Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Draco was sitting at the table, his arms crossed over his chest and Kara sat on the counter, eyes wide.
But it was Charlie who made me freeze in place.
She was standing in front of the sink in her rattiest pajamas, her hands hanging at her sides, and the look of complete betrayal written across her face.
Oh, fuck that.
“Guys,” I said, clearing my throat. “This is—”
“Tabitha,” Kara said flatly. “Yeah, we know.”
“Hey, Kara,” Tally said quietly.
“You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve, showing up here,” Kara said, her voice still level as she hopped off the counter.
“You know each other?” I asked, glancing between Kara and Tally, then back over at Charlie, who hadn’t moved.
“We used to work together,” Kara said, tilting her head to the side. “Right, Tabitha? Until Charlie fired your ass.”
In a split second, I knew shit was only going to get worse and I needed to get Tally out of there before it did. Obviously there was some bad blood between them, but she didn’t deserve to be ambushed.
“Give me a break,” Tally replied, her tone surprising the hell out of me. The woman I was getting to know was sweet as hell and—
“I’ve got to hand it to you,” Kara said, clapping. “You’ve got balls.”
“I didn’t know you lived here,” Tally replied.
“Well, now you do,” Kara spat. “Get the fuck out of our house.”
“I live here, too,” I said, irritated. Whatever they had going on between them had nothing to do with me.
“Then pack your shit,” Kara shot back. “And you can get the fuck out.”
“Baby,” Draco said, his voice quiet. “Calm down.”
“I’m going to count to five,” Kara said, ignoring Draco as she straightened her shoulders. “If you’re not out, I’ll personally throw your ass out.”
“Is she kidding?” Tally asked me, stepping closer to my side.
“She’s not,” Charlie said, finally speaking up. Her face was completely devoid of color as she stared at us. “Get out.”
I looked at Draco. “What the fuck, man?”
“Take her home,” Draco said seriously.
“Let’s just go,” Tally said, pulling on my arm.
We turned to leave, and I was furious. I wasn’t asking them to welcome her with open arms if they didn’t like her, but they could’ve at least respected me enough to be fucking polite.
“Oh, and Tabitha,” Charlie called, making Tally turn. “I’ve already talked to your boss.”
Tally jerked in surprise.
“The next time you say shit about me or my business, you’ll be out of a job and living with mommy and daddy forever,” Charlie continued. “It’s funny how fast word travels when you start telling tales. You might never find another job around here, at least not as a barista.”
Tally sped back up and we left the house in a rush.
“I’m so sorry,” I said as she climbed into my truck. “I don’t know what the fuck—”
“Just drive me home, please,” Tally said quietly, closing the door in my face.
We were silent until I’d parked in front of her house.
“That was fun,” she said sarcastically, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, this isn’t going to work.”
“I’ll talk to them,” I replied. “I don’t know what the fuck that was.”
“It’s fine,” she said with a short laugh. “Call me if you ever move out.”
She hopped out of the truck and I watched her as she jogged toward her front door. When I’d picked Tally up earlier, I’d been on the fence about whether or not spending time with her was going to be a thing, but now that someone else had blown any chance of that I was livid.
I drove home white knuckled and practically shaking with anger. What a fucked up thing to do to someone. She’d come home with me expecting a fun time and she’d been embarrassed and talked to like trash. Plus, the whole situation made me look like a complete asshole, which really pissed me off.
I took a few deep breaths before walking in the front door, but I shouldn’t have even bothered, because the group in the kitchen had disbanded. Kara and Draco were curled up on the couch watching a movie and Charlie was nowhere to be seen.
“Not tonight,” Draco ordered as I turned in their direction. “We can hash it out tomorrow, yeah?”
I huffed in disbelief, but I knew from the way he was looking at me that if I pushed it, things were going to be much worse than they already were.
I jogged up the stairs and into my room, closing the door behind me, like a teenager that had just been grounded. I grew more furious as I shed my boots and took off the flannel I’d worn out.
Fuck it. I wasn’t the one who’d done something wrong. I wasn’t going to hide in my goddamn room. Still fuming, I didn’t notice the water running in the bathroom and threw the door open.