Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
It’s completely unhinged and wrong, but I don’t want anyone else to look at or touch her. Only me. Turning back around, he gives me a scowl.
“Don’t start,” I say. “I already got a lecture from Lee, so I don’t want to hear it from you too. Who I’m fucking has nothing to do with any of you.”
“Your fath—”
I cut him off before he can finish. “No. Don’t ever fucking start a sentence with your father to me again. What he does has nothing to do with me. I make sure he has what he wants, and that’s all I need to worry about. None of you assholes need to have anything to say about it.”
He leans in, his voice an urgent whisper. “No, you’re right. Your father is your business, but as your friends, we have a right to worry about you. We don’t want him to pull you out of school, and we sure as hell don’t want you to show up with a busted lip and a fucked-up eye again. Your actions have a direct impact on all of us.”
I pull back, swallow hard, but keep my face neutral. “That wasn’t...”
“Bullshit!” His voice rings out across the nearly silent room, and everyone in the area turns to look at us. I can lie to myself and everyone else at this school, but I can’t lie to my three best friends. They’ve been with me through it all. That doesn’t mean I have to be okay with the way he’s calling me out, though. We continue glaring at each other, the tension strung tight enough to choke, until everyone returns to their business, talking and whispering loud enough we can resume… no, finish our conversation.
“The carnival,” I prompt, making it clear we aren’t fucking talking about this anymore.
My friends have earned the right to be a part of my life, but that doesn’t give them the right to question my need to have a life outside what my father requires of me. Yes, everyone wants to keep Dad fucking happy, but I’m not willing to sacrifice my own life to make that happen. At least not anymore.
Sebastian’s jaw tightens, and he stares at me, his eyes blazing. I can see from the slight twitch in his arm and the curling of his hand into a fist that he wants to swing on me. It wouldn’t be the first or last time. Now that I think about it, we’re overdue for a fight.
“You’re a real asshole, you know that? I don’t have time to sit here and have a staring contest with you all day, not when I have to finish this fundraiser you saddled me with. Don’t you have your own shit to do? And what the fuck is with the girl? She was a chase in the woods, a good lay is what you told us, so why are you so far up her ass all of a sudden?”
Feeling a bit like we’re on safer ground, I sink in the chair and let out a long, breathy sigh of my own. “Yes, she was a chase through the fucking woods, but there’s something about her. Something that draws me in, something I’m keeping.”
“Keeping...like exclusively?” His face twists up in a scowl, incomprehension etched into his high cheekbones.
I don’t answer the question. I don’t want him to know how much interest I really have in Bel because like me, he gets his own fixation from time to time. “I haven’t decided yet. Now, the carnival? Just sign me up for something, and let me know where to be and at what time. We have practice before, so make sure I have enough time to get cleaned up.”
I shift enough to catch a glimpse of Bel over his shoulder again, and I notice that her eyes keep tracking over to us every couple of minutes. Like Sebastian’s outburst has her more on edge than the girl who came over to flirt with me. Not sure how I feel about that.
Sebastian makes a frustrated noise deep in his throat and shoves out of the chair to stand. “Watch for a text from me, asshole. If I have to hunt you down like a kid again, it won’t be to give you a date and time. It’ll be to kick your ass.” I give him a cheeky grin and flip him the bird.
He shakes his head and turns, walking away. I keep my eyes trained on his back as he crosses the library. My heart clenches in my chest, sinking low into my stomach when he stops at Bel’s table. I shove out of my seat and pretend to stand nonchalantly. The basketball player and Bel glance up at him for a moment. I see Sebastian speaking, and what he says makes Bel’s nose wrinkle in disapproval.