Clarity - Nicole Dykes Page 0,18
action is there.
As I walk out of the building, my heart is racing for a whole new reason because I know who I have to go to for help.
And she doesn’t owe me anything because I’ve never given her anything.
About a year ago
We’re finally back from that godawful trip, and I wish I could just not think about Blair. That would be great, but I can’t stop.
My body wants a release.
And I swear, she’s the only one who can give it to me at this point.
I show up at her house, hoping Melody isn’t here.
Blair answers the door, looking shocked that I'm here, and all I can see is that fucker grinding on her at the bar.
The hickeys on her neck the next day.
“What the fuck do you want?”
I stand there and stare at her, and she walks out of her house.
“Oh, that’s right. You don’t answer questions.”
She’s that fucking pissed-off that I won’t talk about my childhood? Seriously?
“Did you fuck him?”
She scoffs, tossing her hair over her shoulder and acting like I'm ridiculous. “And if I did? What the hell do you care, Rhys?”
What do I care? I don’t own her. I barely even like her. But seeing that fucker’s hands all over her did something to me I don’t understand. I wanted to break his face and toss her over my shoulder, dragging her ass out of the bar.
“I don’t.”
“Exactly.” She lifts a finger in the air, pointing at me. “You don’t care. So why are you at my house, huh? You want me to strip for you?” She’s spitting venom. “You want me to press up against the wall and let you pound into me? Your own personal little fuck doll?”
I bare my teeth. “And what do you care? Isn’t that what we’ve always done?”
She’s seething with rage. She looks like she wants to hit me. “Not anymore. You can’t give me any fucking thing back, then no. You can’t use my body anymore.”
Give her anything back? What the hell does she want from me? I scoff, and it’s cruel. “So why the fucking change because you didn’t seem to mind me using your body until before the trip. Never expected something from me.”
She swallows, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she had tears in her eyes. “Because I won’t be tossed away like trash.” She turns and walks away from me, but I hear, “not by you,” under her breath before she walks inside her house.
I have no idea what the fuck just happened.
I should be the one who is mad, if anyone is. She fucked some other guy on a trip with me. Well, a trip with Melody, Sean, and me.
But still.
What the fuck?
I can’t give her anything, but that was always part of the deal she knew about, right?
As soon as I left Family Services, I called Gillian and told her everything. While she sounded sympathetic, I didn’t end the call too hopeful. I know I sound like a crazy person. That on the surface, Bree’s foster parents seem great. But I saw her face. I know something is very, very wrong.
She’s going to do her best to pull some strings in the system, and I’m going to do my best to make myself look good on paper.
Because I can’t let that girl I just met down. I can’t.
I park my car and walk up to Ashton Inc.’s St. Louis office, looking for the one person who can help me.
And lucky for me, she’s walking down the stairs before I even make it there. She looks horrified when she sees me. “Rhys?”
I nod dumbly. “I need your help.”
She does exactly what I expect. She laughs, brushing past me. “You drove a long way for me to tell you to fuck off.”
“So, then don’t.” I follow behind her as she starts toward the parking lot and stop when she spins around to face me.
“What could you possibly want? It really wasn’t that long ago that I let you fuck me in a bathroom stall.”
I ignore that, knowing she’s trying to bait me. Blair likes to push buttons. She wants the challenge, but I don’t have time for that. “Move in with me.”
Blair is rarely shocked, but her jaw is almost touching the sidewalk. “What?”
“I need you to move in with me. I need a steady, live-in girlfriend.”
“Are you high?” She takes a step closer to me but doesn’t touch me. She’s always respected that. “You have to be.”
“I’m sober.” I know I sound