Page 9 of Sinful as They Come
“You’re lucky my girl is giving you a chance to even work on the paper with her,” Carter said, his voice booming. “Honestly, I don’t even know why she’s bothering in the first place.”
“Maybe you should ask her that,” Sawyer said, his eyes landing on me for a second.
“Shouldn’t you be in juvie or something?” Carter’s voice was laced with disgust. “They let out early?”
“You think I’m scared to go back? ‘Cause I don’t mind taking your fucking head off, Henderson,” Sawyer said, his teeth gritted. “Will you tell your daddy if I punch you so hard I send you to the ER again?”
“Oh, please, you got lucky that time.”
Sawyer grinned. “And what about all the other times I kicked your ass?”
“Carter.” I tugged at his shirt. “Can we just go?”
“Listen to her,” Sawyer muttered. “Before I do it again.”
Carter sneered. “I’d like to see you try. No, really. ‘Cause I know you don’t have it in you.”
Sawyer took a confident step forward. Too confident, actually, because I knew he was ready to pounce. I was quick to stand in front of Carter, my hands pressed up against his chest a little firmer. Carter getting into a fight meant Carter getting into trouble. And that meant no football.
“It’s not worth it,” I whispered. “You don’t wanna get in trouble with Coach. He won’t let you play if he finds out about a fight.”
That was partly true. Mostly, I didn’t want a repeat of last year, because Carter and Sawyer got into a fight that literally resulted in a trip to the emergency room. Sawyer came out relatively unscathed before he was sentoff to juvie for a little while. But Carter? Carter had a serious concussion. And if Coach Ford found out about another altercation, there was a good chance Carter would get suspended. That often led to guys getting kicked off the team – and Carter needed football. He had plans on making it far, and he didn’t need anything holding him back. Especially someone like Sawyer.
My hand was stuck on the hem of Carter’s blue shirt. I kept pulling at it, hoping it would somehow yank him back and we could just go to his car. I didn’t want to see a fight. And I certainly didn’t want to get involved in one.
“You’re right.” Carter huffed. His eyes were on Sawyer. “These assholes aren’t worth it.”
With that, Carter grabbed my hand. He moved forward, guiding me closer and closer towards the two dark-haired boys so we could make it out the main exit. Carter made sure to give Sawyer a shove with his shoulder.
“See ya, Trailer Park Trash,” Carter said lowly.
I didn’t see it. But I heard the commotion behind me. Feet were moving fast on the floor. Clothes were being tugged at. Words were being muttered into someone’s ear.
I could picture it in my head. Brodie was holding Sawyer back.
Ugh. I hated it when Carter called Sawyer that awful nickname. They both hated each other. A lot. But making fun of Sawyer’s… economic situation was so unnecessary. There were so many awful things about Sawyer to bring up: how rude he was, how he always pestered me in class, how he seemed to pick on me more than anyone else. There was no need to talk about his living circumstances.
But Carter always thought I was sticking up for Sawyer when I brought that up. Carter used to say that because my family were wealthy that it was the kind of mentality I should have been having. But I never wanted to be that person.
“Just keep walking,” Carter directed.
I didn’t want to turn around as me and Carter moved. Sawyer once again did not deserve my attention. Not when I had my man right next to me.Carter was walking fast and hard – something he always did when he was mad. It sometimes made things difficult. Like when we got into a fight and he stormed off, his long legs getting him where he needed to go so much quicker than I could keep up with. It was one of the cons of being short.
But with him next to me, with his hand on mine as he pulled me forward, I could keep up. His scent lingered on me. I could smell his expensive cologne. It would have been alluring if we weren’t moving so fast.
Carter didn’t say a word until we got into his Porsche. He slammed the door so hard that I jumped, and then he looked at me with a sharp eye.
“I told you to kick him off the paper.” Carter finally broke the silence.
“Brodie’s not like Sawyer. He’s helpful. He wants to write and he’s good with all the sports games,” I told him with big eyes. “Don’t be mad. I’m sorry. Sawyer wasn’t supposed to be there. I didn’t know Sawyer was picking Brodie up until we were about to leave.”
“You know I don’t trust that asshole. Trailer Park Trash is to be ignored, Holly. What the hell does he think he’s doing getting close to you? I shouldn’t even have to deal with him. God, why the hell does my dad have to send me to this dump?”
I shut my eyes at the cruel nickname. Carter liked using it way too much. Carter and his family were fairly well-off people, but a private school was way out of the budget, and his dad had always talked about private schools not really preparing students for the real world. He wanted his son to grow and learn. It made sense to me. But Carter hated it.
“He was just picking Brodie up,” I explained.
“Just get rid of him. Seriously. That guy can’t be any good if he’s related toSawyerWestbrook.”
