Bradford Brawler (Bradford Bastard 2)

Hands fall to my waist, and I take a breath, watching the way Erica’s gaze lifts to Tanner’s behind me, her eyes filled with terror. She shakes her head, her tears falling freely down her face before lowering her stare back to mine. “Please, Bri,” she murmurs, sobs tearing at her chest as she falls to her knees in the grass. “Please forgive me. Colby made me do it. He made me give them your name. He said if I didn’t, he’d come for me next. Please, I had no choice, but I thought our friendship could withstand anything. I thought we were stronger than this.”

I scoff, shaking my head and feeling every little piece of my heart breaking within me. I crouch down, meeting her shattered stare, and swallow over the lump in my throat. “I will never forgive you for this,” I tell her. “You’re on your own, and I hope to God that you’re charged for every bit of the involvement you had, including the shit you did to me. There’s a girl in the house right behind me who’s struggling to hold on, struggling to deal with the memories and trauma both you and Colby have caused her, a family you’ve torn to pieces and destroyed. You don’t deserve to walk free, Erica, and you sure as fuck don’t deserve my friendship. We’re done. Don’t ever come here again, otherwise I will put you in the ground myself. Get back in your piece of shit car and leave.”

My hands shake as she gapes at me in horror. “No, no, don’t do this. You’re my best friend.”

I shake my head, pitying the cold bitch on her knees. “No, I’m not,” I tell her. “Since moving here, I’ve learned what it means to have real friends. Ilaria, Chanel, Arizona, and Addison would never do the things to me that you’ve done. They’d sooner die than be anything like you. So leave, I have my friends and Tanner—the only people I need in my life. I don’t need you, not anymore.”

She swallows hard, looking at me as though I’m some kind of stranger, and I watch as she shakily gets to her feet, not uttering a single word. The tears don’t stop, and I can’t help but wonder what she was hoping to get from this, but before I can wonder long, she scurries around to her driver’s side door and lunges back into her car.

Erica hits the gas and, sparing one last longing stare, takes off, pulling the car around in a reckless U-turn. Her tires screech against the road and, not a moment later, she’s gone, leaving my life for good.

The overwhelming pain cripples me, and I fall to the ground, my face buried deep in my hands as I cry. Tanner’s strong arms curl around me, scooping me off the dirty ground, and pulling me against his inviting chest. Then without another word, he turns and makes his way back to his house, not stopping until I’m cocooned in his bed, his body flush against mine and his lips firmly against my temple.

Chapter 25

TANNER

Clutching Addison’s hand, we stare up at the courthouse, both of us nervous for very different reasons. Addison is terrified about seeing Colby in the flesh and dealing with the fallout that will come with that, whereas all I can think about is just how fucking slimy his lawyer is.

It’s been two days since Mom’s call out by the lake, and today’s the day we finally get a move on Addison’s case. Colby will stand in front of the judge, have his charges read out, and be asked how he pleads. It’s not exactly a massive step for Addison, but at least we’re moving in the right direction.

“You’re going to be alright,” I tell Addison, pulling her into my side and giving her a tight squeeze. “Hold your head high. You don’t even have to look at him, hell I don’t think you have to do anything at all. It’s only the arraignment, they’re just laying out the charges and asking him how he pleads, like in the movies.”

She swallows hard and tries to hide the nervousness I see in her eyes. “I know,” she says. “I’m just … nervous.”

“I know,” I say, glancing back down the stairs to find Mom and Dad moving in behind us with the court prosecutor, Eddison Bishop, right at their side. “Everything good?”

“Yes,” Eddison says, looking between both me and Addison, explaining everything step by step, knowing we’re both nervous and curious. “In ten minutes, we’ll start making our way inside. Today is simple. Nothing is expected of you at this point, and you may sit with your family. You’ll hear a lot of legal jargon which you probably won’t understand, however you can take notes and we can have a lengthy discussion afterward. Today is a formal acknowledgment of Colby’s charges, and he will be asked how he pleads. Most likely, he’ll plead not guilty. The judge will notify the court of the details pertaining to bail and then a date will be set for trial. Did you follow all of that?”