Page 59 of Hate So Deep
Eventually she calms while my thoughts race but no matter the possible solution I keep coming back to Colt’s face and it’s this that pulls at my chest when I ease away from Lauren before tucking the blanket around her.
I can’t fix this but as I glance back from the door, I wish I could because in the end whether either of them would believe it or not, Colt and Lauren are the same person, except Lauren is fuck hot and Colt’s just a grumpy bastard.
She needs him to help her face her demons, but I don’t know if he’s strong enough to get out of his own head and do the right thing.
My best friend isn’t a bad guy but he’s human and I know only too well that sometimes you do things that you can’t take back.
Eventually that luck is going to run out and when it does all that’s left are the consequences.
Chapter 24
THEN
Lauren
It’s safe to say that school the following week is awkward at best. We’re no stranger to fights amongst the school’s but what Dirk did was beyond a brawl and the rumors about me partying over the border swirl.
With Danny’s injuries and my betrayal of the social mores dictating loyalty to these assholes, I just became the enemy.
Unfortunately, I don’t have it in me to care. I also heard that Danny, although beaten quite badly, was not hospitalized,leaving me to wonder if Dirk opened a can of worms that he can’t now close.
Beyond the potential police involvement, I’m sure he just became a target…for me.
Or maybe he would have done it on behalf of any girl. Who knows?
It’s not like he bothered to say a damn thing to me before he walked away.
On Friday, I roll over on my bed from where I was scrolling through social media when Buck says from the door, “You didn’t really whore yourself out to a Northie, did you?”
After closing out my phone and the evidence of my newest obsession, I say, “Huh?”
I don’t care what Buck thinks but I sure as shit don’t want to fight with him.
There’s something wild and ugly writhing in my brother’s soul and it’s as though whatever is tethering him to humanity gets thinner and thinner with each passing day.
I would prefer not to be the one who experiences the damage when it finally snaps.
Unfortunately, feigning ignorance does me no good because he steps into the room before closing the door behind him.
“Buck,” I mutter, moving to stand when he approaches.
His icy green eyes roll around the room before stopping on me and a shiver slides down my spine when he cocks his head.
“What do you want?” I ask and he grunts.
Turning away, he glares at the mirror sitting beside my dresser and says, “I want my sister to tell me that she’s not fucking one of them. I want my sister to tell me that she didn’t betray us, this family, for dick.”
Stepping back, I grab the post of my bed and say, “Do you hear yourself? The family? For what? Trying to have a little fun?”
He swings around and I bow my head. As much as I’d like to be the girl who fights back, I’ve seen what Buck can do in a rage. It isn’t pretty.
His last girlfriend finally walked away after he gave her a black eye and it wasn’t the first, just the last time she allowed him to manhandle her.
“That wasn’t a no,” he sneers.
“Buck–”
“Stay the fuck away from Evans, or I’ll fuck him up.”
