The phone vibrated relentlessly on the passenger seat. I had ignored the first two calls, but by the third, I knew there was no avoiding it. My father wasn’t the kind of man to let things go unanswered.
I exhaled sharply, gripping the wheel with one hand while swiping the call open with the other.
“What’s wrong, Dad?” My tone was clipped, laced with disinterest.
A pause. Then his voice, smooth but weighted with expectation. “I heard you went home.”
Straight to the point. He never wasted time with pleasantries.
“Yeah,” I muttered, shifting gears as I sped down the empty road. “Why? Can’t I go home?”
Another pause. A controlled cough on the other end. My father never showed weakness, but that cough—it wasn’t just a sign of age. It was a warning.
“So what did you take fro
