I understand. I wouldn't either, if I was in your place. I mean, well, I might've. I don't know. I've never had anyone be jealous of me before. I don't know what I would do."
"It's not about you being jealous. You believed a lie about me, even though you knew it wasn't true, to get back at me. You knew it'd hurt me if you stopped talking to me. Congratulations. You hurt me."
"I really am sorry," she whispered.
Then we heard the door open and someone yelled out, "Hey! Yo! I took off early, figured you'd want your phone asap. It keeps flashing that you've got texts, didn't know if they were important or not."
Becky froze, but I relaxed. It wasn't long before Heather strolled around the corner. She saw Becky and stopped in her tracks. "Oh. Hi?"
I sighed. Heather's eyes narrowed as she raked her up and down with a sneer while the other looked ready to piss her pants. "Uh…" I swept a hand between the two. "Becky, this is Heather. Heather, Becky."
Becky took a small breath. "You're the new friend."
Heather's eyebrows shot up. "That means you're the old one?"
I laughed.
Becky threw me a dark look.
"Sorry. I—sorry." I waved for them to forget me.
Heather snorted as she fished something from her pocket and tossed it to me. I caught it, my phone. When I glanced at it, my eyes went wide. She'd been right. There were a few from Mason.
'Our mom called. She's pissed. Found out we got kicked out.'
'Family meeting called. Have to head with Logan. I won't be at Manny's tonight. You'll be alright?' That one was followed with, 'love u.'
I checked the rest. 'Things got interesting, can't text for awhile.'
The last text was sent an hour ago. 'Hoping you're ok and work is just busy. Not good here.'
"Things okay?" Heather was frowning as she lounged against the wall. Becky was against the opposite wall with her arms folded across her chest.'
A raging headache was coming. I felt it at my temples and pressed my hands there for a moment.
"Sam?" It sounded like a whimper from Becky.
"What?" I tried to hold back my own glare. This wasn't about her and she was making it like that.
The pout twisted into a confused scowl, then a grimace. "Are you okay?"
"No."
"Where's he at?" Heather gestured to my phone.
I shook my head. "Family meeting. It doesn't matter."
"Aren't you in the family?"
"Not that one. It's with his mom."
Heather grinned. "I heard about the Wicked Witch of L.A. She's a pretentious socialite, isn't she?"
I shrugged. Helen was more than that in my opinion. "She's…confident."
"Confident?" The amusement on Heather's face didn't deplete. It doubled. She threw her head back as a smooth chuckle slid out. "I've never heard that one used to describe her, but then again," she eyed me up and down, "you are in that family so I hear ya. I gotcha."
Becky had been scowling as she looked back and forth between us. "What is going on? Your mom is confident? Your mom is mean, Sam."
"No," I sighed, but stopped. Maybe it was for the best if she thought we were talking about my mother.
Just then we heard the garage door slam shut. I held my breath; my heart racing when Nate turned the corner. Then a small hand appeared around his chest from behind, and a pair of tan legs slid between his as the hand groped farther south. A low moan sounded next. It ended in a feminine sigh as a pair of lips started to press against his arm and move upwards.
He stopped as he saw the three of us, but his eyes zeroed in on me. "What are you doing here?"
I jumped at the intensity from him. "What?"
All amusement fled from Heather as she turned to him, a scowl locked in place. "What's with the attitude, Monson? I thought she lived here."
His gaze went to hers, but the intensity was gone. He locked it behind a wall, and now he regarded her with a blank expression. I sighed. It was the same look Mason used on people when he wanted them to feel unwelcomed. It was a master tactic to make the other feel like scum beneath their shoes.
I gritted my teeth. He would not use that on her. "Stop, Nate. And what are you talking about, what am I doing here? I got off work early and Mason said he's at a family meeting."
The mask slipped a bit, and there was wariness instead. "Yeah, your family. Helen's out for Analise's blood."
The blood drained from my body. "What?"
He gave me a smirk now. It sent a shiver down my back, and not a good one like I felt with Mason. I was rattled to the bone when he said further, "They're at your house, Sam, with your mom. You're the odd-man out."
Shock started to form in my gut, but I heard myself mutter from a distance, "Why are you being a dick to me?"
His eyes went wide and his eyebrows shot up. "I'm not."
"You are," Heather retorted.
He frowned at her, but the girl behind him moaned in his ear, "Baby, can they go away?"
I narrowed my eyes. I recognized that voice. Everything slammed back into focus with me. Parker pressed against the front of him now. Her shirt had been tied around her neck, but it was undone. It fell around her waist, still on her as the knot hadn't been untied around her waist, but her breasts were against him. She wore no bra, and the jean shorts on her were loose in the back so they must've been unzipped from the front.
That's why he'd been a dick. He was with her, one of the four that still hated me. When I shared a look with Heather, I remembered her warning about the Tommy P's. It was her nickname for those four, Parker, her best friend Kate, and the other two whose names I couldn't remember. Jasmine and Natalie? Maybe. I preferred Heather's reference to them, the Tomboy Princesses. The name fit them perfectly, and the one trying to lure Nate away from the kitchen had been the worst so far.
"Parker." Annoyance dripped from his voice as he gripped her arm and held her away. Her breasts sagged, but she didn't cover them. She seemed shocked as she looked up. Disdain now filtered in as he finished, "Go to my room."
"But—"
"Go!"
She snapped to attention, but not before she sent me a loathing glare.
I lifted my chin in a challenge. The time would come when I'd need to deal with her and her friends, but it wasn't now. I thought about my new school and my gut dropped. It was her school; it was their territory. I was grateful for my job at Manny's. Heather would support me when I went there, as much as she could, as much as anyone could.
"Your girlfriend's a bitch," she informed Nate as soon as we heard an upstairs door slam shut.
"She's not my girlfriend." He shot her a dark look but then shrugged a second later and looked at me. "I'm sorry, Sam, if I was being a dick. I didn't mean to be."
It was who he'd been with. Her derision must've rubbed off on him, but I held my tongue. Heather bit her lip as she frowned at me, but then my phone beeped again. I read the text from Mason. 'Can you come as soon as you're done with work? At the house. Your mom threw a bowl at my mom.'
"I have to go."
But I had no car—I looked at Heather. She grinned. "I'll give you a ride." She winked at Becky. "You too, oldie but goodie?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah." I latched a hand onto Becky's arm and dragged her behind me. "Her too."
Nate gave me a nod with a small grin as we swept out of the house. I knew it was his way of sending me another apology, but as I got into Heather's car, I wondered if that was the side of him that most people saw. He seemed nice and respectful, reserved even, whenever he was with Mason and Logan, but this Nate was different. Again, I remembered the comments about the trouble he and Mason would get into, the reason why his parents had him move away in the first place. But he was back…and I knew Logan already regretted it.
"Sam."
Becky was trying to hold back a smile.
My eyebrows shot up. "What?"
Then she handed me her phone.
"What is this?"
&nbs
p; "Just look."
And I did, gasping when I saw the picture she had taken. It was a full frontal of Parker, when Nate had pushed her back. Her breasts were on display. "You snuck this picture?"
She nodded, biting her lip from excitement.
"Let me see." Heather held her hand out and took a quick peak. She busted out laughing and handed it back. "Your oldie but goodie is a sneaky one, Sam. Good one, back there."
Becky leaned back, pleased with herself. "I couldn't help it. She was so mean. They weren't paying me any attention so…"
"Don't do anything with that picture but don't delete it either."
"Yeah." Heather looked into the rearview mirror. "We might need that someday, but I agree with Sam. Don't post that anywhere or even show anyone else."
"Don't show your boyfriend, Becky."
Her grin was gone. "What?"
"Who's her boyfriend?"
"Someone named Raz?"
I looked at Becky for confirmation when I said his name. She nodded, but then Heather burst into laughter once again. "Are you kidding me? Raz has a girlfriend? That's great." Her eyes met Becky's once again. "Raz is a good guy, but I agree with Sam. Don't show that picture to him. He'd put that on a tee shirt and wear it to school. He doesn't get it sometimes."
"Yeah," Becky sighed. "You're right. But the picture was good, wasn't it?"
I nodded. "You did good, Becky."
"Thanks."
When Heather kept driving and she turned at all the right turns, I realized she knew where I used to live. I wanted to smack my forehead. Everyone knew where Mason and Logan lived. They had enough parties on the beach, even Becky had been there a few times, but never to the first floor of the house or the other two floors above. A few had been invited to the basement, but not to the top levels. That was reserved for a select few and when Heather parked in the driveway, her hand went to her seatbelt and I knew she had every intention of joining that small group who had seen the inside of the Kade museum.
"Uh," Becky watched as Heather got out of the car.
"Let's go." Heather slammed her door shut.
I was torn. Did I let them inside? I knew they wouldn't be welcomed, but Heather was already at the front door. She pushed it open and my decision was made for me.
I gestured at Becky. "Come on. Might as well see what's going on."
She grinned, and her cheeks flamed as she scrambled behind me. But then we were inside, and it was dead silent. Heather waited for us in the foyer. Her mouth had fallen open as she gazed around. Oh yes. I'd forgotten what the Kade mansion looked like to the virgin eyes.
"This place is an effing museum." She couldn't tear her eyes from the life-sized statue of a Greek goddess. "Is that real?"
I shrugged. My mom had bought it a month ago. She gushed over it when it was delivered so I figured it was real. My mom didn't know that Logan had taken a black marker to the backside of the statue and drawn a tramp stamp with an arrow pointing downwards that said, 'insert here.' The statue hadn't been moved since its arrival, but I knew when it was and Analise saw the added artwork, she'd go ballistic. I only hoped Logan would be here to see her reaction.
"Oh wow," Becky breathed out behind me. "This place is beautiful."
Heather snorted. "And we're not even past the foyer. You must think I live in a hole compared to this place and Monson's mansion."
"I liked your home."
It was the truth. When she searched me, Heather saw that I meant it. Her shoulders relaxed. "You're a good person, Sam."
I frowned. I was?
"I second that." Becky gave me a timid grin.
I was uncomfortable with the praise, but we heard a shriek from the kitchen, followed with the sounds of breaking dishes, and I chuckled. The uncomfortable feeling went away, and I was grounded again. I'd grown used to the chaos that surrounded Analise. "You guys should go. This could get ugly."
"Sam!"
Logan saw me and jogged down the hallway towards us. He grabbed my arm. "You need to come quick. Your mom's unhinged and my mom's making her fold. Helen's standing there, all cold as ice, and your mom can't shake her. It's awesome. Mason's stuck in the back corner. He couldn't get out, but we heard the door so I figured it was you."
"Sam," Heather called out.
Logan stopped and looked back. He was startled for a moment before a lewd grin covered his face. "Didn't see you there, Jax. Looking good." His eyes raked her up and down. "Real good."
Becky flushed beside her, but Heather rolled her eyes. "Eyes up here, Kade."
They stayed on her front, where her tight red shirt strained against her breasts. The black bra could be seen through the shirt and the longer his gaze stayed on her, the tighter her shirt became. I knew she was getting annoyed, but then I saw some redness that started on her neck and traveled upwards.
Shock settled inside of me. Was there more than friendly annoyance between those two? But no, Heather was with that model tattoo guy…wasn't she?
She folded her arms over her chest. "Stop it, Logan!"
He grinned, cocky and so self-assured. "Heard a rumor about you today, Jax."
"Oh yeah?" She struck a defiant pose with her hand on her hip. "What was that?"
"That you and Channing aren't really an item, not yet anyway."
Her hand fell away from her hip, and she took a step back.
Was that true? Maybe there really was something going on between Heather and Logan, but I remembered Channing coming to my defense in the diner. He stopped the Broudou siblings from—from hurting Heather. In the moment, I thought he had come to my defense, but it had been for her. He always seemed to be there for her. I studied her and Logan for another second and then sighed. I hoped he knew what he was doing because I didn't want him to get hurt.
As Heather tossed her hair back and Logan's eyes lit up, something fell to the bottom of my gut. He liked her. I could see it, plain as day to me now, but I wouldn't let him get hurt. There was no way I would let Logan get hurt, not again, not like with Tate.
"Logan!"
I jumped at the shrill sound that came around the corner. Helen was calling.
He chuckled and grabbed my arm. "Come on, little Kade. Prepare to be entertained." Then he saluted Heather. "Off you go, Jax. You're always welcome in my bed, but not here. No fornicating allowed, her mom's rule. See you later."
Heather rolled her eyes and grabbed Becky's arm. "See you, Sam. Call me."
I nodded as she dragged Becky behind her. The door shut with a heavy thud behind them, but then Logan curved an arm around my waist. He didn't immediately take me to the kitchen. Instead, he held me in a hug for a moment and let out a deep sigh. His shoulders dropped and his head rested on my shoulder.
He'd been acting. The entire jovial side of him had been a facade. I hugged him back. "How bad is it?"
He flinched from the question but drew back. His wall fell and I reeled as I saw the torment in them. "It's not good, Sam. It's not going to get better either."
Oh no.