Page 84 of Unforgettable
Johnny Cash’s singsong voice alerted me to another text from Father Dearest.
I found a spot under a tree outside our dorm. “I’ll meet you inside.”
Vicki flashed her brown eyes at me. “Good luck.”
Luck wouldn’t work with my father.
Me:I can’t talk right now. I’m in the middle of homework.
I was going to hell for lying.
Father:Where are you?
Me:My dorm room.
After a minute with no response, I headed inside. I didn’t get far before I was bombarded with giggles, whispers, and stares the minute I stepped foot into the lobby of the three-story building.
Several women were hanging out in the lounge area just off to the right, each one of them sizing me up. Or maybe some hot guy was behind me that I hadn’t noticed.
A girl with short brown hair peeked over her laptop screen. “So you’re dating Ryker James?”
Each of the six women waited for my answer like they were waiting to hear if they’d won a beauty contest.
“Where did you hear that from?” I knew rumors ran rampant on campus, even more so in my dorm. But I didn’t think Beverly would spread the rumor unless she wanted to bring attention to me because she knew my father would do something drastic to make sure Ryker stayed away from me.
The hackles on the back of my neck rose.
The brown-haired girl carried her laptop over to me. It was then that I recognized April, whom I’d met at the Delta Sigma Pi party weeks ago.
She tapped a key with her blue-painted nail, and the university website appeared.
The headline read, “Ryker James is officially off the market.” The subtitle underneath read, “Ladies all over campus are crying into their pillows.”
My gaze drifted lower on the screen, and I gasped. A picture of Ryker and me locking lips was in full color.
Irritation bristled across my skin.
April curled her short brown hair around her ear. “What does that mean for the fundraiser? Surely, he has to participate. He’s the reason women are buying tickets left and right.”
I brushed off my annoyance and smiled. “I’m not dating him. He’s just a friend.”
“Doesn’t look that way,” said a petite blonde who was sandwiched in between two other blondes.
I had no other answer for them. And no matter what I said, a picture was worth a thousand words.
“Don’t worry about Ryker. He’s still on the market. That much I can promise you. I got to go.” I rushed into the stairwell and gripped the bannister, trying not to let out the scream lodged in my throat.
I wanted to hunt down the person who had taken the picture, and I was certain it was one of the Sims sisters. But no matter how much fire I breathed at the person responsible, it wouldn’t change the fact that I’d made the news.
So what? A picture of you and Ryker can’t hurt your daddy’s precious campaign.That was true, but I didn’t need the headache of my father in my face night and day.
I puffed out my cheeks and scaled the stairs two at a time until I was walking down an empty hall to my room. But the rage inside me only intensified when I found my father sitting on the couch, dressed in his expensive suit, with a scowl on his face.
I searched for Vicki, more for support than anything.
Father Dearest uncrossed his legs, set his phone down on the coffee table, and raised an eyebrow. “Your roommate isn’t here. So you’re in your dorm room doing homework.” It wasn’t a question, and his tone was dripping with disappointment that I’d lied to him.
My face burned and not with anger, but because I would never be the perfect daughter to him. I would always disappoint him.
