madman, and the next thing I know, I’m standing directly in front of Jackson, my fingers curled around the collar of his sweatshirt, yanking his face into mine. That cocky smile fades, and his eyes go wide. “Shut the fuck up before I make you eat my fist,” I growl at him.
Jackson just tips his head back and laughs, the asshole. “Give it up. You’ve got mad feelings for her, even though you don’t want to admit it. She wasn’t just some casual piece to get with to make her stupid brother mad.”
“What the hell are you two talking about?” Brenden asks, appearing thoroughly confused. Cory’s eyes are wide as he watches us. The other guys have stopped talking as well. We are pure entertainment for them right now.
Without a word, I shove Jackson away from me before I stalk back toward the house, slamming the door behind me. The door opens seconds later, and I hear Jackson calling my name, so I turn around in the living room and wait for him to come to me.
“I was just giving you shit,” he says, as he comes to a halt a few feet away. “No harm, no foul, right?”
“Fuck you,” I spit out, not even trying to hide my hostility. “Why’d you even bring her up?”
“You were sitting there like a little pussy, completely miserable because of whatever that bitch did to you last night, and I don’t like it. Now she’s with that Wyatt fucker, like you never mattered in the first place.” He points at me, his expression fierce. “This is what they do, man. This is how they act.”
“Who?”
“Women! Girls! Bitches! Whatever you want to call them. This is the way they operate almost every single time. They don’t care about us. They just use us. And when they’re done, they dispose of us like one of those raggedy, black smudged makeup wipes they use on their faces at night. Straight to the trash. Gone and forgotten.” Jackson’s face is red, he’s so heated.
I just stare at him for a long, quiet moment, slowly shaking my head. “Who the hell did such a number on you?”
“Every female in my life, that’s who. Fuck them,” he mutters, just before he strides past me and exits my house.
Damn. And I thought I had issues.
Four
Ava
I’m not usually one to beg but…
“Please, please, please,” I say, stressing the last word and stretching it out. “I’m the homecoming princess, Mom! I have to go to the dance!”
“You don’t have to go anywhere,” Mom says irritably, as she moves about the kitchen. She’s prepping for dinner and barely looking at me. Jake and Dad holed up in his study when Jake came home, and they haven’t left it since. I feel like Mom’s barely tolerating me and Dad and Jake don’t even want to look at me. I am on everyone’s bad side in this house right now, and it sucks.
I realize begging and whining isn’t going to work on Mom, so I decide to change tactics. “Just—let me go tonight. That’s it. That’s all I’ll ask for. My one duty to the school before I’m grounded forever.”
She sends me a look, like she doesn’t believe me. “You’re not grounded forever. Your dad said a week. If it would’ve been up to me? I’d given you two.”
Those last words she mumbles under her breath. And thank God it wasn’t up to her.
“I’m grounded for a week, and that’s fine. I deserve it. I probably deserve more. I broke yours and Dad’s trust, and it’s going to take a while for me to earn it back. I know this,” I explain.
Mom turns to face me, crossing her arms and leaning against the kitchen counter. “Funny you bring this up. Your brother wants to go to the dance too.”
Ooh, this can work in my favor. “I’m sure he does.”
She watches me for a while, her lips pursed. She’s thinking, and that’s always a good sign. “I’m a complete pushover.”
“No, you’re not,” I say, my tone completely innocent.
“Yes, I definitely am,” she says with a sigh. “I’ll let you both go, as long as your father agrees. But there’s one condition.”
“What is it?” I ask.
“You and Jake have to go together.”
I completely deflate. “But he’ll want to take Hannah.”
“Oh, he can take her. The two of you can go pick Hannah up,” Mom suggests brightly. “Together.”
“He’s still mad at me.” And I’m still mad at him.
“Well, this will be a great way for you two to