“Not at all,” I say.
Miss Amber obviously doesn’t believe us, and she shouldn’t. She absolutely walked in on something, but unfortunately, I couldn’t even begin to tell her what.
There’s really nothing I could say that would explain away what just happened or why Adalee suddenly has a repulsion for my dad.
Like father, like son?
Is she saying my dad hurt her?
Or is she saying he gets what he wants?
If she means the latter, then she’s right. She’s very, very right. My dad is not the sort of man who lets anyone forget meeting him. If anything, he’s a little too memorable. My dad loves to leave an impression, and unfortunately, it’s not always a good one.
That’s served him well in his business endeavors because people are scared of him. No one is going to cross somebody they’re afraid of, but...
Well, I don’t want Adalee to be scared of my dad. I’m not scared of him. At least, not
in ways I’m willing to admit.
I sneak a look over at her, but she’s staring at her notebook. She’s writing something in neat, tiny handwriting, and I try to make out what it is, but there’s no way to do it. Adalee is a good girl through-and-through. I still don’t even know what she did to end up in detention, but something tells me that there’s a lot going on that I just can’t see.
And honestly, maybe I don’t want to.
When we’re finally released from detention, it feels like a thousand hours of silence have passed. In reality, we were only locked up for an hour. It was still a long time, and now it’s almost time for dinner. Adalee and I head out of the room. She turns toward the front of the school building. I think she’s going to head over to the girl’s dormitory.
“Can I walk with you?”
The question escapes my lips too soon.
Too fast.
I didn’t even have time to think about my question. Adalee is just as shocked as I am because she looks up at me and her jaw drops to the floor.
“Why?” She asks, and the question comes out almost wrapped in laughter. She releases a sort of chortle, as though it’s the most ridiculous thing anyone has ever asked her.
“So you don’t have to be alone.”
She sighs again and shakes her head, and then she looks at me like I’m a fucking idiot.
“Harrison, if there’s one thing I’m really, really good at, it’s being alone.”
Then she leaves, and I’m left staring at the ghost of what could have been, wondering where the fuck I messed up.
Chapter Five
Adalee
“YOU SAID what?”
Karen looks at me like I’m an idiot. Emilia gives me the same damn look, which is rich considering how much I helped her out recently with her own personal problems. She’s not exactly good in the romance department, but I’d like to think that I’m part of the reason she finally decided to suck it up and be brave.
“You heard me,” I tell them. We’re sitting in my dorm room. It’s past curfew and we should all already be asleep, but somehow, none of us have been able to sleep much lately. Maybe it’s because the stress of exams is finally getting to us.
Or maybe we just all need someone to talk to.
“You told Harrison he was like his dad? How’d he take it?”
I shrug and shake my head.