Ride or Die (Rejects Paradise 4)

Both their eyes go wide. “Oh, shit,” Drix says. “Are you serious? Do they tell you all that stuff? Fuck, I didn’t realize you were like … in with them. I just figured they were trying to get in your pants.”

If only she knew that I wasn’t even referring to the same gang that she’s thinking of, but that’s something that I'll never tell. It’s one thing for her to know about the Widows, but if she was to start snooping around the Wolves, she could end up in trouble.

“They’re just friends,” I tell her, referring to the guys she’s actually thinking of. “At least, usually, they’re just friends. Right now, they’re all on my shit list.”

“Even the guy who came storming into the cafeteria? Because let me tell you, I don’t think he thought you guys were just friends.”

I look her straight in the eyes. “Nic is the worst of them,” I tell her. “Stay far, far away from him. He’s going to rot in hell for the shit that he’s done.”

Both of their brows drop, picking up on the pain in my tone. “Are you okay?” Jess asks. “Is something more going on that we should know about?”

I press my lips into a tight line and shake my head. "No, it's nothing," I tell them, even though referring to Nic's sins as 'nothing' feels wrong. They're absolutely everything. “I can’t talk about it. Just know that when I get snappy today, it’s not you guys. I’m just trying to work through some shit.”

“Are you sure?” Drix questions, lowering her voice and stepping into me to keep our conversation private from the rest of the students lingering in the hallway. “Is there anything we can do to make it better?”

“You can change the topic,” I say, desperate to move this right along. “What’s going on with Charlie? Are you guys still smooshing your bits together?”

Drix gives me a blank stare as Jess tries to smother a laugh. “Do you really have to say it like that? You make it sound gross. What Charlie and I have is … romantic.”

“Romantic?” I laugh. “Charlie is a lot of things, but romantic is not one of them.”

Hendrix groans and rolls her eyes before a wide grin stretches across her face and she gets all flustered. “Alright, fine. He’s not romantic at all. He’s a total dork, like a super dork with this cheesy, but sexy grin, and when his eyes sparkle it’s like a warning that I’m about to get my world rocked. He’s …”

“He's Charlie,” I finish for her, completely understanding where she’s coming from. “You really like him.”

“I mean, I don’t really like him. I like him just the normal amount.”

Jess scoffs. “Uh-huh. If you liked him the normal amount, you wouldn’t have called me every night for the past four nights telling me all about the guy, and how he accidentally brushed past your hand, and it gave you butterflies, and how—”

“Okaaaaay,” Drix cuts in, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she stares at Jess. “That’s more than enough out of you.” She looks back at me. “Don’t listen to her. It’s been too long since she got off with an actual penis that she’s starting to hear things.”

Jess rolls her eyes and steps around us. “Alright, bitches. I’m out of here. You two can suck my massive dick.” We laugh as she goes, but she stops and turns back, aiming a daring smirk at Drix. “For the record, you’re totally in love with Charlie, and I don’t need to have a plowed pussy to tell.”

Drix stares with her mouth hanging open as I howl with laughter, feeling as though that one comment was exactly what I needed to get my head back in the game.

I don’t even know why I’m still bothering with school. It feels like a colossal waste of time at this point. It’s not like I’m going to have time for college once I have a baby. Not to mention, if things don’t pan out how I hope, I’m going to be with the Wolves for a while. I highly doubt that they’re all about having a higher education. Sure, they might put me through a few training courses, but that would be more like, ‘How to Kill Quickly and Efficiently 101’ or ‘Gutting: The How To Guide.’

The bell sounds and Drix loops her arm through mine. “So, things really are happening with Charlie?” I ask in all seriousness as we start making our way down the hall toward our homeroom classes.

She shrugs her shoulders. “I mean, I guess. Nothing official has really happened, but he’s coming around every day and wanting to see me all the time. He texts me before bed and sends me ridiculous little things when I’m not feeling so great. He treats me like I’m his, but you know, nothing official.”