Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
"Bullshit," she spits in a voice I haven’t heard since she ran off with her horrible ex and I didn’t know if I’d ever see her alive again.
"Excuse me? You might not agree with this but can’t you just trust me for once? You’re doing really well in your program and you’re old enough to be on your own."
Her face hardens, but I can see the hurt radiating from her. "So what, is this about me? Do I hold you back that much? Maybe you wish I’d never come back.”
"No! No, it’s nothing like that. This is a me thing. I'm—I'm sorry. It's only for a little while. I just don't want you to worry."
She rolls her eyes so hard they nearly come out of their sockets. "How’d that work for you when I said it? This is such bullshit, Nat."
This is going all wrong, but I don't even know how I could've made it go all right. If she finds out what's going on, she’ll want to get involved and who knows what happens then? It wouldn't be good, and then we’d both end up in danger.
I let out a sigh, not knowing what to do. "So why did you come, then? Just to chew me out?"
"No. I've got a message for you, and your phone still isn’t picking up. I didn’t know where else to go, but I knew if he was with the Eagles, they’d be able to track you two down."
"Right. What’s the message?"
"It's Ramona. It’s bad enough that you’re ditching me for a guy, but you've missed three shifts now without notice. You put me down as your emergency contact and she called to tell me that unless you were in a coma or something, you need to get in touch or you’re fired." Sandra shrugs. "I didn’t think I should tell her you were just too dickmatized to remember to come in, so hopefully you can come up with a good excuse or the apprenticeship that meant everything to you a week ago is dust.”
Crap. It’s not like I forgot about my job, but I’ve been more worried about keeping both of us alive and the hundred grand the Unwanted are demanding.
“Thanks, I’ll… I’ll think of something.”
“That’s it? You know what? I might not always have listened to you but I’ve always trusted you, even when I would’ve given anything for a fix and hated your guts. You were the one person I knew I could come to when I hit rock bottom. I know I’m the little sister, but I’m not a kid anymore, and if you’re in trouble, you know you can come to me, right?”
“I know!” I glance over at Quickshot and Animal, and see Badass standing with them. They must’ve called him in when they saw things going bad. “I’ll make this right.”
I don't know whether I should feel protected or spied on.
"Can you?" Sandra shakes her head, her features tight. She's either about to punch me or cry, and I hate either option. I don't want to hurt her. I hate this. "Sure. Fine. If she calls back I’ll let her know you’re really cut up about it. I'm sure she'll be thrilled."
She stands, leaving her water untouched between us.
"Sandra."
"No. Get your phone fixed or get a new one. Call me when you're ready to act like my sister again. I don't know what’s going on with you, and I’m sorry, but I can’t pretend like this is normal."
When she walks away, I move to follow, but a heavy hand lands on my shoulder, pushing me back into the chair.
“Let her go,” Badass says in a low voice.
“I’m doing it for her,” I whisper, watching Devil escort my furious sister out of the clubhouse.
“What’s the deal with you two?” Animal asks as he and Quickshot sit down.
“She’s my sister.”
Badass scowls. “Yeah, but there’s more to it than that. Don’t bullshit an older brother.”
I sigh and reach for my water, but then think twice about it and pluck Quickshot’s beer right from his hand, taking a deep swig. The tingle of alcohol feels right about what I need just now. When I reach it out for him to take back, he just waves his hand at me.
“Keep it. I’ll get another. Now answer Badass.”
“I told you Sandra has had a rough time, but it goes deeper than that. She was always the more sensitive one of the two of us. Felt more deeply, was more creative, more talented. Everyone loved her, but she was also… I don’t know, fragile, I guess. There are four years between us, and I was just about to move away for college when our parents were in an accident.” I keep my eyes on my hands, not sure I’ll be able to tell the whole story if I look up and see pity in their eyes. “I had some scholarships, so I might have been able to stay in school, but we don’t have any other family. Sandra would’ve ended up in foster care. I stayed home, waited tables in the evenings and worked at a gas station during the day. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to keep the roof over our heads so she could stay in high school.”