Page 104 of Jerk

My father freezes when he's halfway to his feet. His eyes bore into Krystal’s phone.

Rye looks at her, a small smile coming across his face. “She's not joking."

To prove her point, she turns around, like she’s taking a selfie with my father. “Hello again, Paradise. I’m here live at the Alfonso’s. You know Hannah, right?” She pans the phone to me. "I’m with her father, who looks like he’s… attempting murder?” She moves the phone to the shard in his hand and gasps.

“Get out,” he says, pulling the shard behind his back, out of view. “Now. Or I’m calling the cops for trespassing. And you?” His eyes land on me. “You don’t belong here. Ever again."

Rye reaches his hand towards me. When I take it, he pulls me close, wrapping an arm around me. Krystal keeps filming. She’s gained some popularity, so I can only imagine how many people are actually seeing this: me, under Rye’s arm, my father with blood on his skin. There’s no coming back from any of this.

“That’s alright,” Rye says, turning for the door with me still under his arm. He looks at me like I’m the only thing in the room. “I got her.”

Rye

“Did we really just do that?”

"We did,” I respond, glancing at Hannah back in the passenger seat.

My hands grip the wheel of the van again, the Alfonso mansion behind us.

Krystal continues to record in the back, and it feels like I’m the star of one of those shitty reality shows.

“I’m with your Crown and your queen,” Krystal says. “Fresh from ruling together.” Her phone appears by my face. “How are you feeling, bro?” Keeping one hand on the wheel, I take her phone and end the stream. But not without seeing the number of viewers. All the students on campus had to be watching. Likely more. “Message received.” Krystal reaches for her phone, sinking into the backseat.

“Did he hurt you?” I glance at Hannah again as we cruise down Paradise Row, giant homes I grew up around passing by.

Hannah’s busy scrolling through her phone, her fingers moving quickly. My eyes drop to her screen. We didn't leave her house that long ago, but an article has already hit a big publication.

The headline’s easy to read when I glance over.

The Biggest Scandal in Paradise- Hill Herald

“Embezzlement. Trafficking. Offshore accounts,” Hannah says. “It’s all here and— there goes my cell service. Father’s quick.”

“Did he hurt you?” I repeat, my hand coming to her thigh.

“I promise I’m okay,” she answers, a knot loosening in my chest. She turns to me, her hand coming on top of mine. “Thanks for what you did for me back there.”

“You can’t pin being the hero on me this time,” Krystal chimes in. “We all saw you save her.”

My eyes meet Krystal’s in the rearview. “How long were you recording?”

“I followed you in after her maid left. I wasn’t sure if Hannah’s dad would be anything like ours, but something told me I shouldn’t leave you guys alone.”

Hannah turns around to Krystal, the smell of her strawberry-coconut strands making my gut spin. “If you thought my father was like yours, you risked it to have our back?”

“That’s what families are for,” Krystal says with a shrug. “Ryung stood up for me my entire life. It’s the least I could do.”I always knew Krystal wasn’t the problem. I hope our mother sees that, too.

“You’ll stay with us.” My grip tightens on Hannah’s thigh, her skin warm under my palm. Despite the chaos, despite how tired I am, I just want to spread those legs apart and make things better.

“How? I know I can’t go home, but you can’t either,” she says. “Not after all this. Your father’s name was all over that document. You didn’t take anything out.”

“My father’s dead.” Silence takes over the car when I say those words. Too silent.

Catching my sister’s eyes in the rearview, she brings her hands to her arms. I give her a small smile before turning up the radio.

Hannah’s hand lands on my lap. Light. Gentle. It stays there for the rest of the short ride to our home. And I don’t dare move it.

“Rye? Do you know what's going on?” Krystal asks when we pull into the driveway.