Page 16 of Breaking News

And that would almost be worse.

chapter six

Graham

“Can we skip the part where you interrogate me and try to fix my problems?”

I’d been back in the car for two seconds, and I hadn’t even opened my mouth. Olivia, having taken Jillian’s spot in the front seat, cranked up the A/C and pointed one of the vents toward her face. I sat still for a moment, sneaking a glance at her phone screen, where she was scrolling through some long text messages.

I sighed as I shifted the car back into drive. “You call me crying your eyes out, and I find you sitting on a curb in the dark alone? I’m your dad. It’s only natural for me to have a few concerns about that.”

“I just wasn’t having a good time. That’s all this is, okay?” She held her phone down between her knees. “It was a bad night, and I wanted to leave. End of story.”

“Whose house did I just pick you up from?”

“Here we go.” With her elbow against the window and her head in her hand, she let out a long, frustrated sigh. I squeezedthe steering wheel, willing myself to rein it in. She was safe, and she was with me.

And she would never, ever open up to me if I continued to annoy her with questions.

I only asked one more.

“Just answer me this, then: are you okay?”

“Yes,” she said, but her voice wavered, and she wouldn’t look at me. It prompted a dozen follow-up questions, but I pressed my lips together tightly, forcing myself to hold them all in. At least for now.

“Good. That’s all that matters.” I slid my hands to the bottom of the steering wheel and focused on the road up ahead, remembering what Jillian had just said about a girl always needing her dad. And in that moment, my girl just needed me to fucking relax.Rein it in, Harlowe. Dial it back.“So… are you hungry? There’s pizza at home, unless your brother ate it all.”

“Dominos or Moretti’s?”

“Moretti’s,” I replied, praying that was the correct answer.

To my relief, Olivia nodded and rubbed her stomach. “If Caleb didn’t save me any, I’m going to punch him in the face.”

“I’ll allow it. Just this once.”

***

When Silas Brown took over the Woodvale News Network, he slashed budgets with no regard for the people or the purpose behind them. He crammed us into this repurposed school building, gutted entire departments, and laid people off left and right.

I sat in the tall, sleek desk chair that was once his, trying to imagine what kind of man could believe he was entitled to wielding that kind of power. Tapping my fingers on the shiny desk, I watched the oversized TV screen make its slow descentfrom the ceiling—a remnant of Silas’s need for extravagance, even as he stripped everything else away. I reached for the remote while looking at my watch, realizing I’d probably missed the first couple minutes of the morning news.

Jillian was already on, giving a report about the library receiving a state grant. She was in a red dress that morning, with red lipstick to match. Even her fingernails were red, I noticed, as both hands gripped the edge of the desk while she spoke. Like she was bracing herself.

I scowled, leaning onto my elbows to get a closer look. Jill sounded just as cheerful as she always did, but there was something… off. There was a longer hesitation than necessary before she switched to the next story. And then, just before the camera cut to Bernard for the weekly weather forecast, shewinced. It was so fast that most of our viewers wouldn’t have caught it. But I did.

She was doing her best to hold it together.

But she was hurting.

“Mr. Harlowe?” There was a light knock at my open door, and Elaine, our outreach coordinator, took a careful step into my office like she might be interrupting something. I grabbed the remote and turned the TV down. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“You’re fine, Elaine. What’s up?” And then I remembered something she’d mentioned on Friday about a weekend road trip with her family. “How was Indiana Dunes?”

Her eyes widened like she was surprised I’d remembered. “Oh. Um, the trails were beautiful, but Lake Michigan was ice cold. We barely dipped our toes in.”

Her discomfort was apparent in the way she crossed her arms and remained just inside my office door. I could only imagine how Silas had treated her. Everyone was still walking around on eggshells like he might still be lurking around the corner.

I gestured for Elaine to come all the way into my office, swiveling my chair back and forth to appear casual. “Knowing my son, Caleb, he’d still insist on swimming until he turned blue.” I gave her a warm smile. “I’m guessing you didn’t come in here to tell me about your weekend, though.”

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