Savage Love (Ash and Innocence 2)

I pushed my plate away from myself and sat back in the booth. “Are you done now? Have you had a chance to say all the things you were so desperate to say?”

“I’m not going to be done until you give this a fair shot. I know how much it means to you to keep that video from getting out, and if you’re going to force me to use that to get you to open up, then I will.”

“I’ve got to take a leak.” I stood. For a minute, I considered just leaving. I could walk out, explain everything to Charli, and we’d deal with it together. But I couldn’t get the image out of my head. I could still see the way her legs were spread, the way the camera ruthlessly picked up every detail of the perfect little pussy I’d already come to think of as my property.

Nah. Letting the video get out wasn’t an option, and I needed to find a way to convince Sophie to trash it for good.

She stopped me with two fingertips on my wrist. “Leave your phone.”

“What?” I asked.

“I don’t want you trying anything suspicious. Leave it here.”

“No.”

“Cassian, I don’t want to be the bad guy. I just want to—”

“Too fucking late, Sophie. What is it, leave my phone or you send the video?”

“One person at a time. Yes. I’ll start with people I think would be least likely to share it around and work my way up to the biggest gossipers. So you can test me on that if you want, or—”

I slammed my phone down on the table. “Whatever.”

I went to the bathroom and pissed, feeling like I wanted to punch a hole through the wall instead. The whole situation was fucked.

But if there was one thing getting me through all the confusion, it was the growing certainty I had about Charli. She was the one. Whatever that meant, I wasn’t exactly sure. I just knew she made me feel different. She made me feel like there was some hope at the end of all this for once, and that was worth fighting for.

I washed off my hands and headed back out into the diner. It was a relatively shitty place with peeling wallpaper and cracked leather booths, and I wasn’t surprised Sophie had picked it.

She was smirking when I sat back down. She slid my phone to me, looking overly pleased with herself.

I frowned. “What?”

Sophie shrugged. “Nothing.”

I felt a compulsion to check my phone, wondering if she’d saved some dirty picture to my camera roll or whatever else might pass for a good idea in her twisted head. Instead, I shoved it in my pocket, determined not to let her see I was curious.

“You really think this will work?” I asked. “Force me to sit with you and talk to you over and over? Like something will just snap into place and I’ll suddenly realize I cared about you all along?”

“I think I need to wean you off Charli like an addict, actually. You were happy enough with me before she came along.”

“I was using you, just like I used everybody else. Warm holes. That’s literally all you were to me.”

Her confident smile faltered, but she was quick to plaster it back on. “It’s okay. I understand you. You say things like that because you want to hurt people, not because you mean them.”

I leaned on my elbows, wishing I could fast forward this nightmare. I’d thought Sophie was one of the more normal girls I crossed paths with when we started hanging out. It all felt like months ago now, even though it hadn’t been long ago at all. Apparently, I was a horrible judge of character, because she was looking more and more psychotic by the minute.

I endured another monologue by her about feelings and why I should have them for her. I was just starting to wonder when she’d give up for the night, but the bell over the door jingled. Charli came walking in, cheeks flushed and chest heaving like she’d jogged.

Oh, shit.

She spotted us and headed straight our way.

I brainstormed a few concise ways to explain what was happening, but before I could utter a single syllable, she slapped Sophie across the face. There was a momentary pause, then she punched her hard enough that Sophie’s lip started to bleed.

I burst out laughing, but then Charli turned her anger on me.

“I’m going to get to you, too.”

I wanted to smile more, but I knew better than to egg her on. Charli may have been five foot nothing, but whatever she lacked in size, she made up for in determination. “Should I explain?”

Charli shook her head, then jabbed a finger in Sophie’s face when it looked like she was about to start talking. “You sent me that picture from his phone. You knew exactly what I’d think. So why don’t you talk to me about why you’re blackmailing my boyfriend and trying to stir up drama?”