Fuck.
“Wow,” I said. “I have no idea what that means.”
“Probably something you watched on TV.”
“Definitely,” I said. “Sorry about that too. I probably sounded like a crazy person.”
“I’ve heard worse,” Emily said. “Hell, I’ve said worse.”
I nodded. “I thought I would feel worse today. I just feel achy from sleeping on the floor.”
“You know, throwing up is the best thing to do,” Emily said. “Some people fight if off. Not me. Get drunk, puke as much as you can, and you’ll feel great the next day.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Emily leaned toward me and kissed my forehead.
My entire body stiffened.
“I have to get moving here,” Emily whispered. “Kace is still in bed. And I’m in the mood.”
“Oh, wow. Okay. Um…”
Emily inched away from me. “How do I look?”
“Honestly?”
“Please.”
“You look like a sleepy slut,” I said.
“Perfect,” she said. “You might want to get out of the bathroom. His bedroom is this wall,” Emily pointed to the wall to my left, “and I plan on coming through that wall with the bed.”
My face turned apple red.
Emily laughed. “You don’t get it often, do you?”
“I do… I’m fine…”
Emily stood up. “If you wanted something wild, Brock would be fun for you. He’s small but the anger between you two would be wild.”
Emily left the bathroom.
I sipped the coffee.
It was already cold.
Fuck this day already.
Chapter 5
This is what’s happening?
I sat next to Raine at the counter and ate a bowl of cereal. It was an off-brand cereal and the milk was suspect, but I needed food. She didn’t say two words to me as she hung over her cereal bowl. She wore sunglasses and took deep breaths as though she was in pain.
Which she was.
She was hungover.
When she finished eating, she walked away from the counter to the living room, fell to the couch and went to sleep.
I was alone for ten seconds before Brock came into the kitchen.
When he saw me, he froze in place.
Slowly, he leaned against the fridge and just stared.
Behind him, down the hallway, I heard the sound of what I assumed to be Kace’s bed beginning to make noise.
This Troc world was crazy.
It was all about getting drunk, having sex, and fitting in a little sleep just so they could wake up and do it again.
“Do you need something?” I asked.
“Just wondering when we’re going to cut through this tension.”
“I didn’t create the tension,” I said. “You did.”
“And I want to cut through it.”
“How?”
Brock pushed from the fridge. “Emily said you needed to get laid.”
I laughed. “She did what?”
“It’s okay. I’m sure the Bumps have a whole process when it comes to that. The right time, place, hair, money, social status… right? See, for us, it’s about what it feels like. We’re not out to get married or having babies and all that shit. It’s about grabbing something in life that makes you feel good. That’s all we have.”
I slowly stood up. “I have no desire in the world to be touched by you. Ever.”
“So you’re still a bitch?”
I looked around and decided it was time to put an end to this tension for good.
Just like Brock wanted.
And since he wanted to revolve it around the little sausage between his legs…
I opened a few drawers until I found a knife.
I took the knife out and threw it at Brock.
“What the fuck?” he yelled as he waved his hands.
I purposely threw it out of the way so it wouldn’t hit him.
I grabbed another knife and stepped toward him.
“Let’s cut the tension,” I said. “I’m going to cut something off your body if you ever look at me, talk to me, or make a move at me again. Got it? I would rather dry hump the edge of the inflatable pool in the backyard than have you touch me for a second.”
Brock’s face turned red.
The cuts and bruises on his face from what Talon had done looked brighter too.
We stood in silence… except for the sound of Emily and Kace going at it in the bedroom.
The thudding of the bed to the wall started to piss me off.
And it started to make me jealous.
If that was Talon and I… if I just let myself go for once… maybe everything would have worked out…
“Do you understand?” I growled at Brock.
“Yeah,” he said.
“Good,” I said. “I’m taking this knife with me. And if I see you again, I’ll cut your hot dog into slices.”
I walked around him and didn’t look back.
I stood in the hallway and heard Emily’s voice oohhing and aahhing.
With the knife still in my hand, I went to look for Talon.
I was no longer drunk.
And I knew what I wanted from him.
I opened the bedroom door and there was no sign of him.
I left the knife on the dresser and climbed up to the top of the bunk bed.
The covers were messy, like always.
I grabbed the top cover and tried to smell it.
I wanted to smell Talon…
But the blanket just smelled like old dust.
As a Bump I was used to fresh sheets almost daily.
The sights and smells of the Troc world were really something else.
I climbed back down off the bed.
I looked at the bottom bed and that was messy too.
That blanket… that was the one that smelled like Talon. He had that dirty, bad boy smell. Like muscle and sweat. With a hint of cologne. Really cheap cologne too. Or maybe that douchey body spray that guys used.
That was Talon.
Oh, I needed to find him.
And fast.
The moment was hitting me hard and I didn’t want it to pass. I didn’t want reality to smack me in the face like it always seemed to do. I just wanted this moment, this time, for myself. I wanted to feel good. I wanted…
I threw the blanket down to the bed and walked out of the room.
Emily and Kace were still going at it.
Just to be a bitch, I stopped at the bedroom door and slammed my fist against the door a few times.
The noises quickly stopped.
“Who is it?” Kace’s voice boomed.
Emily giggled.
I smiled and walked away.
In the living room, Brock had joined Raine on the couch.
Cuddled together, both with their eyes shut.
I threw both middle fingers at Brock and went outside.
The backyard was a shit hole.
At night, it looked very different.
Everything out back was overgrown, uneven, and most of the grass was dead.
The inflatable pool was dirty and half emptied.
There was trash all over the ground.
Everything about this place…
I shook my head.
I wasn’t there to judge.
I needed to find Talon.