Page 153 of Rules

A smug smile curls my lips as her hips arch up, brushing against mine. My eyes flash open, wanting to see her face as my hand slides down her soft stomach and…

Round brown eyes stare at me, blinking softly, and I jump back like I’ve been burnt.

“What the fuck?!”

“Andrew?” Jeanette’s hands reach for me, but I don’t give in. Confused, she opens her eyes. Leaning on her forearm, she straightens to look at me. Her black hair is messy, her lips raw, cheeks flushed. If I wasn’t so freaked out, I’d take a moment to appreciate how beautiful and mine she is. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s staring at me!” I accuse, pointing at the little fluffball sitting on the pillow and looking at us.

“Who’s staring?”

“Your dog! That’s who.” My eyes narrow into tiny slits as I look at the little cock-blocker.

Jeanette looks at the pillow where her dog is curled all innocent looking and scratches her behind her ears.

“Poor baby,” she coos, leaning closer to brush her nose against the dog’s. “You don’t want to be left alone on the floor, now do you? And this bad man is scaring you.”

“She has a really comfypinkdog bed and blanket on the floor,” I point out dully. “I don’t think she has it so bad.”

But it’s not like Jeanette’s listening. Instead she picks her up in her arms and snuggles her to her chest. Ever since I got her the dog, she’s been carrying it around like an accessory. If we were allowed to take dogs to school, I’m sure she would do that too.

“She’s lonely!”

I roll my eyes at the two of them. “I’m feeling lonely too when you ditch me for her!”

“Don’t be such a…”

There is a loud bang that makes her stop mid-sentence. We both look at each other, listening to what’s happening.

I knew Dad was home, but it’s not like that changes anything. Even when he is here, he’s mostly stuck in his office and I keep to my room, neither of us interested in talking or even seeing the other.

We had a big fight, even bigger than usual, when I confronted him about my mother. He threatened me not to see her again, and I told him exactly what I think about his threats. He can’t do shit about it. I’m eighteen, and as soon as I graduate high school, I’ll get full access to the trust fund my grandpa left me, so he has nothing on me. Only empty threats and he knows it.

“Your dad’s home, right?” Jeanette asks wearily, running her hand through her hair.

“Yes, he’s working in his office.”

The silence that stretches is practically ominous. It feels like it lasts forever and any second something will happen. Something I’m not sure I’ll like.

Grabbing my T-shirt from the floor, I slip it back on as I hurry toward the door. Just as I pull it open to hear better, there is another bang.

“You stupid son of a bitch!” The loud scream makes me take a step back. I look over my shoulder at an equally surprised Jeanette. “Where is she, huh? What did you do with her?”

What in the ever-loving fuck is going on down there?

“I have to…” I wave in the direction of the door, not even knowing what I should do.

Thankfully, I don’t have to say much because Jeanette is already jumping out of bed. Taking a second to leave the dog on the pillow, she turns around, grabs my hand and starts pulling me out of the room.

Together we hurry down the stairs and toward my dad’s office, which is in the back of the house, where all the screeching is coming from.

“I know you had something to do with her disappearance!” the woman yells again. “Where the hell is she?”

“Now you’re worried about her?” This comes from my dad. “How long did it take for you to figure out she’s gone, huh? How long, Josephine?”

An almost animalistic cry comes from this Josephine chick just as we get to the doorway. She swipes her hands over the mahogany surface of the desk, throwing down everything that is on it.

Jeanette gasps loudly, and I pull her behind me, not wanting her anywhere near this craziness.

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