control of everything happening around him. He’ll cut her off if she doesn’t remember her place and if she tries to defy him?” I shake my head. “I don’t think I need to paint that picture for you.”
“No, you don’t,” she hisses, running a hand through my hair. “You know what? I’m actually pretty tired. I think I’ll make it inside just fine by myself. I’ll see you at school.”
“Charlotte,” I say, a frustrated sigh escaping my lips. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just want you to be careful. I mean, why now? Why all of a sudden did she decide to turn over a new leaf? Just think about it, okay?”
“I appreciate your concern,” she says, her voice cold. “But I will be fine. I would have thought you’d be happy for me, but I guess ‘shit on Charlotte’ is a game everyone seems to play really well. Looks like you have the winning hand tonight.” She pushes open the car door and slams it shut without another word as she stalks toward the front door.
I watch her slide her key inside the lock and the door slams shut behind her. I don’t even get a backward glance.
One of the curtains in the front window rustles, and out of the corner of my eye I see Charles himself peer out at me. His eyes narrow, his lips twisted into a grimace. We glare at each other for a few seconds before he drops the curtain. My blood boils in my veins and I want so badly to ram in that door, find him, and let my fists fly at that smug ass face of his.
A loud ringtone blares, piercing the silence, and I grab my phone. “Yeah?”
“Xander, where are you?”
I grit my teeth. Fucking Phoenix. My two-faced asshole brother.
“Why should I tell you anything? So you can sell me out to Dad and make my fucking life harder than it already is?” I grunt.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know. Dad called me in for a little meeting so he could rip me a new asshole and then tell me that he’s sending me to Chicago with you when you go back.”
“Well, that’s good, isn’t it? It’s what you wanted.”
“I wanted to do shit in my own time!” I yell, pulling my car back down the driveway and out of the Hawthorne gates. “And I don’t even know if I want to go anymore!”
“Why not?” His voice gets hard. “Because of her?”
“Fuck it, yeah! Because of her, okay! What now? Are you gonna tell me how I’m screwing up my life and my opportunities?”
“No.”
“That’s it?” My pulse throbs against my neck. “I trusted you, asshole! And you sold me out!”
“I was trying to help you, Xander. I wanted Dad to see how serious you are about advancing because you’ve been flaking out and you damn well know it! I didn’t know he was gonna send you back with me!”
“I don’t believe you. I think you all want to keep me as far away from Charlotte as you can!”
Phoenix lets out a sigh. “Look, I get why you’re pissed, but you need to let it go right now. We have some work to do. Tomorrow. Unless you have other plans,” he says in a sarcastic voice.
“I just left her,” I grumble. “And she’s pissed off at me now, too.”
“Great, nice to see you’re landing on everyone’s shit list these days.”
I roll my eyes. “What are we doing?”
“Just meet me at the Green Cactus at one. We’re meeting a friend there.”
“Who is—?” But before I can ask the question, he hangs up on me.
Dick.
The red light in front of me turns green, and I press my foot on the gas, accelerating through the intersection when another car comes barreling past me, swerving right and cutting me off. I clutch the steering wheel and throw my car into park, grabbing the gun under my seat and sticking it into the waistband of my jeans.
There are no other cars around, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t on the way.
I watch for a second, my fingers gripping the gun handle.
Does the ‘friend’ we’re meeting have friends of his own who are trying to keep me away from the Green Cactus?
Tiny hairs on the back of my neck prickle as the door of the other car swings open.