This is a very dry party, and not just because I can't drink. I am so bored. I don't know anyone that was invited. It's like one big publicity stunt for either my father or Missi.
I have heard enough ‘shop talk’ to beat a dead horse… Only I'm the horse in this scenario. Someone comes up behind me and lays their head on my back, pulling me into a tight squeeze.
“Lennox, why don't you like me?” a woman's voice slurs. Sighing, I reach down and remove her tentacles from me, suppressing a shiver.
Missi looks over at her friend, but doesn't bat an eye. Interesting. If it was Rylee trying to feel me up, she would be out for blood.
“Isla, you're drunk,” I say, turning to face her. She's wearing a white poofy dress, and honestly, it reminds me of something a bride would wear.
Why do crazy people always find me?
“I don't hate you. But I am marrying your best friend, so I don't think hanging all over me, or walking in while I'm changing, is appropriate.”
She hiccups and pouts. “Why? Missi and I swap all the time, just the other…”
“That's enough!” Missi snaps, walking over and grabbing her friend's arm, giving it a tug. “Shut your fucking mouth, you skank,” she hisses. My eyes widen at her cold tone, and Isla cowers.
“Well, what do we have here?” a voice whispers behind me, that has me immediately on edge. Fuck, no. Please, not again.
“Travis, David, I am so glad you could make it. Isn’t this wonderful? Lennox has finally come to his senses,” Missi says before hobbling behind me to give the men of my nightmares a hug.
I know she’s an evil bitch, but to bring the men who kidnapped me, assaulted me, and tried to convert me, into my home… She's diabolical.
“Yes, we were so happy to hear the news. We knew Lennox was just suffering through a phase. It’s common in college-aged students. Experimentation. But now he’s become the perfect family man, and we are so proud.”
“As am I,” my father exclaims, joining us and squeezing my shoulder hard, warning me to behave.
Missi preens and moves closer, placing her hand on my chest as she leans into me with a sigh. “Yes, everything that happened was meant to bring us to this moment. It’s perfect now.”
Yeah, perfect. Drugging with a side of blackmail is a horror story to a normal, sane person, but it's a fairytale ending for a psychopath.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
We’ve only been back for a week, and life has been beyond hectic.
The little bit of peace we managed to find over the summer is now gone, replaced with a cold, hard dose of reality.
After Donny’s fight with Lennox, the dreary cloud has made its way over our heads again.
I’m trying not to let it get me down. I have too much going on between school, prepping for cheer tryouts, and trying to figure out what to do about my mother.
She’s still calling me, leaving me voice messages, begging me to come see her, so we can talk. I know she wants forgiveness, so she can heal and move on, but I’m still not there.
While I feel guilty for ignoring her, I have too much going on in my own life to help fix hers, when that's all I’ve been trying to do for years now.
“How are you feeling today?” I ask Rylee, nudging her with my shoulder. We’re sitting side by side behind a table, since tryouts begin in a few minutes.
“I’m feeling good.” She smiles. “Excited to see who’s coming today. I hope we get some good ones.”
A smile twitches at my lips and I give her a kiss on the temple. Rylee’s mood has been up and down since coming back, but I don’t blame her. I know she’s set on us not letting what's going on with Lennox bring us down, but I know with the article about Lennox and Missi, then the fight with Donny and Len, she’s back to being stressed again.
I hate seeing her like this. She looks tired all of the time, and it seems almost impossible to get a smile on her face these days.
That's why it’s hard to take my eyes off her beautiful face right now.
“What?” She laughs, giving me an odd look while still smiling. The sound makes me grin. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Can’t I just stare at my girlfriend?” I ask, pushing my glasses up my nose.
