Page 12 of Chasing Xander
“He has a busted lip and a black eye, but nothing too serious. I’m pretty sure his hangover is worse than any of his injuries.”
Her head spun, and she looked around for a place to sit. Finding an empty bench on the other side of the quad, she hurried toward it. Her father was in jail more often than he was home, but he’d never gone this far. Those were some serious charges. “I appreciate the call, Sheriff, but there’s nothing I can do, and Nammy Joyce is in a home.” Her voice cracked at the mention of her grandmother. “Please don’t bother her with this.”
“I know, hon. This is a courtesy call, but I might have to call Joyce. One of my deputies had his arm broken while trying to break up the riot. Your father needs all the help he can get.”
She snorted. That was a huge understatement. There was no one left to help him this time, though. He was on his own. A pang of guilt punched her in the gut, and she doubled over. Maybe she should’ve stayed closer to home.
“He’s being arraigned tomorrow morning, and the DA is confident bail won’t be set this time. Your father has always been a public nuisance, but causing injury to an officer of the law is taken very seriously around here, especially when that officer is the judge’s great-nephew.”
“Okay,” she said with a heavy sigh. One of the main reasons she chose a college in Florida was so she could get away from her father and the trouble he caused. She’d dealt with it her entire life. Didn’t she deserve a break?
“Just wanted to let you know.”
“Thanks.” Kylie ended the call and resisted the urge to scream with frustration. She was tired of being the adult in the relationship with her father. He could sit his ass in jail for all she cared. He wasn’t her problem anymore, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let him ruin everything she’d worked so hard to achieve.
“Hey, I’ve been looking all over for you.” Celeste came over and sat beside her. “Everything all right?”
She forced a smile, still fighting against the tears trying to spill free. “Dad’s causing trouble again.”
Celeste put her arm around her in an awkward side-hug. “I’m sorry.”
She rested her head on her friend’s shoulder. “It’s bad this time. He probably won’t get off with just a warning.” No matter how much she hated her father for everything he’d done, she couldn’t stand the thought of him being locked up in jail. She sighed, taking comfort in Nammy Joyce’s favorite saying:It’ll do that man some good to get locked up. Maybe he’ll sober up and stop being a jackass.She would say that every single time Dad was arrested.
“You can’t keep feeling sorry for him, Ky. He has no one to blame but himself.” Celeste’s tone was full of compassion.
“I know. I guess I hoped he’d realize me and Nammy Joyce aren’t around to help him, and he’d behave.” Kylie straightened. “I should’ve known better.” She stood, needing to distract herself from the worry taking up residence in her mind. “So, how’s Finn?”
“He asked me out.” Her eyes twinkled with excitement.
“Oh my gosh! That’s awesome! When?”
Celeste stood. “Tonight, actually. We’re going to dinner.”
“I’m happy for you.” And she was, but deep down a flame of jealousy ignited. All she’d gotten from Xander was a noncommittal, “I’ll call you later.” She really didn’t know if he would or not, but she wasn’t going to get her hopes up.
“Where to now?” Celeste asked.
“I thought you wanted to check out the Sigma booth?”
Celeste held up a pink sheet of paper. “It’s still packed, but I managed to snag a flyer on my way by. We can go to one of their events and talk to someone then.”
“Okay.” Kylie nodded. “How about we grab some food?”
“Sounds good to me.” They headed away from the activities fair. “We’ll go to Nelson Dining Hall again. It has the best food on campus.”
Kylie laughed. “How can you possibly know that? It’s theonlyplace you’ve eaten on campus.”
“Finn told me. So did Vick, one of his frat brothers.”
That was the thing about Celeste—she could talk to anyone about anything and never be awkward or uncomfortable. Why couldn’t Kylie have that sort of confidence when it came to meeting new people?
Kylie swung open the door to the dining hall and motioned for Celeste to go in first. They got in line. “Has Finn said anything to you about Xander?”
“Like what?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Celeste turned to look at her. “Did something happen?”
