Page 54 of Before We're More Than Friends
Until that elbow flew at me again, launching my pencil across the room.
Dallas grunted. “Sorry. I’ll get it.” He got up and leaned down to get my pencil from beneath the counters. When he got back up, he hit his head underneath the table next to him. He cursed loudly, causing heads to turn.
“Is everything okay?” Mrs. Bennett asked, her drawn-on brows lifting.
“Yeah, just hit my head while saving this girl’s pencil.” He scurried back to our table and handed it to me. “There you go, princess.”
I clutched the pencil to my chest. “My hero.”
Ignoring the snickering, we went back to taking notes until the phone rang. Mrs. Bennett grabbed the phone and held a finger to her mouth to quiet us. “Hello? Yes, they’re both here . . . Okay.” She hung up, her face stiffening. “Raina and Arielle, your mom needs you to go home. It’s an emergency.”
My stomach dropped as Arielle and I exchanged a look of terror. The happy façade she’d put on all day dissolved as she sprang from her seat, hurriedly jamming things into her backpack. Hayden whispered something to her, but I couldn’t makeout what he said. His eyes were full of worry as she said goodbye to him.
“I hope everything’s all right,” Dallas said as I carefully packed my backpack, though I could barely hear him over the blood pounding in my ears.
“Thank you.” I swallowed the lump in my throat as I followed Arielle. Every pair of eyes was on us, whispers filling the classroom. I didn’t dare to look back as I closed the door, my hand shaking on the doorknob.
“There’s no way it’s actually happening,” Arielle said, her voice shaking as she adjusted her backpack strap. “It has to be a mistake.”
I let out a heavy breath, barely able to keep my balance as we started walking down the stairs. “I think this is when we should stop hoping, Arielle.”
Neither of us made a sound the entire car ride home. No talking, no music, no humming. Arielle drove faster than usual, focusing on the road, while I gazed out the window. When we arrived at our house, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, other than Mom’s Mercedes in the driveway.
“Mom is home, but everything else seems normal,” Arielle said, echoing my thoughts as she killed the engine. “That’s good, right?”
“Mom said it was anemergency,” I reminded her. “There’s nothing good about that.”
Arielle opened her mouth as if she wanted to protest, but she closed it and slammed her door shut.
That’s what I thought.
I followed her out of the car and to the entry. When she opened the door, we were greeted by Dad on the phone in theliving room as he sat on the couch. When he saw us, he said to the person, “The girls are here. Talk to you later.”
“What’s going on?” Arielle asked, apprehension in her voice. “Why did we have to come home from school?”
Dad let out a breath, one that filled my stomach with dread. “Your mom and I decided it would be better to talk to you as soon as possible instead of waiting for you to come home.” He stood up from the couch. “She’s in the dining room.”
Arielle and I exchanged one last worried look. Her fingers locked with mine, and we locked hands as we walked into the grand dining room.
Mom was sitting at the table, staring blankly at the wall. She still wore her suit jacket and dress, but her foundation and mascara were smudged. She didn’t even manage to smile as we sat at the table.
Dad sat beside Mom and reached for her hand, but she pulled it away. His face fell before he cleared his throat.
“As you know, I’ve been actively talking to my lawyers and the prosecuting attorney about my legal fate for the past few months,” he said. “The investigation has finally closed.”
“Is it good news?” Arielle’s voice was barely audible from where she sat beside me. “Were you able to prove that you’re not guilty?”
Dad shook his head.
The air vanished from the room.
“B-But you’re just going to pay the fine, right?” Arielle asked, her hands shaking on the table. “How much is it?”
“The fine isn’t the issue.” Dad folded his hands, biting his lip as his eyes traveled around the room. We waited for him to spit the bad news out, to get our pain over with already, but he didn’t. “I have been proven guilty of failing to report my income and paying taxes.”
Arielle held up her hands. “I think you’ve already established that. Just tell us what’s going to happen.”
“Arielle, do not talk to me that way.”
