Buried (Bailey Roberts Trilogy #1) Editing

27: Nobody's Fool [3rd draft]

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Nobody's Fool

"I don't need help!" Bailey tried to keep her voice down, but if her father kept grabbing her arm, trying to help her up, she was going to have a meltdown. With a cranky glare and a huff that followed, she jerked her unbroken arm out of his grip a third time. "Where's Damien? I thought he was picking me up."

And for the first time since the entire cheating incident Gale said nothing about Bailey being civil towards Derrick as she stood next to the hospital bed. It was a relief. Bailey still couldn't understand why Gale had even wanted them to talk to him afterwards. Clearly she'd been trying to be the better person, but Bailey hadn't planned on trying at all.

Noticing his hand was still outstretched, he dropped it quickly, casting his eyes towards the bedroom door. "I thought it best that he wait outside," Derrick said softly.

"Shocker, your way of thinking is incredibly wrong, again. Damien's taking me." She'd called Damien earlier that morning after Amanda had left to catch her flight. Pleaded with him to come and take her home because she couldn't bear to look at her parents, especially her mother. How could she be so pathetically weak? It almost made Bailey hate Gale.

"Bailey," Derrick said.

She didn't turn away fast enough. The hurt on his golden face was very clear, but Bailey ignored the guilty pang in her chest. What did she have to be guilty about anyway?

He cleared his throat before speaking. "Maybe you don't need my help, but your actions here have caused the town Sheriff to not trust you. The only thing keeping you out of juvenile incarceration is that Gale agreed to be with you all the time when you weren't in school. You won't be in school, so are taking you home."

"Gee, , since you know about my life, then you should also know that was included on the list of people I could be with when I'm not in school."

"Damien?" Derrick asked, turning a perplexed look towards Gale. "You let her be alone with him? But he's..."

Gale interrupted, "He's a good kid, Der."

Derrick blinked rapidly, his mouth gaping open for a second before he closed it. "He's a boy."

Bailey snorted at Derrick's use of the word 'boy.' "Probably more of a than you'll ever be."

That was too far. His face flushed, his teeth gritted, and his hands clenched against his sides. Bailey watched as he inhaled, his shoulders expanding with the new air he'd taken in, before he let it out.

"Bailey, I get it. I messed up, but here's the newsflash, I'm your father," he said, with an angry flash in his eyes as he folded his arms across his chest. "You're grounded."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "I don't think you can ground me anymore than I already am."

Gale heaved a sigh and turned towards the door, calling in Damien.

Derrick scoffed, "Gale!"

"I don't mean to undermine you," Gale said to Derrick, "but you've lost her trust, you've lost my trust, and you aren't getting it back through force." Gale turned towards Bailey. " won't talk to your father that way again young lady and before I let you leave with Damien, you will apologize to him."

Bailey didn't want to. She felt like a fool and Bailey came to realize that this was Gale's best form of punishment in reprimanding her for speaking to Derrick so disrespectfully. Making her apologize in front of Damien for her disrespect was humiliating, but she knew by the look on her mother's face, if she didn't, she wouldn't be leaving with him either.

Heaving a sigh of defeat, Bailey dropped her chin into her chest. "I'm sorry," she said clearly. There was no point in mumbling it like an imbecile, they'd just make her say it again, and she was already delayed in meeting Raj's contact as it was.