Page 91 of Sinful as They Come
“Damn it,” I muttered.
Was she coming in? Holly and Brodie seemed to be arguing back and forth before she finally rolled her eyes and got out of the car. The happy grin on his face told me that he had convinced her to get out. They both walked over, with Brodie pushing open the door with that smile still on his face.
“You look excited,” was my greeting to him. He was enjoying bringing Holly around. And while our little apology session during the day had been interesting to say the least, I still wasn’t ready to be her best friend.
“How’s your first day of suspension going?” asked Brodie.
I didn’t answer his question. I just watched Holly. She looked a little timid. And completely out of place, standing there in my cramped living room.
“Productive,” I answered Brodie.
“You did some work?”
“I did some painting.”
“Cool. I’ll check it out later. Holly brought some stuff for you.”
Clearing her throat, Holly pulled her bag off. She looked through it before handing me a neat stack of papers, all kept together with a little heart-shaped paper clip. Taking them from her cautiously, I gave them a quick flick through.
“I took some notes for you in class,” she said softly. “And I asked forthis week’s work and assignments. Just so you can stay on top of things. Thought it’d be helpful.”
I coughed and tossed the stack to the coffee table. “Cool. Thanks…”
“Do you want something to drink, Holly?” Brodie asked politely. “It’s kinda warm today. I’ll get you soda.”
Ever the host. Except we didn’t have shit in the fridge. I prepared myself for embarrassment. For Holly’s judgmental eyes and words. But when Brodie pulled the fridge door open, none of that came. Holly stayed quiet.
“Huh, we gotta go shopping, dude.” Brodie looked over his shoulder at me. “Wait, I’ll be back in a minute.”
I let out a sharp breath, calling out to him as he dove down the hallway. He knew how shit things got, so I assumed he was going into his room to look for some money he couldn’t afford spending. “Yeah. I know.”
“Is… Is your dad home?” Holly asked quietly.
“No. He’s… out,” was the only explanation I could give her, because it was the only one that I had.
“Do you… I’m… I don’t want to be rude… Or… Intrusive… Or…”
“Just spit it out, princess.”
“Do you guys not have any food?” she asked softly and quickly, like she was embarrassed to be asking.
I rubbed at my forehead. “We have food. Don’t look so worried.”
She chewed at her plump, bottom lip. That was when I realized I had left all of the cabinets open. I had been so mad after realizing what my dad had done that I had left them like that for the world to see – including Holly. No food in there, no food in the fridge. It was a fucked situation. One she had never seen.
“Dude!” Brodie dove back into the hallway. “My fucking money is gone.”
“Yeah, I figured,” I sighed loudly. This was not a conversation I wanted to have around Holly, but she was standing there looking horrified at what she was seeing. The girl had a front row seat to our shit show.
“Your dad stole it?” Brodie asked, sounding defeated as ever.
“Yeah…”
“And your money?”
Brodie, holy shit, time and place. “Yeah, mine too.”
“All of it? The cash from your art deal too?”
