Page 155 of The Sidekick

Asher: What do you think?

I frown as I read the text. I thought he was going to answer for me, tell me which way to lean.

Asher: I know you’ll make the right decision.

“He’s kind of letting me down here,” Max’s brow furrows as he reads.

I chew my lip as I think about what I’m reading. The fact that he won’t take over for me makes me want to pout and stop responding. But, if there’s anything I’ve learned about him, it’s the fact that he means what he says. He trusts me to do the right thing. For me. I get to decide what I want to listen to with Satan and what I don’t.

He’s going off of a lot of blind faith. If I put that into question, he’s going to get upset. I’m going to have to do this on my own.

I stiffen my spine and come to a decision, dropping my hands into my lap.

“I’ll do what I need to in front of you in this office. If you don’t want to trust me, that’s fine. Once it’s done, I get to take my baby home and spoil it for being a trooper while I was gone. If I end up breaking in somewhere, Max can come or Asher. Probably Asher. He’s got amazing lock-picking skills.”

“I have skills,” Max pouts. I roll my eyes. He’s totally last on the pecking order.

“I didn’t say I don’t trust you,” Satan leans back in his chair. He looks concerned and angry at my words. It ticks me off.

“You don’t have to anymore. It goes without saying.” All his pretty, nice guy vibes got flushed down the toilet. He doesn’t get to go back to that and snow me under again.

“Tera, look at me,” he demands through clenched teeth.

No, I don’t have to. I don’t wanna, and I’m not gonna. I cross my arms over my chest and glare at the floor. “Do you agree or not?”

He blows out a loud breath. I can see him rubbing his thigh in agitation. I watch the movement carefully because it was the signal for when he got mean before. I think it’s a tell. Max doesn’t seem worried, but he’s in love with Satan and likes being punished. I don’t trust him on this one.

“I’ve gotten attached to this computer.” It’s like he’s trying to lure me into being nice to him. That’s my computer. He can take a hike, without my soul, thank you very much.

“You’ve been watching porn on my baby, haven’t you,” my frown gets more fierce. If I could set the floor on fire with my eyes, I would.

Max bursts into laughter as Satan gives out a surprised, “What?”

“You have a perfectly good phone for that, Satan. Leave my baby out of it.”

“W-we don’t have the password!” Max gasps for breath, rocking back and forth behind me.

“Shade was in here for three days straight trying to break into this thing and got nowhere,” Satan clears his throat like he’s trying not to laugh.

I finally look at him, confused. “He didn’t give you the password?”

“What do you mean?” Max’s hilarity slows to a stop behind me.

“He figured it out. He didn’t tell you?” I thought he would crow about breaking into my laptop, at least. Was it so easy to break into that it wasn’t a challenge? I’m starting to have a crisis of faith in my abilities now.

Satan’s voice darkens, “No. He didn’t.”

“That asshole said it was impossible to get into,” Max’s angry tone blends well with Satan’s.

“Oh. I guess he lied because he doesn’t want anyone to know he’s a dirty diary reader. If he wasn’t so upset, I’d clone his phone too. Oh gosh, he probably has spyware on it! What if he’s the porn watcher? No! Give me my baby!”

I spring off of Max’s lap, wringing my hands as I bounce on my toes. Things just got serious. Maybe this is why he wanted to get it back from them right away. To cover his dirty, diary-reading, worst best friend tracks while he could.

Satan watches my meltdown with a grin and reaches under the desk to the hidden cubby, pulling out the laptop covered in rainbow stickers. I can’t tell if the light is sparkling over it because it’s heaven-sent or the glitter on the stickers is that reflective. Either way, I squeal when I see it.

“It’s fully charged,” he gets out before I snatch it out of his diabolical hands and hug it to my chest.

I let this moment sink in with a contented sigh. It’s like I’ve gotten back a crucial piece of myself that I left behind.

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