I stretch and yawn, reaching out for the bottle of water I’m hoping I had the good sense to grab before coming in here.
“Looking for this?” Sab asks, and I crack open the other eye.
Everything’s blurry, but slowly comes back into focus. I reach for the bottle of water she holds hostage, groaning when she moves it out of my reach. She smirks and finally lets me grab it.
“You’re like an angel,” I mumble as I twist the lid off and down almost the entire bottle in one go. I sit up, noting I’m still fully dressed and half slumped over the futon in the lounge of the pool house, a movie paused on the television in the corner. I snort as I realize I’d been watchingFight Club, probably for inspiration. What an asshole.
“And you’re a mess,” Sab says, sounding almost angry.
I glance over at her with a raised eyebrow. “Who ate your cake this morning?” I reach into my pocket and pull out my cigarettes before lighting one. It tastes like ass, but I need the nicotine.
“Dad told me what you did,” she replies, and I shrug, taking another drag. “Do you want him to cut you off? Is that what it is? Because I don’t get it. You’re purposefully goading him, Sammy.”
I stand up, swaying on my feet as I walk to the small kitchen area to grab another bottle of water and get a little reprieve from her nagging. She doesn’t understand what I’m trying to do for us, and I can’t tell her. Not that it seems to matter. I still haven’t heard anything from The Elite, so I obviously blew my chances, and I’m all out of ideas on how to get their attention.
“Sammy, will you talk to me?” Sab follows me into the kitchen, and I let my cigarette hang from my lips as I lean down and grab another cold bottle of water from the small fridge. “What’s this big plan of yours? Let me try to help you. You know I’d do anything for you, right? If you’re in some kind of trouble, maybe I can help.”
I groan and look up at her. “I’m not in any trouble. That’s all I can say. And I know that sounds like bullshit, but it’s the truth. I do have a plan. A plan to get that asshole off our backs for good, you just have to trust me.”
She frowns. “You’re acting irrationally. You’re drinking too much, getting high, you get kicked out of every school you start at, you fight with everyone, I just…” She looks away.
“What? You just what?” I yell, my own voice hurting my ears.
“I’m worried about you,” she says softly.
I sigh and drag a hand down my face. “I’m fine. How many times do I have to tell you that you don’t need to worry about me? I can handle myself. I can handle our prick of a father. I can handle whatever life throws at me. So just give me some fucking credit. I’ve taken care of you and I for this long, haven’t I?”
“I just—”
“Enough!” I yell, louder this time, startling both of us. “Just give me a fucking break, Sab, okay? He’s a prick and I hate him. I’ve always hated him—this isn’t new information!”
“But this is different,” she says.
I laugh darkly and shake my head. “Is it? Is it different?”
“Yes!”
I shake my head again. “The only thing that’s different is he can’t do shit to hurt me anymore.”
Normally, Sab just accepts my bullshit for what it is. She’s pure and good, innocent and kind, and sees the best in everyone. However, today she’s clearly not willing to brush everything under the carpet and forget about it.
“I don’t get it,” she says softly. “I know he’s never really been there for us, but I don’t get why you hate him so much. He’s never been around long enough to do something so bad that you could hate him this much.”
I drag my hands through my hair and push it back so it’s slicked from my face. “Just leave it,” I plead.
“No, not this time, Sammy. This time, I want to know what’s going on.” She comes closer, and I hold a hand up to stop her in her tracks. “Talk to me. Please.”
I glare over at her. “You want me to talk to you? You want to know why I hate that piece of shit so much? You want to know how those slutty nannies he left us with would treat us like shit when he wasn’t around. How he was so blind to it because he was sinking his dick into them night after night—becausethatwas all he cared about. Not whether they were capable of looking after two little kids, but whether they were hot enough for him to fuck.”
Sabella scowls and takes a step back. “What are you talking about? That never happened.”
I let out a dark, bitter laugh. “Not to you, it didn’t. I made sure of it.”
Her eyes glisten with tears as her skin pales. “What are you saying?”
I sigh. “It doesn’t matter.”
And it doesn’t. What’s done is done.
