Page 131 of Outcast
“Don’t yell at your mother!” my dad snarled. “You’re the one who’s been lying and sneaking around. I’m so disappointed in you right now, Emory. This isn’t how we raised you.”
“No, because you raised me to be like him, right? Adam was the son you deserved, and instead, you got stuck with me.”
“What?” Dad flinched. “That’s not?—”
“I’m sorry, okay? I wish I’d died instead too. I tried. I tried to be everything he would have been to you. But I failed. I failed you both.”
I whirled and grabbed Mom’s car keys off the hook by the door. “I have to go.”
“Emory, damn it, just wait a minute,” Dad called.
But I couldn’t. My insides were churning, my whole body flashing hot and cold at what I’d done, at the truths I’d finally put down. I couldn’t breathe with their accusing gazes on me, with the weight of all their expectations finally crashing down.
I rushed outside and headed for Mom’s maroon Toyota Camry, hitting the Unlock button and hopping in. I started the car and backed out of the drive.
My whole family stood on the porch, watching me go, and all I could think as I drove away was,What now?
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
Gray
Holden waitedout front as we collected our belongings from Deputy Harvey, finally free to go after a miserable night lying on a hard bench and wanting to kick my own ass for fucking up so badly.
I shouldn’t have let Dallas push my buttons so easily that we ended up in a fucking brawl.
Not that I was sorry Emory socked that asshole in the jaw. I wished I had gotten the chance to do it myself, but it was good to see Emory stand up for himself. Hopefully, that bruise would make Dallas think twice before bothering him again.
Still, I regretted that my temper had dragged Emory and my brothers into such a mess.
“There were easier ways to get in my pants,” Axel said as he took his plastic baggie, fingers sliding along Harvey’s teasingly.
The deputy glowered.
“Don’t poke the bear,” I muttered. “I’ve had enough of this place.”
“Me too,” Bailey said.
“Let’s go, then,” Holden said, heading for the door.
Axel gave Harvey a playful little wave, then jogged to catch up with us as we trailed out into the parking lot. The sun was already bright in the sky, washing out the light-gray concrete beneath our feet.
“You all really outdid yourselves this time,” Holden said as we approached his GTO. “Nice job. Just when I was starting to get people in this town to believe we weren’t trouble.”
“What crawled up your ass?” Axel said.
Holden whirled, eyes furious. “Do you not think about anyone but yourself? I’ve been working my ass off for months to rebuild our reputation after the old man ran it into the ground. Right now, I should be at a brunch with some of the most influential business people in this town, and instead, I’m picking up my brothers from jail after abrawl.”
“Whoa, I know I fucked up, but it’s not that bad, is it?” I said. “It’s not like bikers will care about something like that when looking for repairs. Hell, they might respect us more.”
Holden glared. “Right, because that biker business is justpouringin.”
“It takes time to build?—”
“And meanwhile, we’ve got this loan to cover so we don’t lose our fucking house,” Holden snapped. “Not to mention, our reputation may not matter to those bikers, but it sure as hell matters if we ever want to win any of the local business grants from the Chamber of Commerce or get Bailey one of the local scholarships to Riverton Community College.”
“I don’t need to go to school,” Bailey protested.
Holden turned a hard look on him. “You’re going to school next year, even if I have to fucking burn down the auto shop to get insurance money.”
