through with that. I was just at the beach. There was this creep
that took a photo of me…kissing a woman. We weren’t even
in the state anymore!”
“Not in the state? Where are you?” Mr. Radcliffe’s voice
was getting more and more thunderous, more commanding.
He talked like he thought he could drown his daughter out, get
her to obey him just with the force behind his words. Dani was
starting to see why Emily said she was never heard.
“I’m back in the state now,” Emily grumbled. “We just went
to Biloxi Beach for a little bit.”
“Do you know what time it is?”
“I’m calling you before they do anything with that photo!”
Emily yelped. “I’m trying to do the right thing here. So that
you have time to prepare for it, in whatever way you have to.”
“Damage control. That’s the term you’re looking for.”
Dani bristled as Emily’s dad went on, filling up the car with
his voice.
“You’re being very selfish, Emily. Your mother and I want
you to come home. If you don’t, you can stop thinking about
law school. You can stop thinking about art school. Next year
won’t happen for you. You won’t finish your degree. You’ve
skipped class as it is, wasting time that we’ve paid for. You’ve
done something incredibly childish, going off and getting
married to a complete stranger, just to try to make a point.
Now you allow yourself to be photographed, all in an effort to
ruin my campaign and cast a shadow over your mother’s
upcoming show because you’re jealous. You’re jealous of your
mother’s success. You want that for yourself, and if she won’t
help you, then you’ll take it by force. You know that you don’t
have the guts or the drive to make it as far as your mother and