Raven steps up and scoffs right in her face. “Why yes, I did. And now I’m going to ask you to pick your porcupine self up and march right out that door, sweetie. And when the door hits you on the ass, take that as a special goodbye just from me.” Ha! Raven and I are totally on the same wavelength with that whole porcupine thing. But still, Lex is hotasfuck.
Meredith steps in before Lex can catch her next breath. “What the hell is going on here? Levi isn’t dating this Gothzombie.”
Lex growls in her direction, and Mer slinks right back toBonnie.
Raven tosses back her mile-long hair the way she does when she’s readying for a showdown—or a fistfight. “I know she’s not with him. He told me all about thebreakup.”
I glance to Levi, and his shoulders twitch with a shrug. But that guilty look on his face says he sure as hell knows what’s up. We didn’t break up, did we? Never mind. I’ll deal with himlater.
Lex leans into Raven, landing dangerously close to my OG bestie who’s about to morph into a landmine. “Oh, sweetie, your big, strong,handsomebrother and I are still very much on.” She casts the briefest of glances to Axel, which most likely explains the elongated description of Levi’s good looks. It’s becoming clear Lex is utilizing these unfortunate events to her advantage, just like any ex worth her salt would. I can’t hold it against her. Lex is just a badassthatway.
“No, you’re not—at least not for long.” Raven whips out her phone and messes with it for a second. “See? Right here in this text he says he’s about to give you the big heave-ho.” She points hard at the screen that no one is reading, but my heart sinks at the thought that she might beright.
Lex huffs at Raven’s tantrum as if it were a stone in her path. “Your brother and I are solid, and I’ll prove it.” Lex gloms onto Levi so fast and hard the air in the room vacuums around them. Before I can process what’s happening, her lips adhere to his, and he’s walking backward trying his best to push her away. But Lex proves stealth, and soon she lands her legs over his waist while her hands do their best to hold his head steady. Levi trips, and they tumble to the floor, but Lex lands on top—I suspect she does that quite often in life—her face still sucking down hard over his. Levi twists and turns his head like a toddler unwilling to take his medicine, but Lex is unrelenting in her administration of the curiouselixir.
“Shit!” I shrill as the room breaks out into sheer chaos. Brody and Chip run over and stop short as Axel roars out somethingunintelligible.
“Out of my way!” I scream, bolting over and pulling Lex off by the hair. No sooner does she roll over than Levi backs out of herclutches.
Axel helps Levi to his feet. “You piece of shit,” he murmurs before he decks him, and soon fists are flying and Lex is growling at me to let thehellgo.
“What is going on?” Raven shouts as she traipses over in her heels, her face rife withworry.
“Let me see that text.” I pluck the phone out ofherhand.
Yup. You’re right. She’s an immature brat. A real hurricane in the flesh, too. The girl destroys everything she touches. I can’t wait to get her out of my life, but you know me, I’m too nice to do it. I might just let her use me a few more nights before kicking her to the curb. I never did have good radar forwomen.
“What?” I stagger on my feet while Levi and Axel tear the place up. My stomach bottoms out right along with my heart. I destroy everything I touch? That weapons grade monkey comes to mind. I shattered it to pieces. I glance up and see chairs flying and customers speeding out of every orifice. This is all my fault, too. A ripe anger boils in me, courses through my veins like venom strong enough to stop my beatingheart.
“Come on.” I pull Lex to the door, and Ravenfollows.
“Damn right, we’re kicking you out!” Raven barks in Lex’s face as we step into the coolnightair.
“We’re not kicking her out,” I growl at Lex. “I’m going with her.” I turn to face Raven. “If your brother wants me out of his life, then that’s exactly what he’ll get.” I grab ahold of Lex’s hand and drag her into theparkinglot.
“Wait!” Raven calls after us. “Why would he want you out ofhislife?”
Lex unlocks the doors to her Range Rover and speeds us out ofthelot.
“I have no clue, Raven,” I say under my breath. “I’d like to know the answer to thatmyself.”
Lex drives me back to Levi’s, where she helps me do a thirty-second sweep of the place as we spastically collect my things, and we’re offagain.
“Where to?” Lex keeps her gaze set on the darkness in frontofus.
“Your place.” I don’t hesitate with theanswer.
“Again.Whereto?”
“Fine. Have it your way. Friar’sCorner.”
“Friar’s Corner?” She lifts a sharp, angled brow. “My place it is. You can share the spare bedroom withStrudel.”
“Great. By chance, Axel doesn’t know where you live,doeshe?”
“Heck no.” Her fingers spread wide before gripping the wheel once again with avengeance.
“Good. That means no one can find me.” And that’s exactly what I want—to be left the hellalone.
Lex drives us to a quiet neighborhood not too far from Whitney Briggs University, to a cozy little house with a white picket fence—the last place on earth I would suspect a ham-fisted vixen like Lex would live. I meet Strudel in all his handsome glory and fall onto the bed in the guest room before letting out a river of tears. I watch as my phone lights up with messages from Raven, from Levi, each begging me to call them, swearing none of it was true. But I don’t call them. I pull the covers up over my head and don’t plan on coming up for the nextthreedays.
