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.“Beyond ready.”“I’ll go look at tickets, see how soon we can get out of here.”The whine of the garage door opening made Rosaline quicken her step.Ever since speaking to Juliet, she was desperate to talk to Bryson.She needed to hear his voice—it was the only thing that could chase away the cloud of sorrow hanging over her.Which meant she needed to track down a phone and sneak into her room before Mom and Dad could tell her she couldn’t make the call.Because, as the saying goes, it’s easier asking forgiveness than permission.She ducked into Dad’s office, grabbed the phone, and sprinted up the stairs to her bedroom.The phone beeped as she dialed Bryson’s number.Her finger hovered over the last digit.Footsteps pounded up the stairs, nearing her door.She hid the phone behind her, slipping it into the waistband of her skirt in the nick of time.Dad burst into her rom, followed closely by Mom.A comment about not knocking was on the tip of her tongue, but she was going for a peaceful last night at home, so she bit it back.“We need to talk,” Dad said, his tone ominous.The phone chose that moment to fall to the floor, where it clattered on the hardwood for a noisy eternity.Rosaline scooped it up.“I was about to call Clara.”“We didn’t agree to phone calls.” Dad held out his hand, and she handed over the phone, her mood darkening as her chance to talk to Bryson disappeared.“I didn’t know I needed permission for every call.”“You do until you’ve proven yourself trustworthy again,” Dad said.“I thought that’s what I’ve been doing.”“How would we know? You’re all the way out in Arkansas.”“Because you sent me there!”Dad exhaled, making it clear he thought she was the one being exhausting.Rosaline ran her fingers through her hair.“I don’t want to spend my last night here fighting with you.I still need to pack and—”“Your mother and I haven’t decided whether you’re going back to Arkansas yet.”Dread stole the air from her lungs.For a moment, all she could do was stare.“But you can’t…Dafne’s already getting the tickets.”“Dafne!” Dad charged across the hall and flung open the door to the guestroom she was staying in.“Don’t buy those tickets.I’m thinking it’s time for Rosaline to come home.”Dafne stepped into the hall, arms crossed.“Our agreement was for the summer at least, if not longer.”“Well, now I’m reconsidering running for office, and it wouldn’t look right if my entire family wasn’t by my side.Besides, I’m sure Rosaline has learned her lesson.”“Earlier today, you told me I gave her too many freedoms,” Dafne said.“That her activities should still be restricted.”“Well, you let her wreck your truck, and she shouldn’t have been driving in the first place.”“A deer ran into the road!” The injustice of this whole situation burned through her chest.Her breaths came faster and faster, but she couldn’t get any air to her lungs, and she was pretty sure this was what a panic attack must feel like.This couldn’t be happening.All she wanted was to go back to living a low-key life in Arkansas, where she could be with Bryson and forget about the drama here in Verona.“Well there aren’t any deer here to wreck into,” Dad said.“No, there’s just a war between us and the Montagues.I have a feeling being shot wouldn’t be near as easy to get over as a car wreck.”“Didn’t you say the Mercer boy has been shot?” Mom asked, looking to Dafne.Great.Just great.Desperate to change the subject, Rosaline scrambled for something to say.“You said I ruined your chance at running for office.”“Your arrest certainly didn’t help,” Dad said.“But I believe I can overcome it.People are fired up about what’s happened.I want to make a difference.I want to make sure what happened to Ty never happens again.” He gestured to Rosaline.“You’ll be the perfect example of what happens when good kids get caught up because of the high crime rate.We’ll show how we’ve gotten you the help you need, and how now we’re all working together to change the city.”Everything inside of her turned cold and hard.“In other words, you didn’t want me, but now that it would be good for politics, you do.”The muscles along Dad’s jaw tensed
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