Silence.
“That bastard—”
“Oh my god, who’s that?”
A series of thumping and whispers had me grinning. “Keep your panties on, pansy! I’ll be down when I’m done,” he called back, but by the sound of the high-pitched objections, his lady friend wasn’t in agreement.
“Fine!” he hissed.
Chuckling softly, I walked into the kitchen, yanking the fridge door open and reaching for a beer I knew he’d have fully stocked—that familiarity a little too close to home. The light footsteps came first, and I couldn’t help but peek my head out. Though my amusement at the predicament instantly dropped when I saw the girl rush by in a fucking school uniform.
The front door slammed closed as my brother stumbled down the stairs, shirtless, hair sticking up all over the place, and wiping lipstick off his jaw.
“You’re fucking kidding, right?” I snapped and shoved him in the shoulder as he slipped by me into the kitchen.
“Welcome home!” He beamed, his movements following precisely what I’d just done. Fridge, then beer, before he turned with a wide grin, holding his arms out wide. “Good to see you, ya fucking bastard. Though, I think you’ve forgotten that rule we had about me getting my cock wet before everything else. ’Cause we hadn’t quite got to that part yet,” he mused, popping the cap of his bottle on the counter.
“Sorry I interrupted your underage fuck fest.”
He snorted, throwing back half the beer before he answered, “She’s eighteen.”
“You could be her fucking father.”
“I was going more for daddy.” He chuckled before pausing and looking over at me, seeing the clearly unimpressed look on my face.
I didn’t fuck with teenage girls. Ever. Of age or not. Teen girls should be dating teen boys, not motherfuckers like Slate or me, who had more problems than they were even aware existed.
Slate rolled his eyes and let out a short, airy laugh. “Look, she’s Amy’s daughter. She was having some fucking issues with a guy at school. She asked me to help her sort him out, so he’d leave her alone. And that…” he pointed upstairs, “… was meant to be my thanks.”
“Well, I’m sure she’ll write you a nice card or something.” I deadpanned. “Maybe her teacher will help her put something together in arts and craft time. Sorry, our thank-you fuck didn’t work out. Here’s a pretty flower I drew all by myse—”
A dishcloth went flying past my head, barely missing my nose. I looked up just in time to see him rush at me, so I planted my feet and leaned in, ready for the attack.
“Oh, Mr. President thinks he’s hot shit now!” Slate hooked me around the neck, his other hand messing with my hair. “I’m sorry, your majesty, I didn’t realize you were in today.”
Throwing my elbow back, I caught him off guard, hitting him right up in between his rib cage. It forced the air from his lungs, and he stumbled back, coughing hard, fighting to catch a breath, but not before I hooked my leg out and swept his feet out from underneath him, his body going down like a fucking block of concrete in a river. The long hard groan of pain he let out should have made me feel guilty.
It didn’t.
The shit this fucker has done to me—
I’ll be paying him back for the rest of his damn life.
Because he’s a bastard.
And because I fucking love him.
“That was uncalled for,” he croaked, still writhing in pain. I held out my hand, and he slapped his into it, letting me drag his aching body to his feet. “Mother. Fucker.”
“Come on, dumbass,” I said and smacked him on the back. “Go get your panties on. We have to get back for church.”
He gasped mockingly. “You come in here, interrupt my booty call, then issue demands?”
“It’s Scarlet’s fucking birthday. I’m going to be the least of your worries if you aren’t there.”
“Can’t risk her coming after me,” he joked, rolling his eyes. “Your sister is a little psycho.”
AVERY
The cool night air whipped at my face, sending an instant chill sweeping through me.
The second the heavy library doors clicked shut behind me, the lights one by one began to flicker off like a Mexican wave until the entire building was cast into darkness. The librarians had been waiting impatiently for me to leave, and I’d used every single second of time up until eight o’clock.
It was now 8:01 p.m., and I needed to hurry and get to Empire before my shift started in thirty minutes.
I rushed down the stairs, pulling up the app on my phone that told me my Uber was just around the corner. As I was about to slip the phone back into my pocket, it started to buzz, Holly’s grinning face lighting up the screen.
Smiling, I rolled my eyes and hit answer. “I’ve got work,” I stated, knowing that this was probably another ploy to get me to go out with her tonight.
“Ave?” she croaked, causing my back to snap straight and the amused smile to fall from my lips. “Can you come get me? Please?”
I looked up, seeing the lights of my Uber cruising down the street toward me. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
Holly was never anything but bright and peppy, yet, thanks to my run-in with her buddies the other day, I was starting to wonder what she was covering with that constant smile. Which was why my heart dropped when I heard her whispering to me through the phone, “I’m at Beta Beta. I think someone put something in my drink. I can’t walk. The room is spinning.”
Silence.
The sound of violent vomiting made my entire body cringe and the hairs across my arms stand on end.
“Holly!” I yelled into the phone, my voice echoing up the dark street and making a couple of people walking practically leap out of their shoes.
I held my breath for a second, releasing it when I heard her voice again. “Ave, please, I don’t know what to do.”
Fuck.
“Where are you?”
“Upstairs. Bathroom.” The tears in her voice almost broke me, and I could feel my own start to burn at my throat.
“I’m coming,” I assured her, trying to cover the way my voice cracked with emotion. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Okay.” She sniffled as I grabbed the door handle to the car and ripped it open like I was the Hulk.
“I need to change the address,” I told the driver urgently, my heart in my throat as I dove headfirst into the back seat. “Can you take me to Beta Beta’s frat house?”
My foot tapped nervously against the floor as we cruised the streets. Since I was still on campus, the frat house wasn’t far from the library, given Greek Row bordered the school’s edge. The traffic seemed to be moving extra slow—Friday night, people heading out, probably to Empire, where I should be starting my shift in less than twenty minutes.
I shot a text to Meyah, letting her know I’d be running late, and that something urgent had come up.
I knew she’d understand.
I never missed a shift.
I’d even come in on days that other girls had bailed, in the middle of exams, and studied during the quiet moments and while I made drinks. I never half-assed anything. If I said I would do something, it would be done, and it would be done to the best of my ability.