Page 32 of Sinful as They Come
“I told you not to fuck with him.” Sawyer took a step towards me. “And yet there you go, doing the exact opposite of what I asked of you.”
“You think I follow your rules, Sawyer?”
“No, not mine. But yourboyfriend’s? Yeah, I think that insecure little prick may have had something to do with this.”
I had to laugh. “Carter isnotinsecure.”
“He threw a hissy fit that night, didn’t he? I saw him storm outta there.Dude looked pissed. Is he mad, Holly? Is he mad he’s not the big, bad guy he wants you to see him as?”
Sawyer kept walking. He was slowly closing the gap between us the more I moved backwards, not stopping until my back was to the lockers. And the hallways were empty. Sawyer was cutting class and I had been in the library. There was no one to get in the way of what he was about to do – whatever that was going to be.
“Leave Carter out of this,” I insisted.
“But it’s true, right?” Sawyer cocked an eyebrow. “He’s mad about the other night. He’s mad that all the attention wasn’t on him, that he couldn’t fucking impress everyone. I know I’m right. I saw the look on his face.”
“Look, this is stupid. I don’t have time for this…” I made an attempt to leave, taking a tiny step to my right, but that was when Sawyer slammed his left hand up against the locker behind me. Then his right hand was right by my head a moment later. My folder dropped and my breathing quickened.
He moved quick, and I was trapped right there between his leather-clad arms. He was so close. I could see the small scar above his eyebrow, his bright green eyes, the crooked smirk he always seemed to wear around me. I had seen it all before, but I had never seen it so up close. Just inches away from me. The smell of his cologne and cigarettes met my nose as I sucked in a sharp breath. The scent shouldn’t have been intriguing to me.
“You’re not going anywhere, princess. Not yet.” He shook his head.
“God, you’re so annoying. What do you want?”
“You’re a shitty friend,” he snapped.
He didn’t know it, but those words were enough to make shame and guilt fill me right up. I already knew I had messed up, that I had done something unfair and dishonest and cruel. There was no joy taken in what I had done to Brodie and I never wanted to hurt him, but Brodie didn’t know – and his annoying cousin certainly didn’t know – why I had done it.
“Look, you don’t get it.” I drew in a long breath. “It’s complicated, okay?I’m sorry Brodie’s story got cut! I am. I’ll give him a new article to work onand—”
“Your boyfriend’s a fucking pussy,” Sawyer cut me off once more.
I sighed sharply. “You’re vulgar.”
“You’re a shallow bitch.”
“Again: you’re vulgar.”
“I’m sure your little boyfriend says worse things about you in the locker room with the boys. When he’s not crying his fucking eyes out, that is.”
“You are so obsessed with him. Get over it.”
“Nah, I enjoy how…” Sawyer tilted his head. “Insecure he is.”
“Insecure? Carter? Do you even know what that word means? Carter is not insecure. You’re projecting.”
“Am I?” Sawyer licked at his lips, his eyes running up and down my body slowly. “I mean if he saw me here, bein’ all nice and cozy with you – what do you think he’d do?”
“He’d punch you in the face.”
“You don’t remember what happened last year?”
I huffed. Yes, of course I did. Everyone remembered. Sawyer got into fights all the time, but that had been one of his most violent. It was my poor boyfriend that had to suffer at the dangerous hands of Sawyer that day.
“That’s what I thought.” He snickered. “And what about the other day? You know, when he ran away from me after your stupid, little meeting. He seemed scared. And the other night he ran away fromyou. Like he couldn’t take the heat.”
“What’s your point, Sawyer?” I rolled my eyes.
“Just making an observation. From the looks of things, Carter Henderson seems like an insecure little bitch. Always stomping around school all angry when things don’t go his way. He gets so offended so easily. I mean… What is it, really?” He nodded at me.
