She turns to me. “That’s kind of sad.”
“Why is that sad?”
She shrugs. “I just like the idea of families eating together. I love having dinners with my dad. It’s the only time we sit down and talk.”
“You like talking to your dad?” I ask like she’s crazy. I dread talking to my dad and try to avoid it whenever possible.
“I love talking to him. He’s a good listener.”
I tense up as she says it, feeling my anger rise as I think about how unfair it is that some people get decent parents while other people get parents who give them bruises and tell them they’re stupid.
I continue down the hall. “The rooms we just passed are my dad’s office and his study.” I stop at the living room. “We’ll meet in here when Finn and Parker show up. Could be another ten minutes, maybe longer for Finn. He’s always late.”
“Can I see the upstairs?”
“Yeah, but there’s not much to see. Just some bedrooms.” I point down the other hall. “Down there is the library and the gym.”
Ella’s eyes widen. “You have a library and a gym? In your house?”
I smile at the shocked look on her face. For a moment I forgot she’s not like everyone else at school who has a house just like this, or better than this.
“C’mon, I’ll show you upstairs.”
I show her the three guest rooms, then let her peek in my dad’s room, but don’t let her go in. I end the tour with my room, which is kind of a mess with clothes on the chair and the bed unmade.
“Your room is almost as big as my house,” she says, going in it.
“That’s it for the tour. Let’s go.” I wait at the door, wanting her to get out of my room because seeing her there makes my mind go back to the thoughts I had of her being in my bed, and in my shower.
“Is this your mom?” She holds up a photo I have on my bookshelf.
“Yeah.” I walk over to her and take the photo, setting it back on the shelf. “It’s from a few years ago.”
“Was she a model? She’s really pretty.”
“She did some modeling when she was younger, but nothing major. She was hoping to get into acting, but then she got married and had me.”
“Did she ever work?”
“Not a regular job. She planned parties for my dad and his clients and did charity work with the other rich moms. I guess you could call that work.”
Ella walks over to my bed and sits down. “So why are we meeting?”
I don’t answer, too distracted by seeing her on my bed. Why would she sit there when I have plenty of other places to sit, like my desk, which is not sexual at all, although now I’m having dirty thoughts about doing her against the desk.
“I’m guessing something happened?” she says.
“The Range Rover. The insurance company doesn’t believe Finn’s story about how it happened. They said the damages don’t match up with what he told them. They’re calling him on Monday to ask him about it.”
“Why do they care what happened?” She gets up and walks over to me. “It’s already fixed, right?”
“Yeah, but if they think he ran into someone they’ll want to know, in case that person shows up later demanding theinsurance company pay for whatever damages he did to the other car.”
“Is that what they think? That he hit someone?”
“I don’t know, but I’m guessing that’s what it is. I don’t know why else they’d be asking to talk to him.”
She chews on her lip, her eyes bouncing around the floor. “What if they think he hit someone? Not someone’s car, but an actual person?” She looks up at me, panic covering her face. “If they think that’s what happened, they’ll put it together. I’m sure they know about the hit-and-run. It’s all over the news. And Finn’s Ranger Rover was brought in to be fixed right after the guy was hit.” She’s breathing fast, barely able to get the words out. “What if they find out? What if they—”
