“That’s it, run away again.Fuckingcry-baby,” the big guy fumed.
No one made eye contact with Nix. It was plain to see he was desperate to go after her, a muscle ticking dangerously in his jaw.
Grabbing his napkin, he dabbed his mouth, glanced towards the kitchen where Ma was and then went to stand.
“Leave it, Nix,” I mouthed. Encouraging him to stay put. A small act of mercy for our new sister. He rarely lost it, but Phoenix had a temper, and when he unleashed hell, you ran for the hills. The linebacker had reduced Harper to tears regularly in such a short time. I would have said that was fast work, but then they had a past.
Thankfully, the big guy did as I asked, albeit reluctantly. After a grunt towards the doorway Harper had escaped through, he started shovelling food into his mouth.
The silence stretched. “Save me from women and their PMS bullshit,” he muttered with his mouth full. I found it amusing that he took no blame for the fact that he was the one to push her buttons.
“Well, that went well,” Micah added into that awkward quiet.
Reed released a sigh of frustration, “Geez man, why don’t you just fuck her and get it out of your system?”
A guffaw circled the space at the ballsy comment. We were all thinking it, but saying that to Nix’s face was suicide. There was a sweepstake between my other brothers and me that Phoenix was waiting until after Harper’s sweet sixteenth. Then she’d be legal.
Nix leaned back in his seat, horrified. “She’s my sister?” His mouth and expression were at odds with each other.
I rolled my eyes. “And I’m your mother.”
We all laughed, apart from Nix, who scowled into his meal.
Ma chose that moment to return to the room, holding a serving spoon in one hand and a pan of gravy in the other. “What happened to Harper?”
My brothers and I turned and looked at Nix. He remained silent for a moment before suggesting, “Time of the month?”
Ma was the smartest woman I knew and didn’t buy it. Her face was a picture as she lowered herself into her seat. “You promised me that you’d make this work, Phoenix. That was the deal, remember?”
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I know and I will, I promise.”
“See that you do. It isn’t fair to the girl if this isn’t the right environment. Irrespective of your history together.”
Our brother just huffed and continued eating. Whatever was going on with Phoenix and Harper wasn’t going to end well, I could feel it.
After supper, we helped Ma wash up, and she went up for her bath, leaving me and my brothers to relax. When she was out of sight, we did what we usually did: hit the liquor cabinet and played Xbox.
As we passed around a freshly rolled blunt, I quizzed Micah on where he’d sourced his shit and he promised me it had nothing to do with the Creeds.
At around ten, I left them to it and went to my room tolisten to some music.
“Night, Grandma,” Micah chuckled as he loaded the next video game.
“You guys can jerk off to GTA all night, but I have other plans.” That translated to getting myself off and listening to music.
Of course, my brothers knew me too well. “Yeah, we know. You’ve been off your game, bro. Anything to do with a teeny tiny blonde with nice tits and a good ass?”
Phoenix hit the jackpot. I had been out of sorts for the rest of the afternoon, and Molly Miller was to blame for that.
I didn’t answer them. “Night ladies. Keep it down.”
I was met with a mixture of grins and middle fingers.
Throwing myself onto my bed, I put my headphones on and stared at the ceiling, thinking of Molly Miller. The fact that she was the principal’s daughter had been nagging at me all through dinner. Maybe my whipped reaction to her in the library was because I was sexually frustrated. I hadn’t had sex for a few weeks. Yeah, that must have been it.
While I was lost in thought, trying to calculate the last time I got off, my door opened, and Reed walked in. Yanking my headphones down and sitting up, I snapped. “Dude. Knocking is a thing you know?”
The fucker just smiled. “I did knock. The last thing I want to see is you jacking off to the new girl.”
