Page 7 of I Knew You
The police chief’s face paled. My father put his arm around the man, leading him away from me while talking in his ear. They spoke for what seemed like an eternity. Then they shook hands, hard and fast, like people in business, not like a deadbeat Dad and a sworn officer of law.
The moment my father turned away from the chief, his face transformed from that of a smooth businessman to a dangerous villain.
“Get in the car,” he grumbled as he passed me. He would not dare to put a hand on me, knowing I’d fight back. Unable to do anything else, I followed him and got into his car’s passenger seat.
He turned the key, starting the engine.
“What did you do?” I asked him sternly, crossing my arms.
“Don’t take that fucking tone with me,” my father spat as he drove in the direction of the house. “Your disappointments know no bounds, do they? Why did I have to be the one to spawn such an ignorant piece of trash?”
I winced but immediately felt anger tightening my chest. I wanted him to fear me for once rather than me fearing him, but I didn’t know how to make that happen. I was at his mercy.
“Aren’t you worried if I’m hurt? Or maybe about Julianna…”
“I couldn’t give two shits about that girl. And you...” he pointed a finger at me while keeping his eyes ahead, “you deserve whatever injuries you have. So no, I’m not worried. What kind of stunt did you think you were pulling, anyway? Driving drunk?”
“That’s awesome, coming from a man who just paid off the police.” The words left my mouth before I could filter them.
“You should be thanking me,” he said through clenched teeth. He was driving so fast that I closed my eyes to block out my inevitable demise once he lost control. “I should have had your ass thrown in jail. That little exchange cost me ten fucking grand. You left the scene, and then you came back? What the fuck?”
I swallowed, willing my voice to stay calm. Steady.
“Julianna begged me to drive. I was taking her home from a party.”
“That’s Leota East’s granddaughter,” my father snapped angrily.
“Yes, Julianna,” I replied. “Leota is her Grams.”
“Are you fucking around with her?”
“Not yet.”
My Dad scoffed. “Well, you won’t be. So get that shit out of your head.”
“That’s not your decision,” I muttered, my blood pressure rising again.
“It is my decision, and I say you stay away from her and her grandmother. I don’t know what you see in her anyway. She’s got the body of a manatee —”
“Don’t fucking talk about her like that.” My voice was hardened steel, and I wanted to knock him out. But my father did not even flinch. Instead, he switched trajectories.
“Whit’s going down a path to success, and I know you have to be around him, but those other Easts? Complete waste of time putting anything into them. I should have reined you in long ago. I let you be around them far too much and their fuckingLeave It to Beaverlife.”
“You just hate them because of what you did,” I snapped, my tone mocking. “Does the guilt gnaw at you? Do you ever think about how you sold that plant and threw a couple of hundred families in Mill Creek into poverty? Including Grams and Whit and Julianna? You don’t like that little reminder of what a piece of shit you are, do you?” I watched as a vein in his forehead began to pulse. Yet I kept on. “Or is it because your only son chose them? Because I’ll choose them every time.”
He slammed on the brakes, and I lurched forward and to the right, my already tender head hitting the car window.
“Listen to me, and hear me well,” he yelled, his voice ringing in my ears. “Get around that girl or her grandmother again, and I will see to it that you never play football again. You’ll come back to Mill Creek and work for my businesses, and I will make your life a living hell.”
It was my turn to scoff. “You can’t revoke my scholarship. That’s not up to you.”
He laughed then, loud and boisterous. The blood in my veins turned to ice.
“You’re so naïve, boy. The only reason you have a scholarship is because of me,” he said smugly. “You think you earnedthat? Do you think you got first string as a freshman in the greatest high school football program because of your little record? No. The only reason you have a scholarship is because of me. I met with the chairman. I paid for the scholarship. I got you where you are. Not you. Me.”
My heart plummeted to my feet as his words echoed in my ears, head, and bones. I couldn’t feel, I couldn’t think, I couldn’t speak.
“So yes, you will stay away from Leota East. If I hear a single whisper of you messing around with the East girl, so help me God, I will take everything from you. You’ve seen what I’m capable of, and it can get so much worse. Don’t fuck with me, son.”
