Welp, she had gone and done it again. Jericho had skipped school, again, and now she had to answer to her step father. She had promised not to do it again, but she hadn't been feeling well. Of course, it might have had something to do with being majorly hungover, but meh, she didn't really want to admit that. But, could you blame her? She sighed, shaking her head as she turned off her car. She looked at her keys with a frown, knowing she was likely going to lose them as part of her punishment. She thought about just running away, but all of her stuff was at home. Nope, running away wasn't an option. She needed to face the consequences like an adult, whatever that meant.
She definitely wasn't looking forward to it, but it couldn't be helped. Her fate rested in Sam's hands now.
Jericho swallowed hard, getting out of the car and walking inside. She was expecting to find him waiting for her, and she wasn't disappointed. He usually met her before her mother got home, but right now her mom was out of town on a business trip. She didn't meet his gaze, but she could tell by the tapping of his foot that he wasn't happy.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't take your keys away, right now."
His voice was stern and commanding, almost fierce, in a way. She shrugged. She really didn't have an answer. "I uh, I don't have one. I'm sorry."
Sam sighed, holding out his hand for her keys, surprised when she handed them over without a fuss. It was unlike her to simply follow instructions, though maybe their agreement had been rubbing off on her?
"I'll tell you what. It's just the two of us for the rest of the week. Your brother is staying at a friend's house. If you go to school every day and follow directions here at home, you can earn them back. But it's not going to be easy." He looked at her, searching for the rebellion she was known for.
She looked up, a curious look on her face. Follow directions at home? Hadn't she been doing that already? It didn't make sense.
"This offer expires in 10 seconds, Jer. Yes or no."
Jericho quickly nodded. Yes. She would do anything to get her keys back.
"Good. Now, go to the basement, get ready, and wait for me with your hands behind your back."
The basement? What was in the basement? She didn't understand, but then he jingled her keys and she sighed, heading there anyway. What did he mean by get ready? The question hung in her head until she reached the bottom of the stairs, and then she understood what he meant. There was an outfit downstairs, just her size. She scoffed when she realized what it was. A school girl uniform, complete with stockings and her black push up bra. He went through her drawers! Perv.
But still, she was on a mission. She got dressed and freshened her makeup in the basement bathroom before sitting on the bottom step. They had a finished basement, thankfully, so there weren't cobwebs and dust everywhere. That was a plus, at least. It's also where the guest bedroom was located, and Jericho had a pretty good idea of how the room was going to be used.
