Ride or Die (Rejects Paradise 4)

“Probably,” Christian agrees before taking a deep breath. “Look,” he starts. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but for some fucking reason, I feel very protective of you.” I gape at him, but luckily he continues before I can think anything else of it. “You remind me of someone I used to know.”

“Used to know?” I question, suddenly a little more intrigued by this mystery man.

He nods. “My little sister, Roni. She’s about five years older than you.”

“Why do I get the feeling that this isn’t a good story?”

“Oh, it is,” he tells me. “It’s the best story. She’s living the dream and did the impossible, but doing the impossible means that she can’t be in my life.”

There’s pain in Christian’s voice, and it has me leaning in, more desperate to know about this sister of his and how the hell she managed to pull off getting out of Blaxlands Grove. Doing that is just as hard as escaping Breakers Flats. I got lucky by moving to Bellevue Springs with Mom. But even living two hours away, I’m still attached to this place and unable to completely break free. If Colton was smart, he’d ditch me and go and find himself a girl that isn’t going to drag him down like this. He deserves so much better, but unfortunately for him, I’m a selfish bitch and won’t ever let go of him.

“What happened to her?” I question, hoping I’m not crossing some invisible line.

He looks over at me and gives me a tight smile. “She was always so smart. She didn’t belong here like the rest of us. I don’t know where she got them from, but she had brains like I’ve never seen before. She was too kind for this place. She needed to be somewhere that wouldn’t destroy her. So, after she graduated high school, I gave her my car and every cent I had to my name, and I told her to drive until she found a place that would accept her.”

My brows shoot up. “You just let her leave?”

He nods. “Sometimes, when you love something, you have to let it go in order for it to shine to its best potential, and that’s exactly what she did.”

“What do you mean?”

“She got herself a job and worked her ass off for four years while she put herself through college. I can’t say that I really loved that part. She was working at Hooters for three years, and it drove me insane, but she suffered through it like a fucking boss. She rented this shitty little apartment with a few girls, and they supported each other all the way through to graduation when she came out top of her class.”

“Wow,” I say in awe, thinking of my own acceptance letter sitting on the kitchen counter in Colton’s pool house. “Girls from around here hardly ever get into college, let alone graduate at the top.”

“I know,” he says, pride shining brightly in his eyes. “She did amazing. I stood in the back and watched her accept her diploma. It was the best moment of my life. She made it.”

“That’s amazing,” I whisper as an agonizing jealousy tears through me. I was so close to having a future like that. I glance down at my plate, assuming I can trust him. “What happened after that?”

“She worked her way up. Last I checked, she was working as a school guidance counselor in one of those rich, private schools.”

Rich, private schools? “Wait,” I say, scrunching my brows and staring at him as though he just grew a second head. “Did you say Hooters?”

“Umm … yeah,” he says slowly, his eyes narrowing to slits.

“You’re not talking about Miss Davies, are you? The guidance counselor at Bellevue Springs Private school?”

He pulls back ever so slightly, watching me with caution. “Yeah. You know her?”

My eyes go big as excitement tears through me. “Holy shit,” I laugh. “Yes, I freaking know her. I’m a student at her school. She’s the reason that I got into college. She pushed me to be better because she didn’t want to see another girl from Breakers Flats with the same, boring generic life. She’s the first person to have believed in me in a really long time.”

“No shit?” he questions, a proud as fuck smile stretching across his face.

“Yeah, she told me all about you. You’re the brother who got jumped in so she wouldn’t have to.”

He nods. “Damn fucking straight, I am,” he says, leaning back into the barstool as though he can hardly believe what he’s hearing. “How was she? Did she look alright? I haven’t checked in with her for a while.”

“She’s doing great,” I tell him. “Super cocky about being the one girl who made it out of Blaxlands Grove, though I think she was putting it on just so I’d want to be better. She told me that she bought her own house.”