troubled | e.d.

twenty-nine

ethan

my nights have been sleepless, but filled with texts and calls from tessa to distract me from the mess that's playing out.

she'll send me memes and jokes, and i usually laugh, even if they're bad.

she's also been quiet every time i bring up the cameron situation. she's up to no good, i can tell.

but i'm confident tessa won't be able to find her. she may have connections, but none that are willing to give out information to an 18 year old girl that would get her involved in the case.

her dad has also been giving me harsher looks that normal, which i didn't even know was possible. i don't know what's peed in his cereal recently, but i hope it blows over soon because i really need him fully on my side for the rest of the summer.

i still haven't called my mom or grayson to tell them about the new trial. i'm scared of how they will react. they've always been on my side, but only because it was to help cameron. if i had been charged and it didn't involve my sister at all, i'm certain they'd be refusing to talk to me.

i mean, who wants a criminal in their family tree?

hargrove and richard are trying to pursue leads to prove my innocence, and they're letting me in on very few ideas, afraid that i'll over analyze each one and ruin it for myself.

a date still hasn't been set for the trial, so basically it's just a waiting game at this point. i have a couple of weeks to set my stories, facts, alibis, and witnesses straight.

at around noon when my lack of sleep begins to catch up with me, richard pulls me into his office and shuts the door in the face of tessa.

"come on," i sigh. "let her in."

"it's none of her business," he replies.

"doesn't mean you slam a door in her face??"

"sit down," he instructs coldly, and i do with a grumble. the cushion of his office chairs might as well be molded to my ass for as much as i find myself sitting in them.

"dad, i'm not leaving," tessa sing songs through the wooden door, and i can't help but laugh a little.

"let her in."

"no. this is a confidential meeting and—"

"i don't think you heard me?" i say in a low voice, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees. "let. her. in."

his nostrils flare and i can tell there's a million things he wants to say at my attempt of angsty defiance.

"you're walking on a fine line, ethan."

"i don't talk unless tessa is in the room. that's what it's going to be from now on."

"tessa isn't any good for your case, why don't you understand that? it's just one more person who knows your business."

"hey," she calls out loudly. "i heard that."

"come in," i reply and richard narrows his eyes at me. the door pushes open, and her sheepish, adorable face appears.