Cruel Kisses (It's Just High School #2) - Thandiwe Mpofu Page 0,74
you found her?” he questions, his voice low.
“Yeah, she’s…” I don’t even know what to say to that. “Anyway, I need a few things from you.”
I quickly rattle off everything I need, and he agrees without question.
“When are you back?” he questions.
“I have no idea.”
“We need to talk about the future.”
Yeah, not until I come to the table with my contingencies. I won’t be fucked over by my own parents. Again.
“Not now, Dad. I’ll call you if I need anything else.”
“Well then, where is your brother?” he questions, making me frown. Where is that shithead?
“He’s all right but remember what I told you, don’t tell him.”
“Julian, I get that you want to protect your brother, but playing with fire…”
“Is a side hustle of mine that I do fluently having been raised by wolves wearing sheep-skins.”
And with that, I end the call. Then I call Cole.
“Where the fuck are you, asshole?” he says as soon as he answers.
“On my way to Paris.”
“Are you that lovestruck?” he taunts. “Damn, heartbreaks must be hard these days, but to the asshole with money, he can just fly over to Paris and nurse his shit back to life.”
“Fuck you, man,” I sigh, relief flooding my chest.
“How is she, man?” Cole questions. “This whole thing with Mia had me out of my mind, dude.”
“I know.” I need a drink, but right now isn’t the best time for that. “There’s something off about her, man. She’s seriously sad, a bit out of it. She’s different, she even feels different. I don’t know how to really explain it, man, but she needs a time out.”
She needs more than a fucking time out. She needs a whole lot more TLC and I’m her man for that shit, even if I don’t have a clue about how to go about it. Love is as foreign to me as patience, but Mia, she brings out a protective instinct in me that goes above the regular possessive shit I thought I had with her. This is more.
“And let me guess, you’re calling to tell me that you’re taking a time out with her, aren’t you?”
“I can’t leave her alone like this.”
He’s silent for a while, then he blows a heavy breath through the phone.
“Shit, this is going to put a dent in our workout regimen with football and everything we said we would get done this summer.”
“I know, man,” I mutter, running a frustrated hand down my face. “This isn’t how I imagined everything would go, but I just…”
“You can’t leave her, I get it and honestly, Liam was right. Mia should’ve been your first priority right from the start. You have to choose her all the fucking time.”
He was right, of course he was right, but would Mia choose me first is the question. But I don’t want to think about that right now. Just the mention of my brother’s name makes my chest tighten with unease.
“Speaking of Liam…” I start, then trail off but Cole picks up on it anyway.
“Fuck, J, what did you do?” he sighs. “I know that tone.”
“It’s not what I did specifically, it’s what was done. There’s some shit that I need to get rid of as soon as possible, before my brother finds out.”
“Well, whatever it is you have to do, do it quickly because he just left.”
“He left?” I frown. “Where did he go?”
“To the airport,” he chuckles, as if realization just dawned on him. “Guess he now knows where Mia is headed as well.”
Ah, hell. This is going to be so fucked up. I don’t need my brother to come here right now, especially when I can’t even look him in the fucking eye, knowing the shit I know.
“Dude, whatever it is, just tell him the truth,” Cole says, bringing me back to reality. “I’m sure he’d rather hear the truth than find out that you lied to him.”
The thing is, I already lied to him. By not telling him as soon as dad told me about it.
“Hey, can you do me a solid?” I start, hating that I’m springing this on him, but he’s the only one I trust with this shit. With my life, even. It’s the same with me for his life.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Can you find out as much as you can about Kendra and Roxy Bishop?”
“Bishop?” he questions. “You don’t mean THE Bishops, do you?”
“The very ones,” I mutter dryly, rolling my eyes. The shit my parents would do.
“Well then, I should go grab popcorn because this shit is