“I’ll do better,” he promised. “But I need you to do better in school. If you have a problem, you come to me. I’m your father. You can always talk to me about how you feel. Even if you think I’ll be upset, you come to me. About anything, Bella.”

She nodded.

Ethic held out his hand. “Cell phone,” he said. She sighed, as she reached down into her Gucci backpack and held it out for him. He slipped it inside the inner pocket of his trench coat. “You’ll get it back when you make up all the homework you’ve been skipping.”

She blew out a breath of frustration and stared out the window.

“Are you upset with me? Or are you upset with yourself for making bad decisions? I’ve always told you that your voice matters. If you feel a type of way, say it. Let it out, because when you hold it in, you act out in other ways and it leads to consequences like this. Now, how about we spend the rest of the day together, you and me? We’ll go to Ocean Prime and then we’ll hit the bookstore, so you can start playing catch up on your work, without Eazy bugging you.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

Ethic pulled away from the school, knowing he wouldn’t make it back to pick Alani up on time. He liked to be a man of his word, but he couldn’t keep two promises. If he had to choose, Bella trumped all. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Messiah, hoping his young bull could pick up the slack.