He holds a manila envelope in his hands, large enough to contain a paperback book.
Lily frowns, as confused as me.
“I wanted to get you a little thank you gift,” Scott explains. “The ratings for the show these past months have been off the charts, and we all know the success is from you.”
After he hands her the package, she unwraps it quickly to find a DVD ofMagic Mike.Unfiltered anger surges through me. Loren has expressedmultipletimes on camera that he doesn’t want Lily watching the movie, afraid it may trigger her cravings for porn, which is a major compulsion of hers.
The fact that Scott went behind his wishes is low.
By the front door, Rose and Loren continue to argue, slowly peeling off their wet outdoor clothes, not noticing what Scott has just given Lily.
To make matters even worse, Scott leans into Lily’s ear, his hand on her arm as he whispers to her. She turns bright red, obviously uncomfortable by his closeness and maybe even his words.
I step in. “Scott, leave her alone.” I add, “And take your inappropriate gift with you.” My insides twist in unmanageable knots. All I can think about is Lo. He’s right there, by the doorway, a couch and a chair apart from us. And I know how much this is going to hurt him.
Our friendship means something to me, despite what he said at the screening party. And I have to stick up for him and for Lily.
Scott pulls back from her ear, but Lily remains flushed and motionless. A statue solidified in the middle of the fucking room. He turns to me. “It’s the perfect gift for her, actually. She’s been saying how much she wants to watch the movie.”
Lily stares at the movie, tight in her grip. And after a long moment of contemplation, she pops it open and inspects the disc inside.
Scott has crossed a line. Maybe he sees this as a drama-inducing ploy, but this is beyond that. It’s beyond just giving Lily a movie. He might as well be passing a drug addict a joint. I’ve seen the amount of porn she’s had to trash. I’veseen her cry at the foot of her bed until Rose consoled her. There were three months when Lo was in rehab, when she was struggling to recover from her addiction, and she had no one but me and her sister. And we were trying the best we could to get her to stay sane, to get better.
And shit like this—it’s how something bad starts. Onesmallmoment can change everything.
“We need to talk,” I say to Scott. “Alone.”
He obligingly follows me to his bedroom on the main floor, Brett close behind, but as soon as Scott slips inside, I shut the door. The wood almost hits the camera. I lock it, and I ignore Brett’s disgruntled look.
Two computers are sprawled on his bed. I scan everything quickly. The papers that splay on his pillow, a camera opened and on pause. I can barely make out the image on the tiny screen, but it looks like footage from the drinking game.
“What is it?” he snaps. “I don’t have all day.” He glowers like I fucked with his show.
He fucked with my friends.
But we’re not even. I’ll never be even with him.
“Say whatever you want,” I refute, my complacency slowly and painfully leaving me. “Call me a prick, call Rose a man-hating prude. Call Lily a slut and Loren a bastard. But don’t fuck with their addictions.”
“I gave her a movie, Connor,” he says like I’m being ridiculous. If Rose was here, she’d spit in his face. “Not a dildo.”
“You don’t understand sex addiction. And that’s fine. Not everyone does. But you knowexactlywhat you’re doing. I’m asking you nicely to stop. The next time, I won’t be as kind.”
Scott laughs a bitter dry laugh that spikes my irritation. “It’s funny,” he says, “this is the first time you’ve been in my face in a while, and it’s not even for Rose…” He eyes me up and down. “Does she know you’re attracted to her sister?”
I near him, gritting my teeth. “You aregraspingfor drama. Literally pulling at anything ridiculous you can latch onto. Shall I educate you then?” He opens his mouth but I don’t give him the chance to refute. “I’m secure enough inmyrelationship with Rose that I don’t bite off the cocks of men who wrong her or call her a bitch. She’s more than capable of biting them off herself. I’m here, now, in your face because that girl in the living room has no teeth.”
Brett knocks on the door, and I hear a muffled angry yell against the wood.
I don’t take my eyes off Scott. “They’re addicts, Scott. You kick Rose and me down, we’re going to feel like shit but we’ll get back up. You kick Loren and Lily, and they may not. This isn’t drama for television. It’s real and painful, and if you put them in those places, you don’t need to be scared of anyone but me. I will kill you myself.”
And I mean it.
Not because Lily is Rose’s sister. Not because Loren is my friend.
But because there are some things in this world that are just wrong.
Scott nods, whether it’s sincere or not, I don’t know. “I’ll take that into consideration.”Not.
