Page 154 of The Sidekick

“Will they track it back to you? I’m assuming this is Felix or Blaze we’re talking about,” Max frowns as he thinks it through. I forgot he saw a disgusting chain of texts between Shade and Blaze.

“The smaller pranks, yes. The larger ones? They’ll have no evidence.” I shrug. If they decide to be a raging nuisance about it, I can always call in Andi. Wait a second, I can call in Andi now! She’s always complaining that I never ask her for anything.

Me: They ripped Shade’s heart out. Revenge plans in progress. You in?

Andi: First off, you sound like Shade and it’s worrying me. You’ve been around him too long.

Me: You can’t complain until I lose all punctuation. ARE YOU IN?

Andi: Of course I’m in! This is just proof I’m #1 bestie.

Me: You both need help. There is no #1. It’s all in your heads.

Andi: Too late. Sent him a snapshot.

“Well, Andi is in,” Max chuckles and props his chin on my shoulder. “I’m in too, by the way. The guy has grown on me.”

“Now all of the risk has been moved to zero,” I nod once and glance back up at Satan. He’s running a finger over his bottom lip as he watches me. It makes me shift in discomfort. I can’t tell what he’s thinking.

“There will be rules, and you will obey them without question,” he suddenly drops his leg and leans forward to stare at me intensely. I drop my eyes and start texting Asher again.

Me: He says there are rules and I have to obey without question.

Asher: What are they?

He’s taking Satan making demands of me very well. I don’t know if I should be worried or not. It’s definitely irritating.

“I’m listening,” I straighten my shoulders, unintentionally knocking Max’s face off. He pouts and sits back. I’m too tense to apologize.

“The laptop does not leave this office. Any activities you do on it are done here. If you’re breaking in somewhere, Max or both of us have to be present.”

I don’t like that he wants to hold my baby hostage. What’s he been doing to her while I’ve been gone? How many viruses has he downloaded while watching porn? Just the thought of the abuse that could happen to her makes me mad.

I repeat his demands to Asher and wait for a response.

“Are you asking his permission to obey Trevor?” Max asks, and my stomach drops.

This is what I’m afraid of. Finally finding something that feels right and getting mocked for it. It’s proof that my needs are weird. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out I’m mentally unstable, but I’d prefer if people just pretend I’m normal and lie to my face.

All the doubts start piling up, sitting heavily on my chest.

“Holy shit, that’s hot,” he breathes out in wonder as he stares at the dark screen of my phone. My brow furrows in confusion.

“You don’t think it’s wrong?” I stare down at the floor, waiting for the punch line to whatever joke this is. I should have kept the question to myself. When he tears me down, I’ll only have myself to blame for inviting it.

“Wrong?” He asks in surprise, leaning so he can look at my face while he speaks. “Do you like it when he tells you what to do?”

I roll my lips in, refusing to answer. I’m not giving him any more ammo to use against me.

“You know what I like? When Trevor finally gets to three. It means that I’ve been a brat for long enough that I’m going to get punished.”

That sounds horrible! How does he handle the stress?

“That’s no good for you, though,” Max continues, playing with the ends of my ponytail, gently tugging my head back until I’m resting against him with my phone clutched to my chest. “You like being good. I like being bad. There’s nothing wrong with it either way. And you’ve already got a pecking order going, so you’re doing great.”

Satan glares at Max but doesn’t say a word.

A pecking order? Huh, I guess he’s right.

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