Chapter 1

1

TESSA

I hadn’t been expecting a call from my bank, so I assumed the representative would try to sell me something. I was only paying half attention until she said, “I’m sorry, but we cannot process your withdrawal request because none of the boxes were checked for the reason for the distribution. You’ll need to send in a new form with all the sections completed.”

My brows drew together as I tilted my head to the side. “I’m sorry, what?”

After repeating the information, the person from the bank added, “Or you can submit the request online if you need the funds more quickly. Also, please note that pulling all the funds from the account will result in its closure. And you should be aware that if this is a non-qualified distribution, the amount will be subject to income tax and a 10 percent penalty.”

“I think you misunderstood my question. I’m not sure what you’re talking about because I didn’t send in a withdrawal request.”

“But I have it right here.” I heard some shuffling of papers in the background. “And the signature appears to match what we have on file for you.”

My mom had squirreled a lot of money away into that account to ensure I could attend college without having to worry about paying for it. Earning a degree wasn’t that important to me, except that it was the best way to get away from the town where I grew up. My childhood had been fairly normal…until my mom passed away in a car accident last year. Then my dad turned into a completely different person.

The father who’d taught me how to ride a bicycle and took me to the park every weekend was long gone. In his place was someone my mom would’ve hated. Especially with how he neglected me.

The only upside to her being gone was that she wasn’t here to see how far he’d fallen. Especially if he’d done what I was starting to suspect.

“Ahh, yeah. Thanks for calling to let me know there was an issue. I’ll take care of it on my end.”

I ended the call before she could ask how I’d forgotten I sent in paperwork to withdraw almost sixty-thousand dollars. Unfortunately, that wasn’t quick enough for my dad to come into the living room and catch the tail end of my conversation.

“Who was that? What issue were they calling about?”

Setting my cell on the cushion beside me, I took a deep breath before answering. “Someone from the bank letting me know that the form to empty my college savings account was missing a checkmark in a section, so they couldn’t process it.”

“Shit,” he muttered, stomping closer.

“The funny thing is that I never sent in the request.” I pressed my lips together as I glared up at him. “But you know that already, don’t you?”

“I need that money,” he growled, reaching out to grab my arm. Gripping hard, he yanked me off the couch.

“Oww,” I cried, feeling as though my shoulder was being wrenched out of the socket.

He hissed, “I need that money, and you’re gonna get it for me.”

I blinked up at him, tears welling in my eyes. “You really did it? You forged my signature so you could take the rest of the money Mom set aside for my college education when I have tuition due in less than a month?”

“Don’t you dare bring your mother into this.” He shook me to emphasize his point.

“We’re gonna go down to the bank so you can get me that money, and I don’t want any more backtalk from you.”

Before I even had the chance to think about saying something else, he shoved me.

The sting of betrayal was almost worse than the actual physical pain. As awful as my dad had been since my mom’s death, he’d never hurt me. But my arm would have fingertip-shaped bruises tomorrow, and there was a sharp sting in my ribs from how I landed wrong against the arm of the couch, which had almost no padding left.

Tears spilled down my cheeks, but he didn’t react to them. Gulping down the lump in my throat, I whispered, “It’s too late to go in now. They’ll be closed by the time we get there.”

“Fine,” he huffed. “We’ll go in the morning. Now get off your ass and make me some dinner.”

I did as he asked, not bothering to eat anything since I was too upset to be hungry. Instead, I went up to my room and cried myself to sleep. Which was probably a good thing since I spent most of the night tossing and turning, unable to find a comfortable position as my mind kept replaying the confrontation with my dad over and over again. I didn’t understand how he could have changed so much in such little time.

I felt so alone. With my mom gone and no family in the area, I didn’t have anyone to turn to for advice. My friends from high school were spending their first summer break after college partying, and I hadn’t talked to any of them about my problems with my dad because I felt as though I’d already leaned on them too much when my mom died.

By the time the next morning rolled around, I was tired and sore. And I hadn’t come up with a way to stop my dad from destroying my future for his own selfish reasons, whatever they were.

The next few hours passed painfully slowly as I hid in my room and waited for him to sleep off all the beer he’d most likely drunk last night. Another big change from the man who’d barely finish one can when I was growing up.

I wasn’t surprised that he still smelled like a brewery when he finally came into my room a little before noon. “Get your ass outta bed. We need to go to the bank. Now.”

Climbing off my mattress, I dressed, then grabbed a thin cardigan from my closet and pulled it on. The sleeves were short, but they were just long enough to hide the bruises on my arm. The last thing I needed was for someone at the bank to ask awkward questions while I filled out the paperwork that would give my dad access to my college savings.

When I got downstairs, he was already waiting at the door for me. “Hurry up, Tessa.”

“I’m almost ready to go, but I don’t?—”

“You don’t, what? Want to give me back my hard-earned dollars when it’ll save my life?”

“Your life?” I echoed, glancing down at my bare feet. All I’d planned to say was that I just needed to put on a pair of sandals.

“I’m still not sure how it happened. I never would’ve put so much on the line in that poker game if I hadn’t been up by a fuck ton.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “But then I was on a losing streak, and before I knew what happened, I was in too deep. Now because some asshole had better luck than me, I need to come up with sixty thousand dollars before my bookie takes it outta my hide.”

My dad had a bookie. And he owed the guy the equivalent of three years of my college education. All from one poker game, if my dad’s irate muttering was to be believed.

I was still trying to wrap my head around the bombshell of information he’d just dropped when he yanked the door open and stomped outside, yelling at me to hurry up again. I didn’t feel as though I had any other choice, so I slipped on my sandals and grabbed my purse. Then I headed off to the bank with my dad…to destroy my future.

The old saying about what you didn’t know couldn’t hurt you wasn’t true in this situation. I had no clue that my dad had a gambling problem, but I was the one who would pay the price for his mistake.