Did you go to your dad’s house?
Brooke
No. I’m at Dutton’s.
I may as well just get it out there now. She doesn’t need to know the details, but I won’t hide that something is happening between us.
Grace
Good. See you tonight.
I have a feeling Grace has a lot more she wants to say, but all things considered, she’s holding back.
Twenty minutes later, Dutton and I are parked in my driveway, staring at my open front door and the shattered glass on the step in front of it. One quick peek inside tells me the house is wrecked.
“Wait here,” Dutton says, and unbuckles his seat belt.
“No, I'm coming with you. This is my house.” I fail to hide the panic in my voice.
“You have to stay here. What if he's in there waiting for you?”
“Well, then I can't let you go in there by yourself.”
“I can handle it.”
“But you could handle it better if you had someone else there with you.”
“Brooke, I can't let you go in there.”
“Come on. I'm coming with you.”
“Brooke…”
“Are you going to sit in this truck and argue with me? Or are we going to go inside and make sure my house is okay? I don’t want you to leave me alone right now.”
He makes a noise that sounds an awful lot like a growl.
“Fine, but I'm going to tell you right now: you stay behind me. You keep your hand in mine. And once we figure out this place is clear, you're packing a bag and you're coming to my house. And we're not coming back here until we know for sure this jackass has left town. Even though I’m not so sure that you coming back here alone is a good idea ever. Deal?”
“Deal,” I say and wait for him to come around to my side of the truck and open my door for me.
Once I’m out, he closes my door quietly.
It’s just after five in the morning, so if Tony is still here, we don’t want to let him know we are too.
I pause and tug on Dutton’s arm.
“Should I call my dad first?” I whisper.
Just asking the question processes a new thought for me.
Of all the texts I had from yesterday, none of them were from my dad.
Not even a missed call.
“Do you want to?” Dutton asks me.
I look up into his worried eyes and shake my head.
