I blinked, not having an immediate response to that.

“Go home, Matt."

“Please, just let me explain."

“Matt, seriously," he said in a voice that did NOT invite further discussion.

“I'm asking you to leave my house. I need to have a private conversation with my daughter.”

I took a deep breath and thought about arguing the point, but the look

Mr. K was giving me warned me not to. I glanced helplessly at Belle, but she just closed her eyes and cried softly. I was still seated next to her on the bed, so I quickly wrapped my arms around her in a reassuring hug and gave her a chaste kiss atop the crown of her head while she patted my forearm.

But in the end, under Mr. K's baleful gaze, I got up and left the room.

Right before I went out the bedroom door, I looked back at Belle, but her attention was entirely on her dad. Clearly, neither of them was going to say another word until I was gone.

So I left.

Things weren't much better for me at home. As soon as Mother returned after dropping off all the girls, she came straight to my room, knocked twice on the door, and entered without waiting for my response. I sat up in surprise and looked up at her.

"Belle?" she asked first.

“At home, with her dad," I replied. I did NOT tell her anything beyond that.

She nodded, and with that out of the way, crossed her arms over her chest and leveled me with a look. "Matthew, what happened tonight?"

I frowned.

“Um, what?"

“You've had Friday hangouts with the girls for over a year now, and this is the first time I've ever come home to find a house full of young women in no condition to drive."

I winced. "We, uh, never actually finished the box of alcohol you left us in Tahoe. Sam's big idea was to polish it off."

Mother blinked at me. "And it never occurred to you that except for

Belle, every single one of them drove herself over here?"

I winced again.

“Uh, well, no... it didn't.”

Mother pursed her lips. "And what was with your brilliant idea to have

Zoti drive everyone home?"

"I really don't think she was drunk. It would've been a perfectly acceptable solution."