Page 27 of Sinful as They Come
“Yeah. Next time – fucking do it. And don’t ever expect me to do you a fuckin’ favor for a few bucks,” I spat. “Brodie, get in the fucking truck so we can get outta this place. Someone’s gonna call the cops on us if they get a look at this truck.”
Brodie gave Holly an apologetic stare before climbing back into my truck. I shoved my hand into his pocket and pulled out the money Holly had given him. I counted thirty, maybe forty bucks. That was dinner for the nextfew nights. But I was too much of a proud asshole to take it. I ripped the money up, tearing at the crisp green notes before throwing the torn pieces out the window. Holly just shook her head at me.
“I’m not your fucking charity case,” I snapped at her.
With that, I hit the accelerator, not caring how much noise I made in Holly’s quiet, gated community. They could all get fucked. Her included. Who the fuck did she think she was shoving her money in my face like that?
“Dude.” Brodie broke the silence. “Why’d you do that?”
“She deserved that.”
“She was just trying to help. Gas isn’t cheap. What’s your problem?”
“Are you fucking stupid?” I glared at Brodie for a second. “She did that to make me feel bad.”
“She did it because she owed you one. Holy shit.”
“Don’t care. I don’t need her money.”
“You’re an idiot.” He scoffed. “You know she’s already upset, right?”
It was my turn to scoff, and I looked at Brodie with what I could only assume was a glint in my eye. I didn’t care if Holly was upset. It wasn’t my job to look after her. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“I saw the way her boyfriend was talking to her. I guess he’s pissed all the attention wasn’t on him. I didn’t hear what they were saying, but I could tell they were arguing. Dude’s an asshole.”
“Well, she wants to marry him and have his fucking babies. Maybe she’s not as great as you think.”
“He shouldn’t have left her at school all alone.”
“Hewasn’t alone,” I mumbled.
“Who was he with?”
“Some girl on the cheerleading team. I dunno. He does that a lot.”
When Brodie didn’t say anything for a long moment, I looked over at him to see him looking at me with wide eyes. Why the fuck did he look so sad?
“What?” I asked.
“Should we tell her?” he whispered.
“No, we shouldn’t tell her. Don’t be stupid.”
“But she’s our friend.”
“Holly Sutton isnotmy fucking friend.”
“Okay, she’smyfriend. And if her boyfriend is cheating on her, then maybe we should tell her. Especially if it’s with someone that she knows.”
We pulled up at a red light, and I let out a long sigh. I had calmed down a little between the drive from Holly’s house to the main streets. I was still pissed at her, but my knuckles weren’t white anymore and my heart was no longer pumping fast. With that settled, I stared at Brodie and shook my head slowly at him.
“You wanna be her knight in shining armor? Is that it?” I wondered with a sharply raised eyebrow. “And then what? She marries you instead of her douche bag, cheating boyfriend?”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t like her like that. She’s my friend. I know you can’t stand the sight of her, but I don’t wanna see her get hurt.”
“You tell her that shit, and Carter will not let you forget it. You got one year of high school left and he’ll make it your longest. I promise. And I can’t be there all the time to make sure you don’t get your ass kicked.”
“I just think it’s unfair that he can treat her like that… Why is she even with him?”
