Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 73(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 49(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 73(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 49(@300wpm)
I blink, sure I’m seeing things.
Because my fucking brother is standing on the other side of the garage, grinning like there’s nothing wrong with him being here. I wipe my hands on a rag, my fingers stained from the day’s work, and step around the car, glaring at my sibling.
It hits me then, the memory of the text he sent me a week ago—the first night I was with Lacey. I managed to forget about it entirely, forget about him coming home entirely. Fuck!
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I growl at him, keeping space between us. I hope he can read how much I don’t want him here on my face.
Edward raises a brow, stepping closer because clearly, he doesn’t think I would actually hurt him. My fists clench at my sides, desperate to make contact with his smug smile. “What kind of greeting is that?” he snorts, shaking his head. “No hug for your brother?”
I sneer at him, anger running hot through my veins. I open my mouth to answer him, but he just keeps talking. I fall silent, listening as my rage grows hotter and hotter.
“...have you ever been to Spain? You need to go, it was incredible. Angela spent the whole time in a bikini. It was fucking brilliant,” he says with a gross eyebrow wiggle that makes me want to commit murder. “You know, it’s such a relief to finally be with a girl who’s fun and free-spirited and not an uptight prude. I just can’t be tied down and tamed, and it feels fucking great to be living the way I deserve instead of wasting my years on a girl who can’t even put out for one night.”
That’s my final straw. I surge forward, ready to slam him back into the wall and beat him a new one, but just as I’m about to grab him, the door swings open. A soft, feminine gasp breaks through the pounding rage in my ears, and I freeze where I stand. I don’t want her caught in the middle of a fight.
“What…” she breathes, taking in the scene with big eyes. Before I can explain what the hell’s happening to her, my fucking brother starts talking again.
“What are you doing here, Lacey?” he groans, as though exasperated by her mere presence. “You know it’s over, I don’t want you anymore, and no matter what you’re here to say, nothing’s going to change that. Did you follow me here or something? I’ve moved on. You need to give up, okay?”
The tone he’s taking with her is the same tone someone would use to speak to a young child with, completely patronizing and insulting as if the words alone aren’t bad enough.
I close the last distance between us and shut him up with my fist. The thud of my knuckles meeting his mouth is intensely satisfying, almost as satisfying as the pathetic noise that leaves his mouth while he stumbles backward, shocked and disoriented.
Finally, he’s silent. It’s my turn to give him a piece of my damn mind. I grab the collar of his shirt, forcing him to listen to me.
“She’s not fucking here for you,” I growl at him, my anger seeping into my words. “Lacey wouldn’t take you back if you begged on your fucking knees. You were lucky to even get a fucking glance from her, and you fucked it up. Now? That’s my girl. She’s here for me.”
Eddie’s mouth opens and shuts like he’s a fish out of water, which would be funny if I wasn’t so damn angry at him. He had so much to say just seconds ago, and now he’s acting speechless.
He’s my brother, but at this moment, I look at him and see nothing but the man who hurt my girl. He disgusts me.
He regains the use of his tongue and starts talking again. “You’re…together?” he asks, eyes comically wide as he processes this information. His gaze flicks to Lacey. “What the fuck? You lost me so you go try to get the next best thing?” he says to her, shock giving way to anger. “My brother? Really, Lacey? You bitch—”
“Keep her fucking name out of your disgusting mouth or I’ll break your teeth with my next punch,” I snarl at him, well and truly done with this. “You have no right to be angry after what you’ve done. We’ve done nothing wrong, and I refuse to let you continue speaking to her like this.”
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Lacey interrupts, speaking up for the first time. I look away from my brother to meet her eyes, pride filling me at the way she’s glaring at her ex and standing up for herself. That’s my girl. “You should go,” she tells Edward, a demand not a question. “Nobody wants you here, Edward.”