17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

ANNIE

Do not kill my boyfriend's cousin. Do not kill my boyfriend's cousin. It was like a mantra in my head today. Half the time, Nic and I were getting decent at ignoring each other's presence, but the other half, it was all I could do not to go off in his face, holding it back so that I was screaming in my head. The feeling was mutual; I was sure.

We were trying to get along, for Jet, but we rubbed each other completely the wrong way. All I had to do was step into a room, and he got tense, his undertone with me rude, just enough that I'd hear it but not enough for Jet to say anything. I probably wasn't any better. He got under my skin, and I couldn't even pinpoint why, other than he just pissed me off. He was a decent guy…with everyone else. It was something about each other that we couldn't stand.

Today, however, was different. Jet and I had snuck away, everyone else in the house gone, and right in the middle of riding Jet's brains out into an amazing climax, Nic had barged into the room. I'd screamed and grabbed for the covers, but there was no getting away from the fact that the asshole had seen every inch of my naked body. While I was just seconds away from having an orgasm on top of it. He couldn't have waited an extra twenty seconds so I could finish. The dick.

Everything after that had been yelling and screaming, mostly between Jet and Nic, as I scrambled to put my clothes on under the covers. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I was mortified.

I ran out the door and headed straight for my truck. I had to get Izzy, anyway.

I should've just gone straight to the studio to pick her up. She'd been working her ass off lately, almost every spare minute of her time spent with Leo or locked in her studio at home, ever since she'd gotten the go ahead from the doctor about a month ago. Right after Tucker signed his NLI. It had seemed like a turning point at the time, and I'd been freaking ecstatic when she told me about her progress with him that night. Anything that told me she might be getting better.

But now that May had hit and graduation and her audition were just a few weeks away, Izzy was stressed more than ever.

Jet: Are you okay? Nic was an ass this time. I let him have it.

I read his text when I parked at the studio in Summer Ridge, taking a moment to reply before going in for Izzy.

Me: Would've been great if you'd believed me all the other times he was an ass.

I tapped the case on my phone, irritated and hurt as I watched the three little dots appear on my screen .

Jet: I DID believe you. I don't know what to do here, Annie. I'm stuck in the middle.

I rolled my eyes. Choose your girlfriend, dumbass.

Me: I just want to know you have my back. That you're choosing ME.

Jet: I will ALWAYS choose you.

Me: Funny. Doesn't feel like it. Want a solution? Why don't you just set Nic up with Ruby and get them both out of my hair.

Jet: That came out of nowhere.

Jet: And I doubt that will work.

Me: Yeah, the ice king with the flirt. You're right. Nic deserves better.

Me: I take it back. No, he doesn't. The asshole saw me naked and robbed me of an orgasm.

Jet: He didn't MEAN to barge in.

Me: Oh, yeah, because we were so fucking quiet.

Jet: He had headphones in.

Me: So, he can't fucking knock?

Jet: Fuck, Annie, I don't know what to do here. I'm sorry. We'll only do it at your place from now on.

Jet: And why didn't you tell me you don't like Ruby?

Me: Seriously? You're just now picking that up? How about why couldn't you just figure that out? Oh, wait. You can't even figure out that she's always trying to flirt with you.

Jet: Sweetheart…I think you're overreacting. Ruby is just a friend.

Me: A friend who WANTS you, babe. And you can't see it.

I groaned at the direction this conversation had gone. This was not the way I'd wanted to bring this up, but Jet had been clueless. Maybe I should have spoken up sooner, but I never thought I'd have to tell him to tell a girl to back the fuck off.

Me: I'm not trying to fight. I don't want to. But we need to talk about this later. Not now over text.

A few seconds passed before he texted back.

Jet: Agreed.

I sighed, dropping my phone to my legs, and scrubbed my hands over my face as I growled through a scream. I was done. I was sick of everything being screwed up. I wanted my life back. I wanted my modesty back. My sister back. My boyfriend back without his annoying ass cousin always lingering in the background and some floozy trying to hang all over him. Mom…

Forcing back the wave of frustration and emotion, I took a giant, deep breath and hopped out of the truck, going to find Izzy.

I was immediately annoyed all over again.

"We're going to be late." I leaned against the doorway of the studio as my sister took her sweet time gathering her things. She and Leo had gone an extra ten minutes since I'd come inside.

"It's fine, Annie. Emma won't mind. She knows I had dance first."

I rolled my eyes, holding back a growl. "That's not the point. It's her birthday, and we promised to be there."

"Which we will." Izzy shifted something around in her bag. "You just hate being late."

Oh, holy mother of… "Of course, I do." I tossed my arms in the air.

Leo looked between us, his brow raised as he watched our exchange. "I'm sorry, Annie. If I'd known— "

"What?" Izzy cut him off. "You'd have stopped us earlier? I have less than a month left to prepare for my audition, and I'm using every minute of it."

He held his hands up at her glare in the mirror, and I felt a bit guilty for getting him into trouble.

"Your routine is looking really good, Izzy. I swear. We've been in the studio tons more these past weeks—"

"Which we would have been doing the second I got my cast off if the doctor had cleared me any sooner." Izzy's eyes flashed, and she shoved her water and a towel down in her bag, yanking the zipper shut before throwing it over her shoulder to stand.

"But he didn't." Leo leveled her with a stern look. "You had to heal and gain strength back, the right way, or you could have damaged your ankle worse. It sucks. I get it, but I swear, you've made amazing progress. You . Are. Going. To. Get. This." He placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to meet his eyes, and I watched the fight in my sister's stance slowly deflate.

Leo pulled her in for a hug. "Trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong?" He gave her a wink in the mirror, and Izzy grinned.

"No. You haven't. Thank you. And I'm sorry for making us late, sis. I just… There's this pressure hanging over me with this now. I'm running out of time."

Most of my frustration with her fled at that. "I know. I'm sorry. I get it. But I really do feel guilty making Emma wait."

"Well, she said I could shower and change over at her place, so it'll be fine. See you tomorrow, Leo?"

"Wouldn't miss it." He waved us off, already working on another set of steps in the mirror, and I felt Izzy's hesitation to leave as she watched him.

"Come on." I linked my arm with hers, pulling her out the door.

It took us a good twenty minutes to get to Emma's, the ride between us silent, both of our minds elsewhere, like a silent pact that we'd talk later, and after excited hellos with Megan, Casey, and Dinah, Izzy took a quick shower, and we made the spontaneous decision to go out for food. Settling on our favorite Mexican restaurant, we chose to go big and order the massive order of nachos Izzy and I usually shared with the guys. Between the six of us, we managed to down most of it, our stomachs ridiculously full as we laughed and chatted for over an hour.

"So, how're things with you and David?" I asked Megan when the rest of the girls left us to head to the restroom.

"Good mostly."

"Mostly?" She gave me a small smile and popped a shoulder before taking a small sip of her soda, and I propped my elbow on the table to rest my chin on my hand. "Well, you sound convincing."

Megan laughed. "That's because I'm not . I don't really know. We were so good the first several months we were together, and a lot of the time we still are, but he has moments where he acts weird. Like really irritable over stupid things and he tries to pick a fight for no reason. I think he's freaking out that graduation is coming up. We didn't get into the same school."

"That'll do it." I gave her a sympathetic look.

"Yep. I really care about him, and I don't want to spend the last few months we have together fighting. "

"So, tell him."

"I have . He just tells me that I don't know what I'm talking about or suggests that if I don't want him in a bad mood, I should do something to distract him."

"You mean?" I made a gesture with my hand near my mouth.

"Yep." Megan nodded, popping the p. "That or sex."

"Ass."

"Sometimes." She sighed, and we both took another drink.

"So, have y'all?" I asked, unsure if it was crossing a line.

Megan twirled her straw around her glass, not meeting my gaze. "Yeah, for a while now. I just don't like the implication behind it when he brings it up like that."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

I looked over when the bathroom door opened and saw our friends coming out. What I didn't expect to see was Ruby barrelling past with a tray full of food.

"Oh, my God." Casey yanked Izzy's arm to pull her back before she could get trampled, and I immediately glared at the bitch that nearly ran down my sister. Ruby looked to the side with a small smirk, but then her expression fell when she saw me, the color draining from her face.

I was immediately up and crossing the restaurant, pulling my arm away from my friends when I passed them.

"Annie," Izzy hissed. "Stop it. It's fine."

It so wasn't. Because that bitch thought she was knocking into me .

"Go sit down, Izzy."

I stopped a few steps away from the table the bitch was serving, waiting, and the second Ruby stepped away, I slid in front of her. "Excuse me, miss. Could I talk to you about what we ordered?" I said it in my sweetest voice for the people nearby, but the warning in my eyes was clear.

"Um. Yeah." She stepped off to the side by the wall. "Look, I'm sorry. I should've watched where I was going—"

I shook my head, cutting her off. "Bullshit. I saw the look on your face. You knew exactly what you were doing, except you thought it was me you were about to take out. And trust me, you're glad you missed because no one messes with my sister. You might have Jet fooled into thinking you're some nice girl, but I know exactly how you are." I held up my hand, showing her the ring on my finger. "See this? This is Jet's promise to me that he's mine. That we're meant to be. He's already asked my dad for permission to marry me one day. You're not even on his radar. So back off, cuz I won't stand around and let you fucking try to steal what's mine."

Her eyebrow rose, and there was a challenge in her gaze, but I stared her down, a million promises going through my silent threat. Eventually, I turned away. "Fuck with what's mine, and I'll fuck with you. Back off," I threw over my shoulder before I went back to meet my friends.

I was still stewing by the time we got back to Emma's, but I was doing my best to get over it, not wanting to ruin the mood. It had been such a shit afternoon so far. Most of it, at least.

I tuned back in as Casey was talking about the latest guy she was hooking up with, one of her last comments catching my attention .

"I mean, neither of us wants a relationship since he's about to go off to college, but why not have some fun while he's here? I know he appreciates the favor ." She winked, making the same gesture I'd done for Megan earlier before grabbing a giant furry pillow off Emma's bed to settle on the floor.

"Oh, I bet he does." Emma tossed down a few more, the rest of us getting comfortable for the sleepover. "I know Mat—, well, you-know-who would appreciate it if I ever gave into him."

"Y'all are awful." Dinah shook her head with a grin.

"What?" Casey smirked. "As long as they like returning the favor afterwards."

"Annie loves returning favors."

My eyes shot open, and everyone turned to look at my twin.

"Izzy," I hissed, but she shrugged.

"What? You do, and from what you've told me, Jet is great at giving them."

I dropped my head into my hands, feeling heat hit my cheeks. Damn Izzy and her mouth. I'd thought we'd put our drama on hold after leaving the studio. What was with her today?

Megan grinned wide. "Alright, Jet. I always wondered if he was good."

"Hey!" My mouth gaped.

"What? Y'all are like the dream couple, and he's fucking hot. We're just curious." Casey scooted in for the gossip. "Love to hear that he gives first. That just makes him hotter. "

"Y'all!" My head whipped between my friends, my face staining all the way from pink to red. "Izzy likes giving favors, too." I blurted it without thinking.

All eyes turned to Izzy, her features flushing pink this time. Casey grinned her biggest smile yet. " Al-right , Tucker. Does he give back?"

Izzy shot me a glare, but the sting wasn't really there since she'd struck first. She looked back at our friends. "No. Just me."

Megan frowned. "Too bad. You'd think with his past rep that he would."

"It's not that he doesn't want to. I won't let him. There's a lot of things I don't let him do anymore." Izzy's voice fell meek as she looked down at the carpet, and I watched as her eyes went dull. My stomach swooped at the sight. It was like she was regressing despite her progress, and none of us had any clue why. I couldn't figure out how to reach her.

"Hey, Ems, you ready to open your presents?" I asked, giving Izzy the change of subject she clearly needed.

The distraction worked, and after gifts, we scarfed down cake and ice cream in wine glasses and then headed back to Emma's room for the remainder of the night to listen to music and gossip, taking turns painting each other's nails. When everyone started getting ready for bed, Megan took off for the bathroom while Emma, Casey, and Dinah changed in the room. Normally, I would have, too, but I really needed to pee. I understood why Izzy wouldn't change in here. It was the same reason she wouldn't change in front of me anymore, or Tucker. And probably a huge part of the reason she was still holding back from him. Though it would be pulling teeth to ever get her to say it. But her scars weren't going away. Physical ones or the emotional.

Izzy excused herself for her turn when Megan came back, and Megan plopped down on a pillow next to Emma on the floor. "Okay, is it just me, or has your dad been giving me some really weird looks lately?"

I caught Emma's gaze and saw the hurt flash in her eyes. Megan had been her best friend for years, but all I could think about was what happened with her dad and Mateo in the gym.

"I'll be right back." Emma hopped up and hurried down the hall.

Megan looked between Casey, Dinah, and I, confused. "Did I say something?"

"Don't worry about it." I tried to brush it off, hoping I was wrong.

Emma was back within a minute, followed by Izzy, so I took my turn to go change, glad I'd finally be able to freaking pee. I'd had so much tea at the restaurant.

I washed my hands when I was done and was in the middle of pulling on my pajama shorts outfit, when I heard Emma's parents arguing in the room next door.

Hurrying to finish, I stuffed my things into Jet's gym bag that I'd gotten into the habit of swiping before reaching for the door, and then froze, the voices rising so that I could make out the words.

"I don't care what you think about it, John. Emma's been friends with her for years, and you've never had a problem with it. She's an excellent young lady."

"I don't doubt that she is, Rachel, but that doesn't mean I want her kind sleeping under my roof. "

"Her kind?! You mean Hispanic ? There are lots of her kind in south Texas, John, and your daughter is friends with plenty of them. So am I. They are people just the same as you and I, and I refuse to let you make that girl feel uncomfortable in our home."

" Our home?" I barely heard him hiss. "It's our home tonight, is it? I wonder what it will be tomorrow."

"Don't get sarcastic with me , Jonathan Kooper. I've had enough of your racist bullshit. What in the hell happened? You used to not be this bad. You were okay with friendships, at least, but now you're angry about Emma's best friend? A girl that's been here hundreds of times?"

He scoffed. "You want to know what happened? You , letting that wetback trash that you work with stick his tongue down your throat. I fucking saw you. I showed up to surprise you for lunch and saw you kissing that trash in the parking lot. What the fuck else did you let him do to you?"

"Perfect. Just fucking perfect. You hypocrite . What you saw was me furious and talking to a friend, one that made a move without my consent when I told him I found the videos of you fucking your secretary on your laptop. I shut down what he did, while you clearly couldn't wait to screw someone else. I just wasn't ready to say anything. Not with Emma so close to graduating. God , I should've listened to my mother. She warned me about you."

"Oh, here we go again."

"Shut up! Do you even care that your wife caught you cheating?" Rachel growled, fury and disgust radiating through her voice. "You know what? I'm done. I'm fucking done." A door slammed and bare footsteps padded angrily down the hall .

I hadn't moved in minutes. Frozen, not knowing what to do. I waited for a moment to make sure the coast was clear and then threw open the bathroom door to bolt down the hall to Emma's room.

"What's up?" I asked, trying to beat down my frazzled nerves as I claimed a space between Izzy and Emma.

"Truth or dare," Dinah replied. "Emma wanted truth, so we just asked her what the deal was with Nic taking her to prom."

I performed a mental eye roll. Even at someone else's house, I couldn't get away from the asshole.

Emma sighed. "I've explained this already. You know how my dad feels about Mateo, and somehow, my mom convinced him to okay the Nic idea. That way he can go to the prom. It's more like an acquaintance slash favor thing. We've talked a few times, but I barely know him, so it's not an actual date. My dad would never go for that. I'm basically just his ticket in. And he barely agreed to that."

"Poor Mateo," Megan muttered. "I just hate that your dad's like that with him. He's never been that way with me."

"I've never tried to date you, and yeah, my dad's been brutal, but Nic said he'd hand me off to Mateo once we get there, so no big deal, really."

"I don't know." Casey shrugged a shoulder. "You sure you don't want to trade up for a guy with a hot British accent? He's so fucking sexy."

"Mmmm… Yeah, that accent's the best." Megan sighed wistfully.

Emma shot a begging look at me and Izzy.

"Oh, come on." Dinah knocked her shoulder with Emma's. "At least, admit the accent's hot if nothing else. "

Izzy and Emma grinned, and if I put all the other shit that drove me crazy about him aside, then yeah, I'd have to agree.