Kiss Cam

Ch. 31 - You Want Me

"You can't be scared of that," I say. "What ifs are stupid."

"Riley," Zander announces as he walks into the basement with popcorn, "I don't know how he found out you were here, but Tucker's waiting for you outside."

I raise an eyebrow. "Tucker?"

"Phillips. He's standing on my front porch."

Standing up from the floor, I follow Zander out of the basement to the front door. Sure enough, Tucker Phillips is standing on my friend's front porch with a creepy smile.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, stepping outside and shutting the door behind me. "Mrs. Harris gets scared of solicitors."

He laughs. "Like mother, like son. Kid kept peering through the window trying to be sly when I could clearly see him."

"Why are you here?"

"Right. Uh, your boyfriend, my best friend, is in jail."

I widen my eyes. "Excuse me?"

"Asher got arrested tonight," he says. "I'd bail him out, but I'm sort of broke. Lainey and Ari are on some weird-ass mission trip. Jed is drunk somewhere in another town. I panicked and went to your house and your brother said you were at Zander's."

"Did you call his parents?" I ask, going back inside to grab my purse off the floor.

"Is everything alright?" Zander asks, Sam now by his side.

"No. Asher got arrested." Their eyes widen in horror. "It'll be fine. You guys just stay here and have the best first New Years as a couple."

Sam gives me a quick hug before I leave and walk with Tucker to his car. My stomach is in knots thinking about what could've happened to Asher.

"I tried calling his dad, but your dad and Mr. Westfield are on a damn boat with no cell service!" he cries.

"What about his mom?" I ask.

"See, that's the thing. She's the reason Asher got arrested," he informs. "It's a long story and I'm not quite sure what happened."

"Well, start trying to explain."

He starts the engine and lets out a long, exaggerated sigh. "I guess she was drinking a lot today, more than usual. Makes sense since it's her anniversary, but her husband's on a yacht with your dad." He gives me a glare.

"I don't control that man," I defend.

"Anyway, Asher had been worried about her being alone today for awhile, so that's why he cancelled all his plans and even gave Laurence the day off. I don't really know what happened next, but Asher said his mom was really angry with him for not letting her drink anymore and I guess she called the police with this crazy story about Asher hurting her or something. The police took him into the station for questioning and now he's stuck in holding."

I cover my mouth with my hand, feeling the urge to throw up. "They don't believe her, right? I mean, she was obviously intoxicated and-"

"Look, I don't know what's going on, but I know we have to be there for Asher. There's a small possibility that her story is true, but even so we have to be on his side."

"Of course. Asher would never do anything to hurt his mother. He loves her," I say. "It's not fair."

"Ugh, that bitch makes me so damn mad," he mutters. "She's such a freaking pain in the ass."

I place my hand on his shoulder. "I know a guy just like that."

He rolls his eyes and parks the car at the station. "After everything we've been through this past month, I would've expected more respect from you, Riley."