“I never said that. You’re assuming things. Perhaps you should stick to what you’re good at.” I step around the corner and see him gesture to the ice cream Savannah is holding.
“Are you calling me fat?” She draws back like she’s been physically assaulted.
“Your words.” He shrugs indifferently, a slow smile tugging at the corners of his mouth when he eyes me coming into the kitchen.
At this point, I’m ready to explode. It’s one thing to throw out false accusations about my mother, it’s quite another to personally attack my best friend who hasn’t been fat a day in her life.
“Hey, sis.” Disdain drips from his voice. “Me and the bestie here were just getting to know each other a little better.” His gaze goes back to Savannah.
“You are quite possibly the worst human being I have ever met,” I spit at him, balling my fists at my sides.
“Then perhaps you haven’t looked in the mirror lately.” He lets out a low chuckle, spinning around to grab his drink off the counter.
I open my mouth to say more, but Savannah stops me with a gentle touch to the arm. “Don’t,” she mouths, shaking her head. “He’s not worth it.” She glares at him over her shoulder.
“Come to my room later tonight. I bet I could change your mind. Trust me when I say, I’m very, very worth it,” Oliver calls out as she slides past me toward the hallway.
“Somehow I doubt that.” She stops in the doorway, turning to give him the biggest fuck you smile I’ve ever seen. “From what I’ve seen, you don’t have much to work with. Or did you think you were the only one who knew how to operate the record feature on your phone?”
With that, she grabs my arm and together we leave Oliver standing in the middle of the kitchen, speechless for probably the first time in his entire life.
ZAYDEN
THE HEAT OF RYLEE’S confused stare burns the side of my face.
“Umm… Zayden, you were supposed to turn left back there,” she says after I turn in the opposite direction of her house.
I grip her hand, tangle our fingers together, and place them both on my thigh. “I’m not taking you home yet.”
“Okaaaay.” She slowly draws out the word. “Where are we going then?”
I glance at her. “My place.”
She frowns and licks her lips. “Why?”
It’s not until I stop at a stop sign, check both ways, and press on the accelerator that I answer. “Because I’m not ready to drop you off yet. You okay with that?”
Her features soften and she gives me a small smile. “Yeah. I’m okay with that.”
I put my eyes back on the road. It’s been a week since the video fiasco, and except for the pit stop we’re making to my place today, we’ve formed a routine. I pick Rylee up in the mornings, hang with her as much as I can during the school day, then I take her home. I want to claim the only reason I’m doing this is because of the guilt I feel for my part in the shit she’s been through, but it’d be a lie, and if there’s one thing I hate more than spoiled rich people, it’s liars. Guilt may be a small part, but I’m doing it for more selfish reasons. I like being around Rylee. She quiets all the bad shit going on in my life.
“When is your next fight?” she asks, breaking the silence.
“Why?”
Her shoulder moves against mine when she shrugs. “I want to come watch.”
“That’s not a place I want you to be. You don’t need to see the shit that goes on there.”
“I know.” She starts trailing the tip of her finger over the back of my hand, her voice turning quiet. “But I like watching you fight. Or I did the one time I was there.”
I glance at her, raising a brow. “You liked seeing a guy beat on my face?”
Her lips quirk. “I liked seeing him try. I liked even more seeing him lose against you.”
“So, you’re bloodthirsty, then?” I chuckle. This girl surprises the hell out of me.
“Um… I wouldn’t really say that, but I don’t know….” She trails off.