Noah’s face crumbles and it absolutely kills me. “I’m sorry, babe. I have to go.”
“Don’t,” I tell him as my heart breaks, hating the type of work he does for the guy. He’s so much better than this. “Tell Anton to get fucked. You don’t need to be doing this.”
“It’s not that easy, Henley,” he tells me with frustration as Rivers starts jogging this way to kick me out and take my place.
“Of course, it’s that fucking easy,” I demand, starting to get pissed off. “You two are going to end up in prison for that douchebag. How could you be so stupid to throw your lives away like that?”
“I have to,” Noah yells back at me, clenching his jaw to try to reign in his emotions. “You fucking know this. I can’t stop. I owe him.”
“Because of Lily?” I question. “Don’t think you think she’d be fucking ashamed seeing what you do for him?”
Noah slams his hand down on the dash, making me jump. “Don’t you ever fucking speak for her again. You didn’t know her, you never did. So how the fuck can you sit there pretending you know how she would feel about this?” he roars. “Anton gave her twelve fucking months,” he reminds me. “She never would have gotten that without him. I owe him my fucking life.”
“But you don’t-”
“No,” he yells, not even giving me a chance to get my point across. “Get the fuck out, Henley. Go to school.”
I look up at him with hurt only to see a fierce determination etched into his face. I grab my bag and reach for my phone before releasing the door. “You’re a real fucking disappointment, Noah,” I tell him, hoping it cuts just as bad as he cut me.
I push my way out of his car and make sure to slam the door with everything I’ve got before walking away, fighting to control myself as Rivers jogs past me. “What the fuck’s wrong with you?” he questions, not really asking as he continues on to Noah’s Camaro.
“I’m not fucking bailing you out when you dickheads get arrested,” I throw over my shoulder.
Do not fucking cry. Do not cry.
I get up to my locker and see Tully down the hall and for once I don’t actually give a shit. She can come to me if she wants. All I care to do right now is to knock some fucking heads together, maybe draw a little blood too.
I mean, how dare he? Yeah, I maybe took it a little too far suggesting Lily would be ashamed, but that’s just common sense, right? What little sister wouldn’t hate her big brother getting involved in that bullshit? But he didn’t have to yell at me like that.
What have I done? Allowing myself to get this close to a guy? Giving him my heart and allowing him free reign over it. I should have known shit would start going south soon enough. I should reclaim my heart to avoid the inevitable heartbreak, but I don’t actually think it’s possible. Once you give it away, it’s fucking hard getting it back, and I fear Noah is going to hold claim over it for the rest of our lives.
So, if I’m fucking stuck with him, that douche canoe better come up with one hell of an apology, otherwise it’s going to be a shit show when he gets back from serving his deranged boss.
Shit. How is it so possible to hate someone while being furiously in love with him at the same time? Damn it. This fucking sucks.
Tully falls into the locker beside mine. “Who are we beating up at lunch?” she questions. “You look like shit.”
“Like you’re one to talk,” I say. “How’s your hangover?”
“We’re not talking about me.”
“Well, we sure as hell aren’t talking about me,” I tell her, pulling out my books and closing the locker door. I lean back into it and let out a sigh. “How is it possible for your brother to be such a dickhead?”
Tully grins to herself. “I knew it wouldn’t take much for you to break, but I sure as hell thought it’d take a bit more than that.”
“Can’t help it,” I tell her, sulking like a little bitch. “I’m so fucking angry with him.”
“What did he do now?” she questions.
I shake my head. “Just the usual Anton bullshit,” I tell her. “I might have suggested that Lily would be ashamed of him.”
Tully sucks in a sharp breath. “Fuck. That wouldn’t have gone down well.”
“It didn’t,” I agree. “He lost his fucking mind and then kicked me out.”
“Damn,” she sighs. “You know his head is going to be all sorts of fucked up today.”
“Yeah, I know,” I tell her, hating that I’m the one who made that happen. “I just…I can’t stand him working for a guy like that. I don’t want to be visiting him in prison for the rest of our lives.”