Beneath the Gilded

Chapter 7

I am a butt. I am a very stinky butt. I CANNOT BELIEVE I DIDN'T UPDATE FOR OVER A MONTH!!!!!

To be fair, high school started and that is so hectic. There are some guys who look twenty-five there! I mean, what the heck? But I know their stubble is no excuse for my laziness.

Thank you for making BTG reach 257 reads!

And the amazing speciman on the side is Dean! You can take that however you want :)

To make it up to ya, this is a longer chapter. Hope you enjoy. Vote and comment!

The next day, I was bombarded by Evan and Emily in the morning because I had ditched them yesterday. They both glared at me. Evan's jaw was locked, and his glare was the more ferocious one, while Emily's eyes just glinted with slight annoyance.

"Why didn't you answer you phone?" demanded Evan, in one of the loudest voices I have ever heard him use. Almost overwhelmed, I struggled to remember my answer.

"Uh, it must have ran out of battery. Sorry."

"And your house phone?"

"It broke down yesterday. I told you, remember?"

His body seemed to relax a bit, but he still had an edge to his stare. Emily still seemed annoyed.

"No, more importantly, what could have been so important that you ditched us?" asked Emily lightly.

I winced. I wondered if I should tell them about my father, but they probably would hear about it anyway. In fact, I was surprised they hadn't already. Better they hear it from me.

"You know Sophia Lancaster's murderer? They got the main suspect." Gulping, I peered nervously into their implying eyes.

"Whoa. That's a big deal. Who is it?" Emily gasped, her tone laced with excitement.

I hated this. I hated that I was put in the middle of this against my will. I hated that I could not hate my dad for doing this to me. I hated that I doubted that my dad did this. And most of all, I hated that I felt responsible for all of this, even if that was the furthest thing from the truth.

"It's my dad, apparently." I did my best to sound nonchalant.

"Wait. No. You serious?" cried Emily.

"Yes, apparently," I repeated.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, 'Rene. No wonder you didn't come. Poor you!"

She really meant those words, unlike most girls our age. I could tell by just looking at her face, contorted with sympathy. It was times like these when I felt so guilty for letting my jealousy, my unreasonable jealousy, keep Emily at an arm's distance. I couldn't have found a sweeter girl in a thousand. My guilt brought me to spill more than I intended to.

"Thanks, Em. I visited my father at the prison."

Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut?

"Wait, you did what?"

That was Evan, who had been strangely silent. He sounded slightly strangled.

I regretted even opening my stupid mouth. My friends didn't need to know about my stupid problems.

"And you went alone? Irene! You just don't go meet a potential murderer alone just like that!"

Normally, I would find Evan's protectiveness cute, but this was just irritating.