Page 59 of North
I shut my eyes against her words. I wanted to push them back down her throat. Mel was the only one in the house who didn’t know about me and North and I wanted to tell her one on one. I wanted her to be the first person besides Elijah that I told. I damn sure didn’t want her to find out like that.
Melanie’s gray eyes pierced me, cementing me to my spot. Her arched brows knitted together as she examined my face like I was a new person. Luckily, North was in the bathroom and wasn’t at ground zero when the bomb dropped. When she did join us, she could tell the energy was off.
“What’s wrong?” She frowned.
“Sierra was telling us how she wishes she had a relationship like you and Kane. I’m trying to figure out what kind of relationship that is…or am I missing something.” Her pointed gaze swung back and forth.
I watched North’s cheeks turn bright pink and I stepped in front of her, folding my arms across the span of my chest.
“Mel, this isn’t how I wanted you to find out. I did plan to tell you about North and me though because you’re my friend. A good friend.”
“Wow,” she sighed heavily, placing a hand on her hip. “This is something I need to evaluate. I guess I’ve always seen how close you two are and knew something wasdifferentbut.” She shook her head and sighed. She looked at Sierra briefly then outfitted herself with a polite smile. When she reached over to hug me, she spoke into my ear. “We’ll talk later. There are eyes and ears around.”
I nodded quickly then slapped hands with Elijah. “Hey, man love is love. Don’t let negative people make you forget that.” His words were pointed at Sierra and she deserved that shit She deserved every ounce of scrutiny that came her way and I hoped after tonight, North realized she wasn’t her friend.
Once Elijah and Melanie left, I looked at Sierra. “Where’s your ride?” I quizzed.
“Oh, they can’t make it all the way out here at this time of night. I figured I’d crash here until the morning then North can take me home in her brand new car.” She rolled her eyes and I’d had enough of her.
“I don’t feel well. I’m not up for a sleepover. Why didn’t you say something about spending the night before?” North frowned.
“I didn’t think it would be a problem. I guess I should’ve known when it came down to choosing between your best friend and your dad you’d choose him.”
North looked at the ceiling then rubbed her forehead. “That’s not it and you know it. I told you I don’t feel well. I think I ate too much at dinner or something.”
“North, go upstairs and lie down.” I walked over and hugged her tight, kissing her forehead, then each of her eyelids. “I’ll make sure Sierra gets home and then I’ll be up there.”
I prepared myself for the pushback but I didn’t get any. North didn’t even tell Sierra goodbye. Maybe she finally saw through the bullshit mask Sierra wore.
The second North was upstairs and out of sight, Sierra turned her gaze to me.
“Are you going to take me home, Kane?” She purred, moving closer.
“Fuck. No. I don’t want to be anywhere near you. I’m getting you an Uber.” I pulled out my phone but she placed her hand on mine, pushing it down.
“Can you give me a ride? I don’t feel comfortable riding all that way with some strange man.” She pressed herself against me, mashing her tits against my chest before I shoved her back. Not hard enough to make her fall, but hard enough for her to get the fucking point.
“In a minute, I’m not going to care how the hell you get home as long as you get out of my house.” She was moments away from me losing my composure.
Sierra blinked at me and I could see her thoughts stutter. “Stop acting like you don’t want to jump at the opportunity to fuck me.” She slid her hands along her deep curves and stepped closer to me.
“I don’t want to touch you. Get the fuck out of my house, Sierra.” My nostrils flared against her harsh perfume and her audacity.
“Oh…” She scoffed taking a step back and tipping her head to one side. “So, since I’m not your daughter you don’t want me? You know North is broken, right? You can try to dress her up, bring her to a new town and give her a car but she’ll always be the escaped abortion of an addict.”
Rage swallowed me until wisps of smoke were coming from my ears and all I could see was red. I flattened her against the wall with my forearm loosely across her neck. My bared teeth were inches from her nose.
“Get the fuck out. Don’t call North. Don’t text her. Don’t ever speak to her again.” I moved my arm leaving her sputtering and coughing.
“And you’re always going to be a sick bastard who fucks his kid.” She straightened her top and I stepped away from her trying to grasp at threads of my obliterated composure.
I had no idea what to think when I saw a blur of blue and red streak by me. It took my eyes a few seconds to catch up but as soon as they did, I saw North’s fist crack into Sierra’s face. They became a ball of hair grabbing and obscenities that I had to pry apart.
“You’re a bitch!” North screamed from my arms. I restrained her enough so she couldn’t hit Sierra anymore even though she’d done some pretty impressive damage. Loud, angry scratches littered Sierra’s face and neck.
“I can’t believe after all the years…” North’s voice crumbled into salty tears. “All the years we’ve been friends you only stuck around so you could feel better about yourself.” Her pink lips were bright, matching the tip of her nose.
I tried to shield her from Sierra but she pulled away with more strength than I gave her credit for. I realized I couldn’t shield her anymore. The one thing she clung to desperately was her friendship with Sierra and it was blown away in a matter of seconds. I couldn’t protect her from that.
