I glare at him. “No.”
“Shocker,” he snorts. “Well, that was Tyler. He stuck around for what—” Ezra looks over at Sharon, who’s staring down at her plate of food like someone took out her batteries “—three, four months? Then Dad found out, and Tyler got the boot. Literally.”
He leans back in his chair and drop kicks his bread roll across the room.
My stomach heaves.
“Mom?” I stare at my mother, but she’s reaching blindly for her wine, refusing to make eye contact. The fact that she didn’t cuss out my brother for wasting food or making a mess of her house speaks volumes.
“You two are always playing such silly pranks,” Sharon murmurs half to herself before her voice strengthens. She still doesn’t look up as she forces a brittle smile onto her Botoxed lips. “Tyler’s atfootball practice,” she says firmly. “He made team captain. Ask Richie. He’ll tell you.”
“She had a psychotic break a couple months back,” Ezra ignores Mom, dusting his hands as he carries on. “Now she thinks the kid survived. That he’s all grown up and about to go off to college.” His hand goes into his pocket again, like he’s feeling up his stash or whatever the fuck he’s got in there. “It’s fucking hilarious. She even put a stocking on the mantle for him.”
“Holy fuck, Ezra. I knew you were seven shades of psycho, but I had no idea you were this fucking deranged,” Haven says quietly, but her voice is fucking steel.
Ezra’s eyes slide to her. His hand fists inside his pocket again. “No one asked for your opinion, dumpster cunt.”
I open my mouth to yell at him, but Haven lifts her hand to silence me and murmurs, “Not worth it.”
Easy for her to say. She’s not having to sit here and listen to her asshole brother disrespecting her girlfriend.
“It’s the truth.” Ezra gestures at the opulent dining room, the cold food, our mother who’s slowly dissolving into her own delusions.
Me and Haven.
“I’m the only one being real, while you’re all living in your own little made-up fantasy worlds. Speaking of which—“ his gaze snaps back to me “—how’s frat life treating you, bro?”
Haven puts her hand back on my leg. It’s another warning, and I can practically hear her voice in my head.
…it’s not worth it…
So I say nothing, staring at Ezra with a stoic mask on my face as I take a slow sip from my beer.
“Oh, wait, that’s right.” Ezra snaps his fingers, making my mother flinch. “You quit.” Ezra’s smile widens, but the scar tissue around his mouth pulls it into an asymmetrical shape. “That wasn’t clever, was it? But at least you got that TA position with Professor Rooke to keep you going.” He finally takes his hand out of his pocket, leaning forward onto his arms to grin at me over the table.
I tilt my head and slowly set down my beer. Despite Haven’s hand tightening on my thigh, I say, “Nah, I quit that too.”
Haven pulls her hand off my leg, wrapping both around her nearly empty glass like it’ll somehow give her strength. Mom is stirring the green beans, her face vapid and serene.
“Was your trailer park roach keeping you too busy? Or were your professor’sextra dutiestoo much for you to handle?” Ezra sits back, both hands going into his pockets, grinning slyly as he waits for me to escalate the situation like he fucking knows I will.
I’m at a crossroads.
Every fiber of my being wants me to launch myself over the table and have another go at ending Ezra’s life. Not just for insulting Haven—again—but because of his insinuation about Rooke.
It’s not my imagination. Haven heard it too. Ezra suspects I’m close with our professor, and fuck knows the lengths he’ll go to prove it.
But it’s only ammunition if he thinks it will hurt me.
So, yeah, I could show him just how deep that wound goes…or I could take the fucking bullets out of his gun before he has time to fire a single shot.
“Kai,” Haven murmurs beside me, like she senses I’m about to do something catastrophic.
I slide my hand over hers, gently squeezing her fingers, trying to reassure her.
“Not at all. Ilovedhow hard he worked me. He really knows how to get the best out of me.”
Haven stifles a snicker, and Ezra turns his glare on her. “Your boyfriend is gay for his teacher, and you think it’sfunny?” he demands.
