Page 14 of No Saint
I stared down at the borderline obese dog. Not a damn thing about him was scrawny. He lived in a frat house where everyone fed him pizza and fried chicken. “He’s definitely looking on the…healthy side.”
“That’s right, ‘cause I make sure he gets some good food when he’s here.” She dropped another piece to the floor, and he scarfed it down so fast he choked. “That’s some good eatin’s, ain’t it, Mr. Dog?” She took the milk and hobbled to the living room, placing the glasses on the coffee table before she collapsed on her recliner with a groan. “Come on over here and sit down, Wolf.” She patted the worn arm of the brown-velour sofa, most likely circa 1974.
The cushion nearly swallowed me when I sank onto the couch.
“Now, I was a’reading something on that interweb thing. Seems there’s this place you can go to and find yourself a nice lady.” Both her drawn-on eyebrows lifted. “A goodChristianlady.”
The woman was more concerned about me finding a girl and settling down than she was about saving my soul—which she was also worried about. Every Sunday, without fail, she tried to get me to go to church with her, and every Sunday, I politely declined. “Mrs. Seaton.” I took a bite of the gooey cookie. “You know I’m not looking for a girlfriend.” Mainly because the only real one I’d had all but ruined me.
Deep lines settled around her mouth when she gave a disapproving frown. “You better go on and get you one before you end up on those NFL channels.” She pointed at the blank TV. “Won’t be able to trust their intentions once you’re famous. They call ‘em gold diggers, you know. There’s even a song ‘bout it. Something ‘bout a boy winning the Super Bowl and driving off in some poor man’s car because he has to pay all his big bucks to some jezebel.” She shook her head, then took a cookie from her plate. “Can’t be having none of that. No, siree.”
What I didn’t have the heart to tell her was that unless I pulled up my grades, I wouldn’t have to worry about that at all.
I spent the better half of the morning with Mrs. Seaton, playing Rummikub and eating my weight in baked goods. The sun was high in the sky by the time I pulled out of Sunny Times Trailer Park. Not one cloud in the blue sky. It was the kind of day I’d lived for as a kid, and while I should have found a sense of peace in that drive, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had really fucked up.
“I’ve never been smart, but once Dad died, I just lost all motivation.” I glanced at Dog sitting in the passenger seat, nose in the air like some sort of royalty. “The least you could do is look at me.”
He turned his head toward the window.
“I’m throwing away your treats when—” That one word was all it took for him to look at me, tongue out, that slight-Shiba smile on his face. “You better be glad you’re cute.”
As soon as I opened the driver’s side door, he leaped over me, pissed on Rogue’s tire—again, I appreciated how much of an asshole that dog was—then he took off toward the front door.
Bell was sprawled out on the couch, staring at the TV. “How’s your hangover?” He grunted when Dog jumped straight on his crotch.
“Had worse.” I collapsed onto the chair in the corner of the room, then kicked off my sneakers.
A few minutes into an episode ofClarkson’s Farm, a loud bang came from upstairs, followed by Rogue screaming, “Fuck!”
Bellamy’s confused gaze met mine.
I thumbed toward the entranceway. “Ten bucks that has something to do with Cassie.”
“It always has something to do with Cassie.”
Another string of curses echoed through the house, followed by heavy footfalls thudding down the stairs. “Guess what I just heard?” Rogue stormed into the living room, scowling like someone had shit on his designer sheets.
“Cassie fucked the soccer team?” Bell snorted before changing the channel.
Rogue’s hardened gaze narrowed on him. “No. That Tommy-fucking-Mitchell was sellingElast night.” He opened the coat closet and grabbed one of the baseball bats. “Double what we charge.”
Tommy trying to buy pills off us was one thing. His getting them from someone else, and then selling them, onourturf…that was pretty much him putting in his last supper request on Death Row. “Where the hell did he getEfrom?” No one else sold the crap but us.
“Some cunt stole my stash.” Rogue grabbed another bat and tossed it to me.
Anger bled through me. Someone had the audacity to come into our house and steal our shit—forTommy. I gripped the wood in my hand and shoved out of the chair. “You know damn well that asshole had someone do that for him.”
“No shit.” Rogue headed toward the front of the house. “And after we handle Tommy. We’ll handle that piece of shit, too.”
Five
Jade
Warm sunlight streamed through the grime-covered living room window, making our crappy apartment look almost cheerful. The wall paint had long-ago yellowed, and the ceiling in the bathroom was covered in mold, but, on the bright side, we had a view of the thin line of trees that separated our apartment block from the railroad tracks. The leaves had turned, and if I squinted a little, I could almost imagine I was in the woods on a sunny fall day. Alas, I was sitting on our worn couch with my foot propped on the edge of the coffee table while I did a terrible job of painting my toenails.
Still, for the first time in a long time, I felt a degree of levity. It had been three days since I went to confront Wolf, and instead, I helped rob Rogue. That five hundred bucks had helped me pay down some of my parents’ mortgage debt. Just enough to stop them from repossessing the house. For another month, at least. I also had a night off for the first time in weeks. All I’d planned to do was sleep. Between school, work, and the money-making side hustles I did to try to keep a roof over my parents’ heads, I was permanently exhausted.
Cassie walked into the living area, dressed in an oversized Prada shirt, which I assumed was Rogue’s. No one else around here could afford that crap. Yeah, she was deep in the break-up ritual. Next would come her break-up playlist. Then her nasty eight-dollar vodka. She grabbed a box of cereal from the kitchen counter, then crossed the tiny living area and collapsed onto the couch next to me.
