Page 2 of Sinful as They Come
“Amazing. Brodie, I’ll leave you alone, then. But feel free to pop in here anytime if you’re in need.” The older man smiled. “And I’m sure Holly here will be glad to help as well. You two are going to make such a terrific team for the school newspaper!”
God. Please. If he was anything like Sawyer, there was no way I could even be in the same room as him to work on the newspaper together. Sorry, Brodie – but your cousin could be blamed for that. I didn’t trust any Westbrook.
I stayed quiet as me and Brodie exited Principal Yorke’s office. Brodie surprisingly held the door open for me, and I whispered out a quiet “thank you” as we moved into the hallway. Thinking about his cousin ever doing that for me almost made me laugh right then and there.
“Welcome to Britton High,” I said with a nervous smile. Was he going to argue with me like Sawyer always did?
“Thanks! I’m actually excited to start. This school seems a lot better than the last one I was at.”
“What was your old school?”
“Maine High. That’s in Kansas,” Brodie explained. “My parents are kinda having… issues. It was easier to just come out here and live with Sawyer instead of dealing with their drama. I turned eighteen over the summer, so that made it a little easier.”
“I turned eighteen as well,” I said. Brodie sounded like he didn’t want me prying into his family issues too much, so I was doing my best to change the subject. “I hope you like it here. Britton High is a good school.”
“It’s pretty big, huh?” Brodie asked with wide eyes. “I’m gonna get lost for sure.”
“I can show you where your math room is,” I offered quietly. “It’s on the way to my room.”
“Oh, cool. That’d be great. Thank you.”
I couldn’t believe how polite he was. There was no way he was related to Sawyer. I needed to investigate as I led Brodie to his room. “So… Sawyer’s your cousin? Sawyer Westbrook?”
“Yup. That’s him. Are you guys friends?”
I couldn’t hold back my laugh at that point. “Uh, no. No, we are not.”
Brodie looked over at me with a grin. “He can be kinda… moody sometimes. Maybe it’s an artist thing.”
“Sometimes?”
“Okay, maybe all the time. But once you get to know him, he’s pretty cool. He’s my favorite cousin, actually.”
“Either Sawyer is youronlycousin or all your other cousins are terrible.” I couldn’t imagine Sawyer being my favorite anything. Well, maybe he was my favorite person to argue with.
“It’s the second one,” Brodie said, his voice light. “What’s the deal with you and Sawyer?”
I looked over at Brodie, not quite sure how to answer his question. Sawyer and I met back in elementary school. When he had somehow managed to be an absolute monster even at the age of nine.
I didn’t move to the area until grade four, which meant I had no friends when I first started. I could envision Sawyer’s young face in my head so clearly. He always had something to say to me, even back then. Always.
I let out a little breath. “We just… We’ve never really gotten along,” I said lowly, suddenly getting more and more paranoid that Sawyer was going to be in my class. Please, please, please don’t let that happen.
My explanation was sugar coating it. We were total opposites. That was the real problem. I knew Sawyer was from the wrong side of the tracks. He lived over at Cedar Crest, at one of the many trailer parks that sat by the interstate. I came from a totally different world and called Highland Park my home. It was a rather affluent part of town, especially compared to Cedar Crest. My family were well off, and for that, I was thankful. I was one of the lucky ones, and I appreciated every luxury my family and I had.
But that seemed to put a big, red target on my back that only Sawyer saw.
I was the “rich bitch” and the “stuck up princess” and the “prissy, little Malibu Barbie.” All very endearing insults from the one and only Sawyer Westbrook.
“He didn’t mention anything about you two not getting along,” said Brodie. “He’s actually the one who told me about the school paper.”
I almost stopped in my tracks right then and there. “Sawyer told you about it?”
“Uh, yeah.” Brodie gave me a look. He must have heard the tone in my voice. “Wait, I hope you don’t mind me joining...”
My eyes shut for a moment. “No, not at all. It’s just… I’m surprised to hear Sawyer mentioning the newspaper in a good light.”
Brodie let out a sheepish chuckle. “He actually said The Chronicle was the worst part of this school, but I like to write, so I thought I’d still check it out. That’s how I found out about it. He gave me a little run down of things to avoid. He also said the cheerleading team sucks; that the football team is awful; and that the art club is full of, and I quote, pretentious assholes.”
