Page 13 of Psycho

I turned to Garrett. “Thanks for the ride.”

He shot me a smile that almost looked charming before leaning over and kissing me again.

I closed my eyes and fisted the front of his shirt, deepening the kiss, trying to feel something—anything.

There was nothing but the wet press of his lips against mine, the way his clothes smelled like marijuana, and his hand that came up and grasped my breast painfully, the silver rings he sometimes liked to wear pressed in on my skin there.

He groaned and I pulled away, taking in the way his dark eyes glinted with lust, and he shot me a wide grin.

“Sure you don’t want to ditch school and come back home with me?” he asked, adjusting himself and bringing my attention to his hard-on.

I looked at it for a beat before returning my gaze to his dark eyes and shook my head. We had only been going out for about two months. Still new enough that I could say I didn’t want to fool around any more than some heavy petting over the clothes. At this point, I wouldn’t be able to pick his dick out in a lineup.

“Can’t. You know I have to go,” I said.

Across the lot, a group of football players gathered. Football season was over already, but it didn’t matter. Football was like a religion at this school, and the players were worshipped.

In the center of the group was Josh Marstein, Jordy’s twin, and the captain and quarterback of the football team.

The group erupted in loud laughter that I could hear even from inside the car, with all the windows rolled up.

Garrett noticed where my attention was, and he shook his head.

“I don’t know why you bother going to school. Don’t you hear some of the shit those kids say about you?”

Yeah, I did, but they were not going to be the reason I dropped out.

I got this far, and I couldn’t drop out. Not only because it would be harder for me to find a job to support myself without a high school degree, but if I didn’t go to school, then I would be stuck at home… working full-time for Dad.

It was no secret that Garrett thought going to high school was a waste of time, especially since he dropped out when he was sixteen.

Now, he smoked a lot and drank a lot, and when his brain wasn’t muddled with chemicals, he would sell weed and a variety of hard drugs to people.

“Stay out of trouble,” I told him, opening the door and getting out.

He saluted me. “Always.”

I shut the door and walked off. He had already pulled out of there before I was halfway to the school, my heart feeling like it was weighed down by lead.

2

MICAH

I pulledup to a nice house in the suburbs, and like every time I went there, there was still a small moment of disbelief that my little brother lived there.

It wasn’t as grand as Dominic’s house, nor was it as big as the house Ryleigh had grown up in, but it was nice, and somehow, it fitted them.

I hopped off my bike, walked to the front door, and let myself in.

I found Roman sitting at the kitchen island, drinking coffee and messing with his phone.

He looked up when he heard me.

Though his expression didn’t change, I could see him looking closely at me.

“You okay?” he asked.

I grunted.

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