Page 33 of The Accident

“Who’s that? Some hot guy you’ve been dating?”

“No, it’s my stepbrother, remember? He came around like a year ago to drop off some stuff. The tall one?”

Stella’s eyes widen as realization dawns.

“That guy? Oh my god, he’s so hot. You called him? What gives, girl? You didn’t know anyone else?”

I shrug.

“He’s family. I didn’t think to call anyone else.”

Stella smiles craftily.

“Well, at least your stepbrother’s insanely hot, and loaded too, right? Because he’s some kind of AI billionaire. That’s good, so he can afford bail. But I mean, girlfriend, that man looks like Superman, with the dark hair and blue eyes. He even has a curlicue over one eye. And that body, too. Is he enhanced?”

I stare at her. Stella’s chatty pitter-patter sometimes goes so fast that it’s hard to keep up.

“I have no idea what enhanced means. You mean like drugs?”

“Hell yeah,” Stella says in a conspiratorial voice. “You know guys with a superhero build almost always use testosterone, HGH and peptides, right? No one’s natty anymore.”

I stare at her.

“Stella, I don’t think my stepbrother’s enhanced, although I don’t know him that way, so I wouldn’t be able to say for sure. But yes, it’s Trevor who paid the fee to bail me out.”

My pretty blonde friend nods knowingly.

“So was he pissed? I mean, I assume you called him at the crack of dawn.”

I nod, then look down at my hands, knuckles white. “Yeah, kind of. He drove me to his house, gave me coffee, and then told me to shower. But it’s more than just the jail thing that he’s mad about.”

Stella looks stumped.

“There’s more?”

I sigh.

“Well, I tried to bribe my way out of jail by offering to send Morris nudes. I had the nudes all cued up on my phone, but basically, I accidentally sent them to Trevor instead.”

Stella stares at me, blue eyes wide.

“Are you for real?”

I nod.

“Very for real. Trevor has a full set of nude photos of me in his inbox now.”

Stella breaks down into hysterical laughter, tears almost running down her cheeks.

“Oh my god, girlfriend! Show me!”

I shake my head vigorously.

“Hell no. These photos were taken for my eyes only, and I can’t believe they got out to my stepbrother. There’s no way I’m showing them to anyone.”

My friend’s still screeching with laughter.

“But how bad can it be?”