BORDERLINE
[BOOK ONE OF FIVE] ✧
Harper Verum agreed to help her best friends find a dead body a little too willingly the night before their first day of sophomore year. If she had known the consequences of sneaking out into the preserve, she would h...
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c h a p t e r t h i r t y s e v e n restraining order
"You will not go within fifty feet of Jackson Whittemore. You will not speak to him. You will not approach him. You will not assault or harrass him physically or psychologically." Sheriff Stilinski dropped the clipboard he was reading from onto the table that the three teenagers were sitting at.
It clanged on the metal table, causing Harper to look up, although she regretted that decision as soon as she did.
Rose, Melissa, and Jackson's dad were standing around them. Melissa looked extremely angry at Scott, who was just looking down at the table, unable to make eye contact with his mother. Stiles just looked ashamed and Harper was devastated.
It seemed like lately all she was doing was making empty promises to her grandma about making her proud, and then going ahead and breaking them. Harper hadn't seen her grandma angry in such a long, long time, but there she was, a scowl on her face as she burned holes into the back of her granddaughter's head.
A heavy silence filled the room until Stiles spoke up, "what about school?"
"You can attend classes while attempting to maintain a fifty foot distance." Noah replied, clearly tired and stressed out.
"Okay, what if we both have to use the bathroom at the same time and there's only two stalls available and they're only right next to each other?" Stiles questioned, and Harper didn't know if he was doing it to make fun of the whole situation or if he was genuinely being serious.
Stiles was so sarcastic that was hard to tell sometimes.
Harper sent Stiles a small glare while Jackson's dad huffed. Noah folded his arms across his chest and Melissa sighed loudly. Scott didn't even bother looking up from the table, completely done with Stiles.
"I'll just hold it."
...
Harper looked down at the floor while Rose proceeded to yell at her. Yes, yell at her. Rose Verum was yelling at Harper, and Harper didn't blame her. It was almost refreshing to finally hear what Rose had been thinking the whole time, instead of just getting dissapointing looks like normal.
"I can't believe you, Harper Verum!" She yelled, her voice slightly scratchy. "Between what's going on with me and the packing, I can't believe you'd do this! It's almost like you want me to hate you, Harper. Are you really that mad at me?"
Harper was sure that her friends could hear what her grandma was yelling at her, causing her to blush. She hated being yelled at, especially when it was in front of people. What her grandma was saying was completely embarrassing her, and she was clearly talking about her lung cancer, which made the matter a whole lot worse.
"No, grandma." Harper whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "It-it was just a joke."
Rose chuckled dryly, " a joke? A joke!? Harper Jean Verum, this is not 'a joke'. You have been given a restraining order! What do you think your parents would have said, huh? Certainly not good things, that's for sure. Why do you feel the need to go against everything I do lately? Sneaking out, lying, getting detentions, getting called into the prinicipal's office, getting a bloody restraining order! Enough's enough, Harper. You need to tell me what's going on right now."
