Bitter Kisses (It's Just High School #3) - Thandiwe Mpofu Page 0,92
normal person would do.”
“And that is?”
“Accepting.”
“Bullshit! Normal people react and try to fight for their fucking lives! You are not normal,” he says. “We need a plan.”
“There’s no plan,” I mutter. Liam’s name has been cleared. Mia is awake and will be fine. And I? Well, I don’t matter, but he ignores me.
“We need to find a way out of this because fuck, murder charges and why the fuck is this happening to you? From one storm to another. From kidnapping, assault and rape to freaking murder.”
I’ve been asking myself the same thing and coming up blank. Maybe in a past life I pissed off a god, then in this one, I was given a goddess and I screwed it up.
“Why can’t it ever be small shit, you know, like petty theft or fucking vandalism?” he goes on. “Why the fuck does everything have to be in epic proportions with this damn family?”
He’s got a point though.
“Cole, just stop man, before you pace a hole in the floor.”
Instead of stopping, Cole leans in, his gaze hooded as he stares at me with a contemplative look on his face that makes my blood boil almost immediately when I catch the look in his eyes. I already know what he wants to say.
“No!” I blurt out before he can speak. “Hell fucking no!”
“What?” He moves back.
“Whatever you’re fucking thinking right now, the answer is fucking no.”
“Come on, J, we both know what happened that night.”
“Dude, I said no,” I grumble.
“Asshole, can you just pull your head out your ass for just a second and smell the ass-fucking you’re about to get? You know I can help.”
“No!”
“Julian—”
“Cole, I said no!”
“There’s a reason they asked if you were alone when you went for Mia. I can be a witness and you know—”
“Keep your fucking voice down, asshole. I can’t have you involved with this shit! He’ll find a way to hurt you too.” I seethe, looking pointedly at the door where the cop is now peeking through the tiny window, watching us with a suspicious gaze.
I swear they can’t wait to drag my ass to prison. It’s been one thing after another in the past few weeks and now, they’re really confident they have me because of whatever Nathan is spewing.
A heavy silence falls over us. I look at Cole. He moves away.
He grabs the pitcher of water with wooden, jerky movements and pours a glass, attempting to look casual but there’s nothing casual about this shit.
“Listen, asshole you and I both know they already think you weren’t alone. I mean why else would they ask you that?”
“Cole.”
“I was there,” he whispers hotly, passing me the water. “I can go give my statement. I’ll tell them the truth that I was there. That I’m a viable witness. I wasn’t drugged or in a fucking freezer.”
“You didn’t see the shooting.”
“Does it matter?”
“You’d be lying!”
“At least it’ll definitely clear your name. Better yet, I can open the door and tell that guy.”
“He already thinks we’re trying to hatch some fucking plan as it is, but either way, no!”
“Julian…”
“Stop and think! With fucking Nathan and the Matthews mafia shit in this, he’ll find a way to drag you into this quicksand with me.”
And I can’t have that.
“Yes, but if we do this smarter, better, with Mr. Fitz on our side, we can clear your narrow ass and get you off this and then we can find that bastard Sean and take Nathan down all in the same move as Mia recovers.”
He’s sincere, that much is clear. I know he means well, but from where I am now, lying between a rock and a fucking hard place, I can see there’s no way out.
Mia will recover but she won’t want anything to do with me… and I, I think I don’t give damn what she wants.
“I said no, damn it!”
It doesn’t quite register to either of us that I just threw the cup of water to the wall until the door swings open and the cop peeps in, looking between us like we’re criminals.
“Is everything okay in here?” he questions.
“Yeah. His reflexes are shit, as you can see,” Cole grumbles then plops down in the chair beside my bed.
The cop raises an eyebrow, then leaves without another word, closing the door behind him, leaving a heavy silence between Cole and me.
We stare at each other.
He’s stubborn but so am I.
We’re equal in so many ways but fuck me if I’ll backdown from this fight.