Staring into my dad’s eyes after committing a murder was the last thing I wanted to do, but here we are.
“Wait … that’s your father?” Penelope whispers behind me. “What’s his name?”
“Diego King,” I reply, but all I can focus on is my dad standing there like he wants to take my name out of his will.
“Dad, I don’t know what—”
“Sit. Down,” he interrupts, and he slides two extra chairs our way. “All of you.”
“What’s going on?” Penelope asks as she sits down on one of the chairs.
Dylan grabs the one in front of the desk and throws his feet up. “Well, this is gonna be interesting.”
Dean Caruso slams his fist onto the desk, causing his feet to fall off. “How many times do I have to tell you to fucking behave?”
Felix grabs the chair next to Dylan and sits on it with legs spread wide while I grab the one my father scooted over and sit beside Penelope, ignoring his burning gaze.
“You’re all a fucking disappointment,” Dylan’s father murmurs as he sits behind his desk and grabs the wood like he needs to crack it in two to make a point. “I knew you guys were doing some fucked-up shit with drugs and alcohol, fucking girls left and right …”
“Girls?” Dylan’s brow rises, and he and I briefly make eye contact.
“But actual fucking murder on these school grounds?” Dean Caruso continues, ignoring what Dylan said.
“Are you accusing us of something?” Felix asks.
“I know it was you three. Don’t fucking deny it,” Dean Caruso says. “There’s no one else in this school as fucked up as you.” He clears his throat. “I should know because one of you is my spawn.”
Why does he make it sound like Dylan is trash? All I see is a guy who has uncontainable desires, and sometimes his sparks just start to fly.
“Hey, I don’t see any proof,” Dylan retorts.
“We found the fucking body,” my father says through gritted teeth. “Don’t act like you don’t know. I saw you staring at the ambulance.”
Dylan shrugs. “What happened then?”
“He was burned to a crisp,” my father replies.
“Interesting.” Dylan briefly glances at both Penelope and me.
“But you know all that since you’re the one who set it on fire,” Dean Caruso says.
Dylan’s brow rises. “Again, where’s the proof?”
My father stomps forward and places a bunch of papers with photographs all over the desk.
“This. This is what you two have done.”
Damn. Josh looks even worse than I remember.
“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Dylan says.
“Let me ring it for you then,” my father growls. “There was a party in the woods near the hot springs, and people saw you two fighting with some Phantom boys.” He points at both Dylan and me.
“What? Why would you believe some random people?” I retort, trying to deflate the situation. “I was literally studying.”
I mean, it’s true… for some part.
“So why am I even here?” Felix asks, frowning.
“Because you’re the ringleader, and I know you’re always involved even when you’re not there,” Dean Caruso replies.
Felix grimaces. “That’s not even remotely fucking legal.”
“Killing someone isn’t either, so here we are,” he adds.
Felix stands. “We didn’t do a fucking thing.”
“Sit. Down,” Dean Caruso barks, his voice as low as his eyes, as he tries to subdue Felix.
And fuck me, this is about to turn into a fucking fight right here in the dean’s office.
“It’s true,” Penelope suddenly says.
My face turns stone-cold as I focus my gaze on her, realizing what she just did. And I’m not the only one. Both Dylan’s father and my father are now glaring at her.
“They protected me,” she adds. “Josh tried to … use me against my will.” She swallows.
“And then what?” my father continues.
Everyone’s looking at her now, trying to make sense of her story.
“Some guy named Kai was there too,” she says.
“That Phantom house freshman?” Dylan’s father asks.
Dylan nods.
“Kai attacked Dylan and Alistair,” she says. “We had no choice but to defend ourselves.”
My father makes a face at her. “So you set Josh on fire?”
She shakes her head. “No. There was a lot of fighting between Josh and us, and then he pulled out a gun and threatened us. So Dylan knifed him down.”
Fuck, why is she telling him this? And it’s all a jumbled, dishonest mess too.
My whole body shakes right now, and I wish I could wrap my hands around her neck and silence her. But my dad would drag my ass to jail right away.
Fuck.
If only Felix hadn’t dragged us into this mess to begin with. I could’ve just lived out my life knowing I at least had Dylan to fall back on.
But now … chances are none of us will make it out of here without shackles around our wrists.
“Kai then came after us too, but he fell while running, and he hit his head on a rock, so he started bleeding from his ear. That’s when the fight finally ended.”
My eyes widen.
What?
“Alistair, Dylan, and I ran off and hid in the bushes to escape while Kai got up. But when he couldn’t find us, I saw him torch Josh’s body and bury him.”
What the fuck is she doing? These are half truths and half lies.
My father’s eyes narrow. “Hmm …”
“I swear, that’s all we did. Kai killed his own housemate so he could frame us,” she says with the most sincere voice I’ve ever heard. “As revenge for not being able to take their shit out on me.”
“So you got assaulted?” my father asks. “And these boys defended you? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
She nods. “We didn’t mean for anything to happen at that party. Those Phantom boys just showed up out of nowhere.”
“Where’s your proof of all of this?” my father asks.
Penelope pulls up the sleeves of her hoodie, revealing bruises on her wrists.
Goddamn.
Maybe I was wrong about her.
“I tried to fight them off, but I couldn’t. Not without their help.”
My father grabs her wrist and inspects it up close. “And you saw Kai burn Josh’s body?”
She nods.
“And what did Kai do after?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know. We all left as quickly as we could after what he did. We were scared we’d get caught. And now we did.” She swallows. “Please don’t lock us up. We didn’t do anything wrong. They only tried to defend me.”
I hold my breath.
Is this really going to work?
My father glances at all of us. “Then where is Kai now?”
I make a face. “I haven’t seen him.”
“Me neither,” Dylan chimes in.
Everyone looks at each other.
Because we all know what this means.
If they haven’t found him where we left him, then he’s gone. Which means he’s going to talk.
“Look, all of this is news to me, so can I just go?” Felix says, yawning.
“Stay,” Dylan’s dad barks at him. “As long as Chief King isn’t done with you, you’re staying here.”
Felix rolls his eyes, but my father ignores him.
“So you’re all telling me some guy named Kai from the Phantom house burned one of his own housemates so he could frame you for his murder, all because you two wouldn’t let him take advantage of her?”
We all nod.
“That’s about it, yeah,” Dylan says.
My father rubs his forehead and sighs out loud. “All right.”
Wait. He believes it?
Wow, that’s a first.
“Joseph, this is going to be one hell of a case,” he mutters, turning toward Dean Caruso.
“I don’t want to go to jail, please,” Penelope mutters. “I’m the victim.”
My father raises his hand. “No one’s going to jail.”
Our jaws collectively drop.
“Wait, what? I thought you said you suspected us?” Dylan asks.
“Do you not want me to believe her story?” He narrows his eyes.
Dylan gulps. “No, sir, it’s the truth.”
“Then be happy you’ll get off with a warning.” My father grabs the papers off the desk. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do.”
“But what about the body?” Dylan’s father asks. “We can’t just ignore it.”
“Let me deal with that,” my father replies. “I know how to fucking handle things.”
Dylan’s father leans in to speak with a soft voice, but we can all still hear him. “This will come back to bite us in the ass. Josh’s family won’t let this rest easily.”
“I’ll take care of it. The case won’t be going to court. I’ll make sure of it.”
Is he suggesting he’ll tamper with evidence?
“I’ll leave you four to Joseph,” my father says, eyeing me in particular. “And I’ll speak to you soon.” I feel uneasy when he rubs my hair like I’m still a kid.
When the door closes, Dean Caruso doesn’t seem too pleased. “You do realize how lucky you are?”
“So we’re definitely off the hook?” Dylan asks, crossing his legs in a way that looks like he’s getting comfortable.
“You wish.” Dylan’s father grabs a stack of papers from his cabinet and throws them all onto our laps. “Ten thousand words on how to make this school a better place.”
“Ten thousand?” Dylan quips.
When he throws the stack on Felix’s lap too, he responds, “Whoa, I didn’t do shit. Why are you giving me flack too?”
“Because it’s about time you boys learned your actions have consequences.”
“Wait, but is that suspension still on, then?” I ask.
“Yes,” he retorts. “Five days remaining. The next infraction will be mandatory community service here, and if you still haven’t learned your fucking lesson, it will be expulsion.”
My eyes widen. “I don’t want to get kicked out.”
This education is the only thing that will get me someplace beyond the fucking Mafia my father is involved in.
“Then make it fucking count,” Dean Caruso replies. He grabs a cigar from the box on his desk and lights it up. “Now get out of my office. All of you.”
We don’t wait a second longer before we all bolt out of there and rush down the stairs, but as he slams the door shut, Dylan quickly grabs Penelope’s hand and spins her around.
“You lied for us,” he whispers.
A brief smile flashes across her face as she whispers, “You killed for me.”
Dylan smirks. “Well, I’ll be fucking damned. There’s my girl.”
Felix towers over both of them, but the look on his face makes me want to take a step back. “What did you just say?”
Penelope gazes at him.
Uh-oh.
Dylan
My phone rings, distracting everyone. Which is good, judging from the lethal look Felix gives me.
I ignore him and put my phone to my ear, answering, “Hello?”
“Hey, my little man.”
Oh fuck. It’s Mom.
I swallow and turn away from the boys. “Hey, what’s up?”
“What’s up? You normally never greet me that way.”
“I know, but I’m not alone,” I hiss into the phone.
Alistair snorts. “Who is it, D?”
I try to wave him off, but he just laces his fingers through mine like he finds it funny. “Cute.”
I throw him a glare.
“Your mom’s calling?” Alistair asks.
“Dylan, I’m throwing a dinner party tonight, and I want you to come,” Mom says. “And don’t tell me you can’t tonight because I know your father has suspended you. You have nothing better to do anyway.”
I frown. “He told you?”
The boys snort behind me, and even Penelope seems amused.
“Is he getting a scolding?” she asks Ali.
“Sounds about right,” Alistair replies.
I try to shush them, but it’s no use.
“Your friends are there with you?” Mom asks. “Bring them over too.”
“What? No, no,” I quickly say. “They don’t like—”
“My food? Nonsense. Bring them,” she says in her stern voice. “I won’t take no for an answer, Dylan.”
Oh God. Why did my father tell her? I’m so fucking embarrassed.
“Mom, I—”
“And bring that girl too I keep hearing in the background.”
I throw a glare at Penelope, who’s giggling like a schoolgirl. She immediately shuts her mouth.
“The more the merrier,” Mom adds.
“You sure Dad approves?” I ask.
“He’s the one who suggested it,” she says. “He just called.”
I roll my eyes. Of course he did. If he can’t punish me with the justice system, he’ll punish me by forcing me to spend “quality time” with my family instead.
“Who’s gonna be there?” I ask.
“Well, all of our friends, of course,” she replies. “Including your friends’ family. So make sure you dress your best. I’ll see you tonight, honey!”
She hangs up before I can even rebuke her words.
Goddammit.
Sighing, I put the phone back into my pocket. The others are still laughing at my misery.
“Yeah, you laugh now.”
“Your mom’s forcing you to come home again?”
I pat Felix on the shoulder. “Yeah, except this time, she’s expecting you and your whole family as well.”
His eyes widen.
“And Penelope, too, of course,” I add, winking.
“What?” Penelope’s eyes widen.
All the color leaves Felix’s face. “What did you tell her?”
“Nothing,” I reply. “Who do you think told her?”
Felix’s fist balls as he turns to look at the staircase where my father’s office is. “Motherfucker …”
“Guess that’s one way to keep us in check,” Alistair jokes.
“Get your fucking smokes out, guys,” I say. “It’s time to pretend we’re regular old boys.”
