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by Ashley Jade
“Nah, boo. You ain’t fat. You’re thick. Embrace it. People come in all different shapes and sizes and one isn’t any better than the other.”
“Says the guy who looks like he could be on a magazine cover for California surfers and has a thing for skinny blondes.”
He pats his face. “What can I say? I didn’t ask for this handsome mug. Besides, everyone has a type, you kno—”
The sound of my phone ringing cuts him off.
Why in the world is Bianca calling me?
“It’s Bianca,” I say, bringing the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
Oakley makes a cross with his fingers and mouths, “May the power of Christ compel you.”
“Hey,” Bianca says. “So, two questions.”
“Um sure. Shoot.”
“One—why the hell didn’t you tell my brother you were Izzy? And two—why did you lie about being at work?”
My stomach drops.
“Well, I promised Oakley I wouldn’t say anything to anyone because he promised Scott he wouldn’t. And I lied to Cole because I didn’t know what else to say when he asked why I wasn’t at the game. Not that it was right, I was just trying to make everyone happy.”
“Oh, well, that shit backfired.”
I freeze. “How?”
“Because he decided to visit you at work. Also, why the fuck didn’t you tell us you worked with that snake Stone DaSilva—holy shit. I have to go. Cole just punched some old dude and knocked him out cold.”
My heart jumps to my throat. “What?”
The phone line goes dead.
I look at Oakley. “I have to go. I think Cole just punched my boss.”
“Shit.” Oakley tosses his blunt. “We’ll take my car. It’s faster.”
Wasting no time, I hop in the passenger seat and he guns the engine.
“Why in the world would Cole punch my boss?”
I get he was upset about me working…but that’s insane.
“I have no idea.” Peeling out of the parking lot, he presses a button on his stereo. “Yo, Dad, it’s your number one sperm. Hit me back when you get this…Co—I mean, Calvin. Last name rhymes with Bovington—went off on a store owner and punched him.”
“Who the hell is Calvin?” I ask when he hangs up.
“I have no idea.” His voice drops to a whisper. “If I don’t use his real name, it can’t be used in court.”
He tries to dial Cole next, but it goes to voicemail. Sighing, he presses another button and calls Bianca.
She picks up after the second ring. “What part of never talk to me again don’t you understand?”
“Relax. I’m not calling for you, Satan. You’re with Cole, right?”
“Yeah, but he’s a little busy right now. What with beating up Mr. Gonzales and all—” She mutters a curse. “And now Stone.”
Oh, my God.
Oakley presses down on the gas. “Have the cops showed up?”
“Not yet.”
“Is Mr. Gonzales breathing?”
“As far as I can tell.”
My hand flies over my mouth. This is horrible.
“Then you need to get your brother the fuck out of there before Mr. Gonzales comes to and the cops show up.”
“Wow,” Bianca says. “Thank you, Captain Obvious. What the hell do you think I’ve been trying to do, jackass? Stone keeps baiting him, he won’t leave.”
Oakley side-eyes me. “Tell him Sawyer’s in trouble.”
Chapter 46
Cole
“What the fuck?” Stone screams, jumping over the counter. “You just knocked him unconscious.” He drops down beside him. “Mr. G, wake up.”
The fucker is lucky that’s all I did…for now.
I spit on the old man’s face. “That’s what he gets for taking advantage of a teenage girl.”
A few people in the restaurant gasp. Some start taking pictures.
Good. Let them document it and plaster it all over social media and the news.
If anyone ever hurts Sawyer, I’ll fucking ruin them. Simple as that.
Too bad you didn’t feel that protective over Liam—my mind taunts.
Maybe then he wouldn’t be dead.
A red mist clouds my vision as I shove the crippling pain down as far as it will go.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Stone yells. “What teenage girl?” Eyes wide with horror, Stone looks at Bianca, who’s walking back in through the front door. “You bitch.”
I grab a fistful of his hair. “Call my sister a bitch one more time. I fucking dare you.”
I’ll take one of the butter knives off one of the tables and slit his goddamn throat inch by goddamn inch.
“She is a bitch for making up rumors about Mr. Gonzales,” he screams.
Bianca looks offended. “I didn’t make up rumors about Mr. Gonz—Oh, fuck.” Guilt colors her face. “On second thought, I may have.”
“Yeah, you did, bitch—”
I slap his face with my open palm. “Consider that your last warning. Next time it happens, I’ll end you.”
He growls. “I’ve known Mr. Gonzales since I was a baby. He wouldn’t touch your little sister, man. I swear on my life.”
I have no idea what the prick is talking about. “Bianca? This has nothing to do with her—”
“Actually, it does.” Rubbing her temples, she says, “I made it up, Cole. Sawyer isn’t sleeping with her boss.”
Stone starts coughing. “Sawyer? Are you kidding? Of course she’s not sleeping with Mr. Gonzales. What the fuck is the matter with your family? You’re all manipulative pieces of shit.”
I glare at Bianca. “Why would you make that up?”
“Because I knew if I made you jealous over Sawyer, you’d let me stay at the party since she was my ride home that night.” She looks at Mr. Gonzales, who’s starting to wake up from his slumber. “I never thought…I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
Stone stands up. “Get the fuck out. Both of you.”
“You’re not in charge here—” Bianca starts to say, but the sound of her phone ringing cuts her off.
Stone turns his angry glare on me. “How a royal scumbag like you managed to land a good girl like Sawyer is anyone’s guess.” He helps Mr. Gonzales off the ground. “Now leave, shit-stains, because we’re all out of rumors.” He glares at Bianca, who’s still on the phone. “Photoshopped pics of dicks.” He glares at me. “And dead twin brothers.”
I don’t think, I just start swinging.
“Cole, stop.”
Bianca tries to pull me off him, but she can’t.
I can’t.
I can’t stop hurting him.
I can’t stop making him pay.
I can’t stop feeling guilty…
“Cole, please.” Sirens in the distance have her yanking on my arm harder. “The cops are on the way.” When that doesn’t work, she says, “Oakley just called me. Sawyer’s in trouble. She needs you.”
Sawyer? Trouble? It’s like a shot of epinephrine straight to the heart.
I spring to my feet. “Where is she?”
Her eyes dart around. “She’s…at Christian’s.”
“Now that you’re a little calmer, I need to be honest with you,” Bianca says as I cut the engine.
I can hear the music bumping from out here.
“Can it wait until after I find Sawyer?”
“Sawyer’s not in trouble. Oakley told me to tell you that in order to get you to leave before the cops showed up.”
Fucking hell. Did everyone decide to become a goddamn liar tonight?
I start laughing.
When the shit you’re trapped in is six feet deep, when the pain is so severe you can’t even enjoy one ounce of happiness without being reminded of your biggest mistake and your greatest loss…there’s nothing else to do.
Except soak in your misery.
Because you deserve every goddamn agonizing second of it.
“Cole.” Bianca pales. �
��You’re starting to scare me a little.”
My maniacal laughter kicks up. “Only a little?”
“Maybe we should go home—”
“No.” I snatch the keys out of the ignition and toss them to her. “Drive yourself home, sport.”
“Cole—”
“No.”
I don’t want to fucking talk about it.
She can’t psychoanalyze me like one of her future patients.
“I miss him t—”
I punch the dashboard with my fist. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Okay,” she says softly. “We don’t have to talk about that.”
“I don’t want to talk at all.”
“That’s fine. We can do something else. Anything you want.”
Opening my car door, I stand up.
There’s only one thing I want to do right now.
Get drunk and numb the pain away.
Be lucky seven for a little while…because being Colton makes me so goddamn sick I want to end it all.
Chapter 47
Sawyer
Bianca: Don’t come to Christian’s. Cole isn’t feeling well.
If that’s not an alarming text, I don’t know what is.
I hand Stone an ice pack. Apparently, we arrived at Cluck You a minute too late and we just missed them.
So did the cops.
“Look, Mr. Gonzales,” Oakley’s dad starts. He walked through the door right after we did. “My client’s father is a very powerful man. He’s offered to pay for everything…including your pain and suffering. As long as you don’t press charges against his son.”
Stone clicks his tongue. “Of course he did.” Anger sharpens his features. “Mr. Gonzales isn’t interested in being paid off. He wants justice.”
“I’m sorry,” Mr. Zelenka says. “Who are you again?”
“I’m the other guy he beat up.”
“Right, well. Mr. Covington’s offering nothing to you.” His face is expressionless, but there’s tension in his jaw. “On account of your brother being responsible for his son’s death and all.”
“My brother didn’t do shit. It’s not like he put the noose around his neck—”
“Stone,” I yell. “What is wrong with you?”
I know Tommy is his brother so naturally he wants to defend him, but everyone knows what Tommy did.
The part he played in Liam’s death.
Stone points to the door. “That family is what’s wrong with me. I’m tired of them acting like they own this town. They barged in here like animals and started with me for no reason.” He gestures to Mr. Gonzales. “Accused him of sleeping with a teenage girl and then assaulted him.” He balls his hands. “His bitch sister even admitted she lied about the whole thing and he still beat me up. That guy is a damn quarterback. Do you know how his punches feel? I probably have permanent brain damage.”
Despite the two black eyes and split lip Stone’s sporting, that doesn’t sound like Cole…well, not exactly.
Something must have triggered him.
He doesn’t just lash out at people for no reason.
Okay, he does. But still. Something doesn’t feel right.
“You didn’t say anything to provoke him?”
“Nope.” Stone crosses his arms. “Nothing he didn’t deserve to hear.”
Well, that’s reassuring. Not.
Mr. Gonzales waves his hands around. “No pay off. He pays in jail.”
Oakley and I exchange a nervous glance.
“Please, Mr. Gonzales, Cole isn’t like that.” I gesture to myself. “I was the one who lied and told him I was here. He was defending my honor.”
Well, sort of. I might have lied about being Izzy, but I definitely didn’t make him believe I was fooling around with my boss. Gross.
Mr. G narrows his eyes. “You, late girl. Now you fired girl.”
Holy shit. “What? That’s not fair.”
Stone comes to my defense. “Sawyer had nothing to do with this. Don’t fire her because of some douchebag. She’s the hardest worker you have, and you know it. This place will fall apart without her.”
He mulls this over for a minute. “Suspended for one week.” His eyes flick back to me. “Without pay.”
I’ll take it.
He waves his arms again. “But no boyfriend here. Ever.”
“I will make sure he never steps foot inside here again. You have my word.”
Oakley’s dad clears his throat. “Now that we’ve got that resolved, can we talk about the issue of pressing charges?”
“Yes.”
“Great. So you accept Mr. Covington’s deal?”
He shakes his head profusely. “No.”
Stone smiles and the three of us groan.
Oakley steps forward. “Look, I’m not defending what he did, but you’ve been our age before, you know how it is. Sometimes we do shit without thinking it through. But, Cole isn’t some hoodlum who came in here to cause trouble. He was concerned about his girlfriend. He thought someone was taking advantage of her. He shouldn’t have punched you, but he’s far from a bad guy.”
Mr. Gonzales makes a face. “She’s the bad one.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. I’ll never understand why this man hates me so much.
“That may be true,” Oakley says, shooting me a warning look not to argue. “But Cole was trying to protect her. Like any good man would do for his woman. Like I’m sure you would do for yours.”
“Was that before or after he turned my face into ground meat for no reason?” Stone argues.
Oakley snaps his fingers. “Pipe down, little man.”
“Little man? I’m a sophomore. Hell, I probably have more hair on my balls than you.”
Oakley crinkles his nose. “Given those pictures of you that got leaked, I seriously doubt it.”
“That was because that stupid cunt—”
Oakley claps his hands. “Hey. That is enough out of you, little boy. Go home. It’s past your bedtime.” He turns back to my boss. “Don’t punish Cole for a mistake he made with good intentions. He’s a stand-up kid. Goes to a good school. Works his ass off playing football. Gets good…well, he gets grades. But most importantly, he’s never been in trouble before. Does that really sound like some menace who deserves to be put in jail over a misunderstanding?”
Damn. Oakley’s good.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see his dad beam with pride.
After what feels like an eternity, Mr. G speaks. “No jail.” He looks at Oakley’s dad. “Five-hundred thousand. I want to open a second store.”
He holds out his hand. “Consider it done. I’ll let my client know and he’ll wire the money to you.” Grinning, he juts his chin at the cops. “Go home, boys.” He looks at Oakley. “Got a minute to talk?”
“Sorry, can’t. I have—” Oakley turns to me. His eyes are pleading with me to bail him out.
“Cole’s at Christian’s and needs us to come pick him up. Oakley drove me here, otherwise I’d do it.”
Mr. Zelenka’s jaw tightens. “You have two more weeks with that car, Oak…unless you come home.”
“You said that two weeks ago.”
“Oakley,” I hiss.
This is not the way to win an argument.
Not to mention, I really want to see how Cole’s doing.
“Bianca said Cole’s not feeling well. We should get going.”
Oakley whips out his keys. “Let’s go.”
I scan the party for Cole the second we walk through the door.
I don’t find him, but I do spot Bianca dancing with Hayley.
“Hey. Where’s your brother?”
Her eyes become saucers. “You’re here. Why? I told you not to come.”
“I need to see Cole.”
She laughs nervously. “Not tonight you don’t. Trust me.”
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out something is seriously wrong.
“What’s going on?”
“He’s…having
a bit of a rough night. And if he was sober—which he most definitely is not—I really don’t think he’d want you to see him like this.”
My chest tightens. “Why?”
Grabbing my wrist, she drags me off the makeshift dance floor. “Please don’t put me in a position where I have to choose between my brother and my friend, because it won’t end well for you.”
“I don’t understand—”
“Go home, Sawyer. Trust me.” She looks down. “And when you get to school on Monday, try to ignore the rumors.”
My stomach flips. “What rumors?”
She holds my gaze. “My brother has feelings for you. But right now, he’s drunk and hurting. Being a stupid boy—”
The queasy feeling in my stomach gets worse. “Where is he?”
She shakes her head. “No. I won’t—”
“He’s out back in the hot tub,” Cortland interjects with a smile. “You should probably go check on him before he drowns.”
“What?”
Pushing past them, I rush out the patio doors.
The organ in my chest shatters like glass when I see him.
Or rather…them.
Cole’s eyes are closed and his head is resting against the ledge. There is a large cup in his hand and a few empty bottles scattered around the outside of the tub.
But that’s not the worst of it.
The worst of it is straddling him as she nuzzles her face into his neck.
Her string bikini—if it even qualifies as one—is barely hanging on.
“Drowning in Casey’s pussy,” Cortland shouts behind me.
A few people laugh.
“You’re such a piece of shit, Cortland,” Bianca snaps.
Picking up a bottle off the deck, she flings it. It crashes against the side of the tub.
“Wake up, idiot. Your girlfriend is here.”
That rouses him.
“Oh, hey, babe,” Cole slurs, a lazy grin spreading across his face. “You should come in and join us…the water feels great.”
“I don’t want that fat heifer anywhere near me,” Casey shrieks.
Cole pushes her off him. “You’re one to talk, skank. Have you seen yourself lately?” He staggers out of the tub. “When I walked in, I thought you were pregnant…but then I realized no one here wants to fuck you anymore.”