She talks to her sister as if I’m not here. Maybe she assumes I don’t understand English.
“He can’t hold on to you like that.”
“I. Know.” She tries jerking her arm away again. Hard. I have to use all of my strength to keep her contained in my grip. I’mconcerned I’m hurting her, but if I am, it’s not showing on her face.
“What do you want from me?” she asks.
I consider her situation and finally let her go. I’ve likely stalled enough, and the thief is long-gone by now.
“Nothing.” I smile. “I just didn’t want you running off like a spoiled princess after delaying our drive home and ruining the hood of my car.”
“Ruining?” She laughs, but looks away from me. I think my ‘spoiled princess’ insult subtly got to her. She turns to her sister. “Come on, B. Let’s get away from this cheap bastard.”
She gives me a look, like I’m a fresh piece of dog shit that got all over her…trainers. I feel my chest tighten, and I’m surprised to find that her insult bothers me. I grit my teeth before forcing a cocky smile as they walk away.
Chapter 3
Sofia
Weexitthepolicestation feeling defeated. They filed a report, but that’s about all they could do. I wasn’t expecting them to help too much, but we had to wait so long to talk to someone. And it turns out Bianca left her phone charging in the hotel before we left, so it was a long process of asking for help to get here. We’re going to grab a cab to take us back to the hotel though; I don’t know why I didn’t think about that before getting to the police.
I was probably still flustered from dealing with that asshole and his ‘ruined’ car.
I mean, seriously? Of all the cars on the street, I had to jump on his. When I first laid eyes on him, I thought I’d lucked out—a hot guy was coming to my rescue. But clearly I was giving him pretty privilege because his personality is rotten. They could have seriously hurt me if I hadn’t jumped on the hood of the car. And all he cared about was a tiny scuff that could get buffed out in a second?
It’s obvious he can afford it too.
Bianca gestures towards a gelato stand we happen to be standing nearby. “Do you mind if I get some before we go? I’m craving sugar so bad.”
“Sure.”
We get her some gelato quickly since there wasn’t much of a line. I steal a couple of bites from her strawberry dish, and I’m surprised to see how much the sugar calms me down.
As I consider going back and getting my own, a black SUV comes screeching to a halt right next to us, blocking traffic in the narrow street. I instinctively grab Bianca’s wrist, not knowing who this is.
Until my brother emerges from the other side of the car, looking livid.
Max stalks up to the two of us and has the audacity to take her gelato and throw it on the ground.
“Asshole!” “What the fuck, Max!?”
Bianca and I swear at him in unison.
Cars honk at him as traffic piles up on the street as Max grips both of our arms and drags us into the back of his car. I hear people around us asking each other if they should call the police as he slams the door on us.
I’m shocked he’s acting like this. Max is usually so mellow… until he snaps. So, I suppose the two of us sneaking away really set him off.
Hailey, Max’s fiancé, sits in the passenger seat, wearing a pale blue dress, her blonde hair freshly curled. She looks back at the two of us and gives us a nervous smile. “Hey, guys. Glad you’re okay.”
Max puts the car in drive and squeals the tires, unclogging traffic as we burst forward. I can feel his tension radiating from him.
“Look, I know we screwed up sneaking out, but there’s no need to act so pissed off right now. Everything’s fine!” I shout.
“Yeah, and we’re lucky that everything is fine! I’ve been driving up and down these streets that don’t make any sense because I can’t read the signs for hours, looking for the two of you. Assuming the worst, only to find you eating fucking ice cream!”
I know Max has good reason to be angry, and I should shut up and not escalate things. But that’s not how siblings work.
“We were going insane being trapped in that hotel with nothing to do! So we went for a little walk. Then my purse got stolen—”
