“I don’t think my dad will—”
He cuts me off, firmly telling me, “Just think about it,” while he stares at me. Eventually, he smiles again. “Good thing I was at that party last night, huh? Talk about being in the right place at the right time.”
“Thanks for getting me out of there,” I murmur. I’d forgotten about that terrible party until now. I wonder if Tyler managed to get himself home.
Jake shrugs, and his smile grows wider. “Thanks for letting me. I had a good night.”
“Yeah,” I say. Throwing a glance toward the house, I figure it’s time to head inside and face Dad. “I should go.”
“I’ll see you later,” he tells me as I open the door and step out. As I’m closing it, I wonder if he’s being sincere.
Yanking my hood over my head, I send a quick prayer to the skies above and then stuff my hands into my pockets. I’m hoping the hood hides my disgraceful hair and smudged makeup. I look like I’ve been partying on the Las Vegas Strip all night. Although I doubt many people in Vegas go out to party dressed in a hoodie and jeans.
I don’t hear Jake drive off, but I do know that he’s gone by the time I reach the front door—a front door that I am oh-so-greatly dreading walking through. Conveniently, I don’t have to.
It swings open before me, making me jolt in surprise, and as I’m recovering, a firm hand hauls me over the threshold. Too manly to be Ella, too built-up to be Dad. And so my earlier question has now been answered: Tyler did get home.
“Um.” I shake his grip off me, stepping to the side as he quietly shuts the door behind me. I haven’t even said anything and already he’s glaring down at me as though I’ve just set his room on fire. It’s like no one can ever please him.
“You’re kidding,” he says. “Right? You’ve got to be kidding.”
I stare. I sigh. I play with the drawstrings of my hoodie. I stare some more. “I could say the same to you,” I finally mutter. I’m past the point of caring anymore. I try to be nice, I get it thrown back in my face, repeat. Not anymore. “You took me to a party with all your pothead friends and crackhead losers. Are you insane?”
“Shhh,” he hisses sharply. He holds up a finger, narrowing his eyes down the hall to ensure no one has heard me. “Keep your voice down.”
“Sorry,” I say, seething with sarcasm. “I forgot your mom has no idea about how pathetic her son is.”
A wave of fleeting emotions captures his eyes in a peculiar way that I’ve never seen before. Something flashes within them, but I can’t quite pinpoint what. He almost looks hurt, but I can’t be sure, because already his eyes are narrowing again. “Dave!” he yells, his voice coarse. He smiles. “Eden’s home.”
“Seriously?” Now all I want to do is punch him in the face.
The smile on his lips alters to a smirk as he claims his victory. “Face the consequences.”
“Your consequences,” I correct. “You forced me to go to that party.”
“Yet I remember you agreeing to it.”
“I’m surprised that you even remember anything. Was it a sober night for you? I doubt it.” I push down my hood and sigh, gritting my teeth as I hear footsteps coming from the kitchen. If Dad doesn’t kill me, I’m pretty sure Tyler will.
“Good luck,” he says, laughing under his breath while he leans back against the wall. He folds his arms across his chest and watches in amusement as Dad approaches.
“Where the hell have you been?” is the first question Dad fires my way. All I can say is that his expression isn’t too impressed. “Do you even know the time? It’s almost noon. Where have you been all night? The least you could have done was answer your phone. I’ve been worried sick, Eden.”
“I’m sorry, I—” It’s at this point that I face the ultimate crisis—come clean or lie my way out of it. But I don’t have the courage to own up and I don’t have the experience to think of a slick cover-up, so neither option really seems to be an option at all.
As Dad’s eyes bore into mine and his eyebrows arch as he awaits an answer, I frantically glance everywhere else, and my gaze lands on Tyler. He’s still smirking, still watching, still enjoying me struggling to save myself from Dad’s wrath. But I’m too panicked to even glare, and the longer I helplessly stare at him, the more his devious expression begins to fade.
“She was at Meghan’s place,” he says suddenly, his eyes locked on mine, his face tight. He looks to my dad. “I already told you that.”
Dad looks baffled for a moment while he thinks, but his eyebrows only end up furrowing. “No, you didn’t.”
“I’m, like, pretty sure I told you last night when I got back, because she asked me to let you know.” Tyler cocks his head, pulling a perplexed expression as though Dad has suffered amnesia. “Remember?”
“No.”