Her eyes widen. “You think Dad’s doing drugs?”
I already know he does, but she doesn’t need to know that.
“Probably not,” I reply evasively. “Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe whatever’s in the bag has something to do with his work.” My naïve words are more of an attempt to alleviate her worry than anything else.
“What sort of job requires an employee to bury duffel bags in their backyard?”
“I don’t know.”
She stares at me accusingly. “You don’t know? Or you don’t want to say?”
While I have no clue what my dad is doing for work, or if he even really has a job, if he’s burying duffel bags in the backyard at three o’clock in the afternoon, I’m sure it’s not a good job. But telling her this will only make her worry, and she already has her own issues to deal with right now.
I internally breathe in relief when we turn into the school parking lot, latching on to the distraction. “Do you see them anywhere?”
She sits up and scans the parking area for our sisters. Since we’re late, most of the cars have thinned out.
“Um, Hadley?” Worry rings in Payton’s tone.
I track her gaze and quickly figure out why.
Parked near the front entrance is the Portersons’ SUV. And standing beside it is Alex and Jaxon, along with Londyn and Bailey. And man, do they look pissed off.
“Shit.” I pull my car up behind their SUV, silence the engine, and hop out.
“So, you’re saying what was on the flyers isn’t true?” Alex is saying—or more like taunting—as I approach them.
“I’m pretty sure you already know it is,” Londyn bites out, stepping toward him, “since you and your brothers are the ones who put them up.”
Alex’s lips pull into a smirk. “Then, why are we even talking about this? I mean, if you know we did it and the flyers are true?”
Londyn lowers her arms to her sides, her hands clenched into fists. “Because you guys shouldn’t have done it!” Her voice echoes across the parking lot. Bailey’s eyes widen. So do mine.
Never have I seen Londyn get so upset, at least not in public.
“Is there a problem?” I interrupt, strolling up and getting in Alex’s personal space, totally on purpose.
He’s tall—all of the Porterson brothers are—and even at my five-foot-nine frame, I have to angle my chin up to meet his gaze, which is annoying. He looks strung out, like he spent all of yesterday high and is now worn out. Well, either that or he slept like shit.
His narrowed eyes land on me. “Yeah, your sister here”—he nods at Londyn—“needs to learn her place.”
I raise my brows. “And what place would that be?”
His gaze dances back and forth between us, a smile playing at his lips. Beneath the arrogance, I detect the slightest bit of uncertainty. Not sure why, but I’d love to find out. Find out why these guys are so set on pissing my sisters and me off. Although, Jaxon doesn’t seem to be part of the battle, standing a ways back, his shoulders slumped, his mouth set in a deep frown. But just because he’s a bystander, that doesn’t make him any better.
“The place where she realizes who owns this town.” Alex slants into my face, his smirk appearing.
Holding my ground, I refuse to cower back. “I’m pretty sure the mayor owns this town.”
He rolls his eyes. “You’re so clueless.”
“And you’re a dickless jerk,” I snap. “And a hypocrite.”
A crease forms between his brows. “How the hell am I a hypocrite?”
I inch closer to him, getting in his face like he did mine. “You and your brothers posted all those flyers around school that told everyone about our shady backgrounds as if we’re these horrible criminals. And yet, your family’s track record is just as sketchy.” I point a finger at him. “In fact, yours is probably the worst.” I put on a smile, but it’s anything but friendly. “Maybe we should even out the playing grounds and let everyone in school know your family is right up there with ours.”
He laughs hollowly. “Like I give a shit. Everyone already knows anyway. And even if it was new information, no one would dare do anything to us. People respect us too much around here.”