Page 147 of The Friend Scheme
I climb out of my car and close the door behind me. I lock it with my fob and then go up to the front door. I can hear Eddie scratching his paws against the wood. I unlock the door and open it.
Eddie is right there, expecting pats.
I give them to him, obviously.
“Hey, buddy,” I say. “Miss me?”
“Matthew.”
I look up. Dad is in the kitchen, wearing a dark purple shirt and slacks. His arms are crossed.
“Hey.”
Luke appears, rounding the corner of the hallway. He freezes, sensing the tension. He looks like Eddie does when he gets scolded.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “He was onto me, I had to tell him.”
That’s when I notice it. Dad’s wide stance, and the throbbing vein in his neck. He’sfurious.
And Luke told him that I lied.
Oh man.
I’m so fucked.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Dad knows I lied to him.
For the first time, he knows.
“Who were you really with this weekend?” he asks. “And don’t you dare lie.”
It’s hard to focus. I’m still so devastated after what happened that I’m not thinking straight.
If I get this wrong, it’s game over for me.
And I have only seconds to come up with a convincing lie.
What can I do? How can I answer him?
Then it hits me. It’s perfect.
Or, at least it’s as close to perfect as I can hope for right now.
“I was with Cass; we planned a trip together,” I say. “Are you happy now? You know my big secret; I officially have no space.”
His eyebrows narrow. “Cassidy Strickland?”
“Yeah.”
“But I told you not to see her!”
I glance at Luke. It all hangs on him.
If he somehow knows that Cassidy wasn’t hanging out with me this weekend, then my plan is totally ruined.
But maybe…
