Текст книги "Gold"

Автор книги: K. A. Linde

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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 26 страниц)

BRYNA STOOD OUTSIDE in her cheer uniform, holding her pom-poms. The weather was nice for the first weekend in November, but as the sun was setting, all the girls wore their black-gold-and-silver cheer jackets over their uniforms to ward off the chill before the annual homecoming parade.

Bryna was on her phone, lounging against the bed of a pickup truck. Andrew was texting her from his hotel room out of town with the rest of the football team, saying how boring it was and describing all the things he would rather be doing to her instead. It was a nice distraction even if he was getting really clingy.

Hugh had also been texting her semi-regularly since they had left the gala. He wasn’t sure when he was going to be back in town again. She hadn’t decided if this was a good thing yet. She wasn’t anxious to find another excuse not to fuck Hugh, if she could even hold out any longer.

She wanted to fuck him. He was hot and wealthy and charming—everything she was looking for. He was Hugh Westercamp. He could have anyone he wanted, and he wanted her. That was what mattered.

“Bryna, come take a picture with me!” Stacia called. Three little girls were staring up at Stacia star struck.

“No, thanks. I’ll wait right here.”

Stacia pouted her bottom lip. “You can’t be on that thing all night.”

“I’ll put it away when the parade starts.”

“One picture? Please!”

As if on cue, Bryna’s phone rang. “Sorry. I have to take this.”

“Fine,” Stacia spat.

Bryna glanced down at her phone in her hand and saw her father’s name lighting up the screen. Her stomach dropped before she even answered the phone. “Hey, Daddy.”

“Hey, sweetheart! How are you doing?”

“I’m great. We’re about to start the homecoming parade. When should I expect you to be in town? Late tonight or really early tomorrow? You know what it’s like,” she said, babbling on. “We have to be at the stadium, dressed and ready early in the morning, so tonight would be better. Are you going to stay at the condo? Or did you get a hotel room? There’s plenty of room at the condo, of course. I had the maid make up the guest room for you. On Sunday, I thought we could do brunch before you leave town. I’m dying to take you to this new place on campus. Also, Coach Galloway wanted me to remind you—”

“Bryna,” he said softly.

“No,” she stated firmly. “No. You’re not doing this to me again! You promised me homecoming.”

“I know, honey. But Celia has been sick lately, and she needs me here.”

Bryna frowned. She despised Celia, her evil witch of a stepmother, for ruining her parents’ marriage and then moving her Valley trash into her father’s house—not to mention, for bringing her horrible stepbrother, Pace, into her life.

“So, you’re choosing her over keeping your promise to your only daughter?”

Fire filled her veins. She couldn’t believe this was happening again. He used to come to everything for her when she was younger, but ever since he’d married Celia and with his overindulgence in work, he hadn’t come to anything. He had missed Christmas last year along with countless other important events for her over the years, but it had never been for something as ridiculous as this. And she had thought—after he had made it home for her charity function last year, even if it had been a fucking disaster with Jude there, as well as spending time together in Paris over the summer as promised—things would turn around. But no. She could never count on him for anything.

“Now, Bryna, that’s enough! You’re going to be there for three more years. I’ll come next time.”

“Sure you will.” She ground her teeth together. “Why can’t someone else take care of Celia? What is even wrong with her?”

He hesitated. “We’re not sure yet. I didn’t want to scare you, but she has to get some tests taken.”

“What kind of tests?”

“We want to make sure everything is okay. Try not to worry about it.”

“Okay,” she said flippantly. “So, you’re still not going to come then? Not at all?”

“I can’t, Bryna, but I’m sending Pace in my place. He has some exciting news for you.”

“Don’t bother,” Bryna growled. “I hate Pace, and you know it.”

Her father sighed heavily on the phone. “He is coming up there for recruitment anyway. He doesn’t even have to stay with you, if you don’t want him to, but try to show him around.”

“He can’t go here, Daddy! You have to convince him to go somewhere else,” she said, nearly hysterical.

“He’s my son now, Bryna. He’ll be a Gambler if I can help it. It’s where he wants to go, just like you, and you’re not going to stop him. Do you understand me?”

“He’s your son?” She nearly gagged. “I can’t even right now. That’s seriously disturbing.”

“Bryna—”

“You know what? Forget it. I’m sorry I’m just realizing that your new family is so much more important than your old family.”

“Honey, you’re overreacting. There would be serious implications for me if I left right now. I hate disappointing you, but you will always be my baby girl,” her father said.

“Okay.” She clearly wasn’t getting into his head. The whole thing infuriated her. “Well, the parade is starting. So…bye.”

“Bye, sweetheart.”

She hung up the phone, even more pissed off than when she had been talking to her dad. How dare he! With everything going on in her life, she had really been looking forward to spending some quality time with him, but no, he couldn’t even manage that.

“Hey! Who was that?” Stacia asked, bounding over to Bryna.

“No one. Doesn’t matter. Are you ready to go?” Bryna threw her phone into her pocket, stripped out of her jacket, tossed it on the back of the truck, and retrieved her poms.

“Yeah. Totally.”

But it did matter, and Bryna couldn’t let it go.

It only got worse when Pace showed up at her condo later that night.

“Hey, sis,” he said.

He barreled inside, passing her, and she considered leaving to avoid him, but she couldn’t even stay with Andrew, who was holed up in some hotel.

“Don’t call me that,” she spat.

“Don’t tell me you’re not excited that I’m in town,” he said as if he didn’t know she hated him. “You’re going to have to get used to it because I have a feeling that I’m going to be here a whole lot more come January.”

Bryna’s face paled. “What do you mean?”

“Coach Galloway got the approval today. I’ll officially be an LV State football player in January. I’ll graduate high school a semester early and start classes in the spring. I won’t get to play for this season, but I’ll start practices.”

She rested her hand on the couch to keep herself upright. “You’re…moving to Las Vegas in two months?”

“Yeah. Dad said I could stay here until I got my own place.”

Pace’s smirk was so broad that she thought she might be sick. He was really serious.

“You cannot stay in my condo.”

“Technically, it’s Dad’s condo, so—”

“Stop calling him that! He’s not your dad!” she shrieked.

Pace dropped his bag in the middle of the living room and kicked back on the couch. He crossed his arms and stared up at her in a leering way she definitely couldn’t miss.

“Keep yelling all you want, Bri. I like it when you yell.”

Bryna’s grip on the couch tightened as she kept from screaming in rage. “Just stay away from me and my friends.”

“What? Think I know things about you that others don’t? How many people know about senior year, Bri? How many know about Jude?”

She shuddered. “Leave him out of this. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I think I do.”

“Even if you did,” she ground out, “senior year is long over, and I’m already tired of having you around again.”

She stomped upstairs, trying to convince herself that she wasn’t fleeing her sleazy stepbrother. This weekend couldn’t possibly get any worse.

The next morning was a dry seventy-five degrees, and Bryna was cheering on the sidelines at the game. She could see Pace standing next to the team on the sidelines, and it infuriated her all the more. He hadn’t even wanted to come to LV State until he knew she was interested in attending. Last year, he had made it his personal mission to try to ruin her life, and she was not looking forward to his reappearance since nothing had changed between them. He still wanted to torment her and also get in her pants. She wanted to get away from the reminder of what her father had done.

Right before the end of the first half, the cheerleaders were jostled closer to the football team to accommodate the marching band and all the alumni members of the football team, band, and auxiliaries—dance team, flag line, and baton twirlers. A figure moved to stand next to her, and she glanced up, surprised to see Eric.

“What?” she demanded. She was already on edge, and she and Eric did nothing but argue. “I’m really not in the mood today.”

Eric frowned. “I was coming to see if your dad was here. Coach wanted to talk to him after the game, but he wasn’t listed with the alumni players.”

“Yeah, he’s not here.”

“All right. I thought you said he was coming.”

Bryna closed her eyes and breathed out before answering, “My stepmother is sick, so he couldn’t make it.”

“I see. I hope she’s okay,” he said with sincere concern in his voice.

She rolled her eyes. “I hope she falls into a vat of acid.”

“That’s pleasant,” Eric drawled. “What did she do to you?”

“Nothing. Broke up my parents, married my dad, and moved into my mother’s house.”

“So then, that’s your stepbrother?” he asked, pointing to Pace.

Bryna nodded. “Unfortunately. Why?”

“They’ve been recruiting him. I think he’s going to be here next year.”

“Don’t fucking remind me,” she grumbled. “I can’t stand the thought of that creep being here.”

“He’s a good ball player.”

“So was O.J. Simpson,” Bryna deadpanned.

Eric actually laughed out loud. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. His whole body seemed to relax with it. “That’s true.”

Suddenly, Bryna felt uncomfortable. She wasn’t supposed to be comfortable around Eric Wilkins. He was the prick who always picked fights with her. She knew his secrets, and he despised her for being that girl.

“Anyway, Pace is an asshole,” Bryna said.

“I noticed that.”

Bryna looked up at him in shock. Most people thought Pace was an angel. He put on a good act. She didn’t think many other people could see through it. Certainly, no one in high school had. Her own father couldn’t see through the bullshit.

“Well, have to go. Thought I’d check for Coach,” Eric said quickly before disappearing into the crowd of football players running toward the locker room.

Pace approached her at the end of the game after the Gamblers had come out victorious, and she did everything she could not to scratch his eyes out. Being around him made everything worse. She was going to have to find a way to get him to leave.

“Good game,” Pace said. “I’m really liking it here, sis.”

He blatantly leered at her in her cheer uniform, and she momentarily wished she were more covered up. He was so disgusting.

“Don’t get any ideas, asshole. You’re not coming here next year.” She hoped that saying it out loud would make it a reality.

“Oh, I have plenty of ideas,” he said, looking her up and down.

“You’re disgusting.”

“Babe!” Andrew cried. He appeared at her side in that moment.

Without a second thought, he threw his arm around her waist and crushed his lips down onto hers. She breathed in the kiss in slight horror because Pace was watching. He had made it clear that he was out to sabotage her all over again. She didn’t want him to sit around and watch everyone who was in her life.

She took a step back when he released her. “Hey.”

“Who’s this?” Andrew nodded his head at Pace.

“I’m her brother,” Pace assured him.

“Stepbrother.”

“Cool, man!” Andrew cried.

“I didn’t know Bri was dating anyone,” Pace said. He sent Bryna a questioning look.

“We’re not dating,” Bryna said automatically. She had been saying it since Andrew told everyone they were sleeping together.

Andrew seemed to believe her less and less.

“Same old, same old, huh, Bri?” Pace asked.

“Fuck off, Pace,” she snarled. “Come on, Andrew. Let’s get out of here.”

Pace laughed at her retreating back. “See you tonight at Posse.”

She shook her head and kept walking. She was not going to let him get to her any more than he’d already had.

“What was that all about?” Andrew asked once they were a safe distance away from Pace.

“Nothing. He’s an asshole, but he wants to play football here next year.”

“Cool!” Andrew said.

It was as if he hadn’t heard a word she said besides football. Ugh!

“Oh my God!” Stacia shrieked. She rushed toward them and attached herself to Bryna’s other arm. “Who was that guy? He’s mega hot!”

“Stepbrother, S. Don’t touch him with a ten-foot pole,” Bryna demanded.

She stuck her bottom lip out. “You ruin all the fun!”

“He’s still in high school anyway.” For two more months. If she could help it, he wouldn’t end up here.

Stacia shrugged. “Fine. Forget I mentioned it. Let’s find Trihn and get ready for Posse tonight! Sorry, Andrew, I need to steal your girl.”

“I am not his girl!” Bryna insisted.

“All right. Later, babe. See you tonight,” Andrew said before planting a possessive kiss on her lips.

“Goddamn it. I can’t keep doing this,” she told Stacia as they walked away.

Andrew’s insistence that they were dating was icing on the cake with all her other problems this weekend. She needed a drink something fierce to forget her own existence for a little while.

POSSE WAS FILLED TO THE BRIM with students and alumni anxious to see the football players after the successful game. The bouncer wasn’t admitting anyone else inside due to the fire code, but luckily, Bryna, Stacia, and Trihn were regulars, so they could bypass the wait.

Once they were inside, it was a swamp. She didn’t want to deal with the crowds. She wanted to get wasted beyond comprehension and forget about this weekend, maybe even the whole week.

They finally made it to the bar where Maya was working. It wasn’t often she was downstairs, but she was the best, and it was so busy that they must have needed her expertise.

“Peppermint Posse,” Bryna called as soon as her friend appeared in front of her.

“Going for the strong shit tonight?” Maya yelled back.

“As strong as you can. I need it.”

Bryna leaned back against the bar in her black sheer lace dress that left little up to the imagination, and she drank in the stares she was receiving. She had on her favorite classic red-lacquered Louboutins. She was ready to rule tonight. No more bullshit.

Maya handed her the drink, and Bryna promptly downed it as quickly as she could. She shuddered as the mint-flavored vodka martini set fire to her throat.

“Whoa! Take it easy. You have all night,” Maya chastised her.

“Keep them coming,” Bryna instructed.

“That’s what she said,” Stacia said with a giggle. She sidled up to Bryna at the bar, wearing a sapphire backless romper that tied around her neck. “Can I get something fruity?”

“Sure, sweets.” Maya poured both of the drinks at once. “What about you, Trihni?”

Trihn shrugged. “The usual.”

“You’re looking particularly grungy today,” Maya complimented her.

Trihn was decked out in a black leather skirt with a black sequined tank and studded combat boots. She had bangles on both wrists, almost up to her elbows, and onyx studs in her ears. Her makeup was especially heavy tonight.

Trihn ignored the comment, but when Neal appeared at her side, the reason for her extra effort became clear. He was cut and tall with shaggy brown hair and the same arsty look as Trihn. They looked like a matched set. It made Bryna sick.

“So, are you two officially dating now, or what?” Bryna asked. She reached for her second drink and guzzled it as if it was water and she had run a marathon.

“Bri, geez,” Trihn said in exasperation.

“Just curious.”

Bryna knew Trihn hated talking about her relationship. She was super private about it, and it made no sense. Bryna and Stacia were completely open about theirs. What did Trihn have to hide?

“Are you and Andrew?” Trihn shot back.

“Oh my God, no! We’re not even dating. This has to stop!”

She couldn’t handle this anymore. How many times would I have to say that Andrew and me aren’t dating before people fucking figured it out? They were fucking around, and that was all. She was going to have to prove a point tonight.

Bryna finished her drink and left it with Maya before abandoning her friends and heading straight to the dance floor. She danced with the first hot football player she could get her hands on. There was no Andrew in her life. At this point, he didn’t fucking exist to her. Her head was full of vodka, and she was riding the wave on a surfboard.

After a few songs, Bryna had forgotten the faces of the different guys she had danced with. Someone had bought her a drink, something fruity that tasted like shit. She’d also miraculously done a round of shots with a group of people, but she couldn’t remember what it was. She was wonderfully tipsy with her arms around a guy whom she strained to put a name to. All she knew was that he was cute, on the football team, and decidedly not Andrew.

His lips landed on hers, aggressive but sloppy. She ignored her own disgust and returned the kiss with vigor. Suddenly, she was wrenched back from the guy. She stumbled backward into another girl who cussed her out. Bryna didn’t even bother apologizing.

Her eyes adjusted to what was going on. Andrew was all up in the guy’s face, yelling profanities and holding his fist up as if he planned to punch him right then and there.

“Andrew, stop!” she shrieked, grabbing his arm.

“What the fuck, Bri? What is going on? Why did you have your tongue down this guy’s throat?”

“We’re not even dating. I can do whatever I want,” she slurred.

“You’re fucking joking, right?”

“No, I’m not.”

“We’ve been fucking exclusively for over a month. What more do you want?”

“Who said we’re exclusive?” she asked condescendingly.

“Well, have you fucked anyone else?” His eyes dared her to respond.

“Do you really want me to answer that?” she asked. She hadn’t actually been with anyone else since she hadn’t gotten that far with Hugh. But she had given a blow job earlier this week. Did that count?

“Fuck!” Andrew yelled. “Who is it? I’ll fucking kill him.”

“Get over yourself. This was supposed to be fun, Andrew, and now, you’re making a scene. It’s not fun anymore.”

Andrew angrily shook his head and threw his arms out in frustration. “Sorry, I misunderstood. Enjoy your fucking night.”

He stormed off, leaving her in the middle of the dance floor. All eyes were on her, and she felt their judgment from all sides. Fuck, I’m so over this. She needed another drink to stop thinking about her self-sabotage.

She made it back to the bar. Trihn was still with Neal talking to Maya. Both girls had concern in their eyes when Bryna returned.

“Another martini, Maya,” Bryna said.

“Maybe you should slow down.” Trihn lightly touched Bryna’s arm. “What happened out there?”

“Pay attention,” Bryna snapped. “Andrew and I aren’t together.”

“There you are, Bri!” Stacia cried. “I saw that shit on the dance floor. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I have no feelings for Andrew. I’m never going to have feelings for anyone ever again.”

“But he has feelings for you,” Trihn said. “It was kind of a bitch move to make out with someone else instead of just breaking up with him.”

“We’re not dating though!” Bryna rolled her eyes. A bitch move. Great. “Isn’t that what everyone expects from me anyway? How is this any different?”

She was letting the alcohol and anger get the best of her, and she didn’t even care. It was like every bit of emotion she had bottled up in the past eight months came rushing back to her all at once. She couldn’t control it. She just rode the emotions like a train barreling off the tracks.

“We’re trying to help,” Trihn said. “You’re kind of self-destructing.”

Bryna shrugged unapologetically. “This is who I am. I’m the queen bitch. I accept my crown and title. Take it, or leave it. I’ve never pretended to be anyone else, and I never will.”

She walked back to the dance floor to try to find someone else to buy her another drink. She had made a circuit on the floor when a hand on her shoulder stopped her in place.

“That was an interesting show.”

Ugh! Pace.

“Fuck off. I have no reason to be around you, and I might turn homicidal if you remain in my presence.”

“Oh, sis, you’re such a sweet talker,” he crooned.

Bryna reared back and slapped him clear across the face. His head jerked to the side. The sound ricocheted through the room. Her hand tingled from where she had hit him, and he roughly grabbed her wrist before she could walk away.

Pace bore down upon her as he laughed at the exchange. Despite that, she saw the unbridled anger in his eyes. He was furious with what had happened, and he looked like he was ready to take it out on her.

“Let me go!” she yelled.

“I don’t think I will.”

“Get the fuck off my campus, away from my friends and family, and out of my fucking life, you sick, twisted pervert!” she spat. She wobbled from the alcohol, and she knew her words hadn’t come out completely right. But she didn’t care.

“Okay,” Pace agreed.

Bryna warily looked at him. Even drunk and sloppy, she knew that wasn’t the right response. “Okay? Just like that?”

Pace gave her an once-over. “I’ll leave and I won’t come to LV State.”

“What’s the catch?”

He smiled. “It’s really simple. I only want one thing.”

She narrowed her eyes. “And what’s that?”

“You. For one night.”

“Oh my God,” she cried, shaking her head. “Are you demented?”

He pulled her in really close, and she recoiled.

“We’re not related, as you keep telling everyone, and anyway, I know you want me. Can’t you feel all the sexual tension?” He ran his hand along her jaw.

She slapped it away. “There’s no tension between us. Zero!”

“Let me have your body tonight, and then you can go back to doing whatever you want.”

“Fucking you is quite possibly the last thing I want to do in this lifetime. I’m drunk, Pace, not a completely different person, and I would need to be someone else to even consider something that repulsive.”

“And I thought you wanted LV State to yourself.”

“And I thought you claimed not to want me. I always knew that was a fucking lie. You want me and my life and my family. You’ll never get that. You’ll never have me! Stay the fuck away from me.” She yanked her hand out of his grasp and stumbled backward.

She got lost in the crowd, letting the sea of people direct her movements. She was more furious than ever. Tears pricked at her eyes, but she pushed them back. She needed to drink more and forget all this shit. She wanted to black out and wake up tomorrow to find her picture-perfect life was all back in order, not lying on the floor in a scattered mess.

The angrier she got, the more the memories flooded her conscious. She remembered the devastating weeks after Jude had walked out of her life. As hard as her exterior was, she had turned into a zombie after he wrecked her. He’d entered her life, full of love, passion, and complete understanding. Then, several months later, after she had lost everything but her immense love for him, he had torn her apart. Even though she had still been the queen bee at school during the last few months, in her despair, nothing else had ever really mattered to her.

Now, the depression was settling back over her like a familiar dark cloak.

So, she danced with anyone and everyone as seductively as she could. She noticed another commotion with Andrew, who seemed pissed that she was dancing with another football player, but she avoided it. She couldn’t deal with that tonight. Andrew didn’t have anything to mend a battered, broken heart.

She felt like her walls were fracturing, and only immeasurable stress could crack the ice queen.

One of the guys brought her more shots, and she tipped them back without tasting them. Another pair of lips descended on hers. She let the intoxication muddle her mind. She didn’t care anymore.

When she pulled back from the kiss, the guy backed up in surprise.

What is his name?

“Mind if I talk with Bryna for a minute?” Eric asked over her shoulder.

“Sure, man.” The guy was already dancing with another girl.

“What the fuck, Eric?”

He sighed dramatically. “Can I talk to you? In private?”

“You already turned me down. Haven’t you done enough? I’m not your type. Trust me, I know all about your type,” she slurred.

“I’m sure. But no, that’s not why. Let’s just go talk, Bri.”

“Didn’t anyone tell you, only my friends call me that?”

“Well, you won’t have any if you don’t get moving and chill out. I’m doing you a favor.”

“I don’t need your fucking favors.” Bryna slipped forward and landed against his chest. Instead of laughing, she felt a tear trickle out of her eyes. Good God! She needed to get it together. She wiped the tear away with the back of her hand.

“All right, drunkie. I didn’t want to have to do this.” Eric slipped his hand under her knees and picked her up as if she were as light as a feather.

“Eric!” she cried. “Put me down!”

But he wasn’t listening as he carried her through the crowd and outside to the mostly empty patio. The pool was closed, but there was still water in it. It was a chilly night, and goose bumps broke out on her skin, but the coldness seemed to immediately clear her head.

Eric lightly dropped her onto a lounge chair. “You should be glad I didn’t throw you into the pool.”

“Fuck you!”

“I’m pretty sure you gave the impression that you wanted to do that with everyone else in the room tonight,” Eric told her.

“Who cares? I’m that girl, right?”

He ran a hand back through his hair as if he couldn’t believe he was dealing with this right now. “I was starting to think otherwise,” he admitted.

“What?” she asked, honestly surprised.

“But you’re proving that wrong tonight.”

“I don’t have to prove anything to you. Stop meddling in my life. I can do whatever I want.”

He threw his arms out at her. “By all means, keep fucking up your life. You’re not only hurting all the people you care about. You’re hurting yourself, too, even though you seem to have little regard for yourself.”

“What does it matter to you who I’m hurting? You’ve been nothing but an antagonistic asshole since I got here. I don’t know what this knight-in-shining-armor routine is, but you can drop the fucking act.”

“It’s not an act! Andrew is my friend, and while I repeatedly told him he was too good for you, he wouldn’t listen. So, you’ve fucked with my friend by being exactly the person I warned him about. What is your problem?”

“My problem?” she shouted back at him. “You have no clue. You just judge me. Don’t feel bad for me. I’m fine. It doesn’t matter that my father won’t spend time with me or that my stepbrother simultaneously wants to fuck me and ruin my life,” she cried.

Eric stiffened at those words and clenched his fists.

“Forget the fact that I get looked down upon when my fuck buddy decides to get outrageously clingy, and I do something about it because I’m a bitch, right? I’m just a slutty cheerleader!”

“Bryna,” Eric interjected.

“Let’s not forget the part where I have a judgmental asshole yelling in my face because I hurt his friend’s feelings. I made it fucking clear to Andrew that we were just fucking around. I’m not interested in long-term anything. In fact, I’m not interested in feeling at all.” Her eyes were hard and unwavering. “So, you can tell him that he fucking did this to himself.”

Eric shifted uncomfortably.

She hadn’t meant to spew everything that had been bothering her tonight, but it had all come out. The alcohol had been a part of it, but it had also felt good to unload on someone—even if it was Eric Wilkins.

“Look, you and Andrew are with each other all the time, giving the impression that you are together,” he said as if that made it right.

“Whether I gave that impression or not, I said countless times that we weren’t going to be in a relationship, and he refused to listen. That isn’t my fault. I’m sorry, but he dug himself into a hole, and now, he’s boohooing that I don’t want to be exclusive. I might be that girl, but I’m honest about it.”

“Well, I’ve always known you to be blunt with me,” Eric said dryly.

“Anyway, if he had a problem with me, he should have been man enough to be out here, voicing his own opinion. He shouldn’t have sent a lackey to do it for him.”

“He didn’t send me. I was concerned,” Eric admitted. “I saw you talking to your stepbrother, and things looked tense. After that, you seemed to spiral more and more out of control.”

Concerned? Eric was concerned? Yeah, right. And pigs could fly.

“Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine. No need to hover and stick your nose in other people’s business,” she said, flipping her blonde hair off her shoulders.

“Fuck. You’ve been pissy since you came to school. Sorry that I was fucking worried about you.”

“Don’t be! I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

“Clearly,” Eric drawled. He sounded unconvinced. Considering he had carried her drunk ass outside, maybe he had a reason.

“Run along, Cowboy,” she taunted, not listening to her own subconscious. “I have a few more people to piss off before this miserable fucking weekend is complete.”

Eric shook his head in both disgust and pity. He mumbled something under his breath and then walked away. He made it to the door before turning back to her. “You know, you draw people in with your larger-than-life personality”—he sighed—“and then you kill them with it, too.”

Bryna glared at him. “This is just who I am.”

“I’m starting to think even you don’t know who that person is.”