuck is going on here?” my father yells.
I watch in utter disbelief as they take my father outside and walk him to the squad car.
What the hell just happened? I thought they were here to arrest me, not my father.
The woman who was at the door said something about tax evasion, but I didn’t catch whatever else she said. I was too stunned, watching my father being hauled off by the two police officers.
“Briggs?”
I look away from the squad car and see Susan walking up to me.
“What just happened?” I ask.
“Your father’s been charged with investment fraud and tax evasion. We’ve been working on the case for a while now after complaints from some of his clients and an investigation of his tax records. “
“So what’s going to happen to him?”
“Could I come inside?”
“Yeah.” I move aside as she walks into the house.
“Could we go somewhere to talk?”
I take her to the living room. She sits on the couch, but I remain standing, too worked up to sit.
“What happens to your father will depend on what the courts decide,” she says. “It will also depend on you, and what you can offer us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why don’t you sit down so I can explain?”
I take a seat on the chair across from her.
“We believe your father had a scam going with phony investments and phony research to back them up. We know you’ve been working with your father at his investment firm and we’d like your help going through his files and providing us with whatever information you could offer us that would give us more insight as to what he was doing and how he was pulling it off.
In exchange, we’ll drop the charges against you in the hit-and-run case. ”
I take a moment to think this through. She’s telling me that if I help them convict my father, I get to go free? Am I dreaming this, because there’s no fucking way this is real.
“So I help you send my father to prison, and in exchange, you drop the charges against me?”
“That’s correct.”
I smile. “I’m in. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
“Would you be willing to come with me to the station today, or do you need to get to school?”
“I’m skipping today. I was just here getting my stuff.”
“You should take whatever you need and get it out of here today. Your father’s assets will be frozen until the investigation is over, meaning things can’t be taken from the house.”
“What about my car? Can I still drive it?”
“If it was paid for using money from fraudulent investments, it’ll be seized with everything else.”
There goes my plan to sell the car.
“So if he’s convicted, they take all his stuff? Even the house?”
“They’ll take whatever’s needed to pay back the clients he defrauded. Whatever’s left will go to pay the back taxes he owes, along with any fees and penalties.”
“So he could end up broke.”
“It’ll depend on what he owes, but yes, it’s possible.”
I laugh, which may not be appropriate, but I don’t give a shit. Knowing my father might end up broke is fucking hilarious. I’m already imagining him living in a house like Ella’s, wearing a cheap pair of jeans instead of a suit.
“I wanted to talk to you about something else,” Susan says. “About your living arrangements. You can’t live here at the house with the investigation going on. You’ll need somewhere to stay.”
“So what are you suggesting?”
“Ella’s father called me and we came up with a possible solution.”
“What is it?”
“You’d come live with me. I have a house with bedrooms that aren’t being used. You’re welcome to stay there if you’d like.”
“You don’t even know me, and you’re offering to let me live with you?”
She smiles. “Ella was your reference. She assured me I have nothing to worry about.” She pauses. “I know about your situation. Roy told me.”
I assumed he told her, but I’m not ready to talk about it. I’d like to just forget it ever happened. I’m about to tell her that, but then she starts talking again.
“In my work as a police officer, I met a lot of teens like you that wanted out of their situation but had nowhere to go. It led me to become a foster parent. I haven’t fostered a child since my divorce, but I’m still licensed and would be able to take you in.”
“Thanks, but I’ll just go to a hotel. I have some money saved up.”
“I’m afraid that’s not an option until you turn eighteen.”
Is she serious? I don’t need a foster home. I’m an adult, or I will be in a couple of months. I should be able to live on my own. But I guess if I’m being forced to stay with someone, it’d be better to be with someone I know, although I don’t really know this woman. I just met her.
“It’s nothing permanent,” she says, noticing my hesitation.
“I’m just giving you a place to stay until you finish school.
From what I’ve heard, you’re a smart young man with a bright future.
I’d hate to see that change because of all that’s happened.
You don’t have to decide now. You can take some time to think about it. ”
“I can still go to Devonshore?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Then yeah. I’ll do it.”
She gets up. “Go upstairs and pack your things. I’ll call the investigator on your father’s case and tell her you’ve agreed to the deal.”
I go up to my room and text Ella. You’re never going to believe this.