Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 115590 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115590 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
“Wow. That’s…” Her eyes went wide, and she took a hefty swig of her drink.
“Stupid?” I felt stupid right now.
“No, but for you, that’s like, huge.”
The waitress placed plates of wimpy hamburgers in front of us. The thought of food had my stomach turning.
“Did he say it back?” Jade asked, lifting the greasy bun to pick off her pickles.
“Actually, he said it first.”
Her brows tugged together on a frown. “And you didn’t think to just tell him your mom OD’d?”
“That’s not the point, Jade!”
Grease dripped to the table when she took a bite of her burger. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re totally right. He’s an asshole.”
We changed the subject and finished our meal. Then Jade drove me to get my car. I always half-expected it to be gone every time I left it on the side of the road. But no, there it sat, in all its shitiness, no longer billowing steam. Where was Zepp when I needed him? By the time I got home, my mom was back from the hospital. She laid sprawled on the couch, and for the first time in a long time, I actually pitied her. She looked so thin, so battered by the world, worse than normal. Her skin was waxy, and she was shaking from head to foot. Withdrawals. Where the hell was Jerry? He had just let her overdose, and now he was letting her go cold turkey.
“Baby, I need… I need…”
“Yeah, I know, Mom.” I took my phone out and dialed a number. This wasn’t the first time I’d had to buy drugs for her so she wouldn’t die, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.
35
Zepp
Hendrix sat beside me on the couch and handed me a drink. “This is why us Hunts don’t do mahogany, man.”
“It’s monogamy, dipshit.”
“Whatever. One girl.” He waved a hand through the air. “Why the hell would you do that?” He motioned toward my crotch. “Why the hell would you do that? The sword of valor is meant to be wielded, not sheathed in one punani.”
Hendrix would never get it. Hell, I wouldn’t have gotten it a few months ago because I would never have believed I could have cared so much for one person. And it sucked because it hurt. I had trusted Monroe. I had allowed myself to be vulnerable, and she stabbed me in the damn heart with a piece of shrapnel. What was worse was that, even though it was plain as day, I was still struggling to believe she would screw around on me. I guessed that was what happened when you loved someone; you wanted to see the best in them.
I took a sip of my drink and slouched back against the couch cushion. “Maybe she didn’t fuck him.”
“You said she was in the same clothes.” Hendrix popped me on the head. “That’s as tell-tale as you get. Man, she rode his cock like a mechanical bull.”
The image had my stomach churning.
He grabbed the controllers, tossing one to me. “It sucks. But… come on. You had to be getting bored of that shit.” The game started. To my brother, this probably seemed easy.
I stared at the screen for a moment before taking my drink and heading to my room. I felt like an idiot, and when I collapsed on my bed, tears blurring my vision, I felt like a pussy. All I wanted to do was text her. Call her. Ask her why, but the answer didn’t matter.
Pretty certain this was long overdue karma coming in for the kill.
* * *
The next day at school, I stood with the guys at the end of the hall. Girls in a semicircle around us. My dumbass brother had made a show this morning, standing up on the hood of Wolf’s truck and shouting that I was single across the entire parking lot before I managed to yank his ass down.
Hendrix glanced around at the girls and grinned. “The blonde said she’d give you some head in the bathroom.” He whacked me on the back, and I shoved him away. “That should get you over her.”
“I’m gonna kill you.”
Holding up his hands, he took a step back. “Just trying to help you get some of that aggression out. A back up of jizz never did anyone any good.”
“Man, fuck off.” I made it halfway down the hall before Wolf caught up with me.
“You look like shit.”
I yanked open my locker door, rummaging through the shitshow of books and loose-leaf paper crammed inside before I dug out my chemistry book. When I shut the door, Wolf was still there. “What the hell do you want, man?”
“Dude…” He leaned back against the metal wall of lockers, then took a heavy breath. “I can’t believe I’m saying this. Because I liked the way shit was before her, but…”
I frowned and shook my head on my way through the crowded hall. “Save it, Wolf.”