Saint trades looks with his father as Mom’s face pales.
Inwardly, I’m clapping my hands with glee and wondering why I never tried out for drama class because I’m definitely getting a kick out of this.
I know my little charade won’t change anything, but it will throw a wrench in the works, and I’m reacting predictably and naturally, which is most important. Neo doesn’t look ruffled in the slightest, because he knows he’ll talk her around, but I hope she gives him hell for at least a few days.
“You can’t expect me to live with them.” I pout, crossing my arms. “Not after they filmed me without my permission and shared the content online.”
“Did you know about this?” Mom asks Neo, glaring at the boys she was so warmly welcoming a few minutes ago.
“They’re teenage boys.” Neo shrugs, yanking her into his side and flattening his palm against her ass.
My mouth curls up at the corner, and I want to rip him apart every time he touches her.
Living here with all of them will be a true test of self-control and patience. It’s a test I intend to ace, so I relax my features and remind myself they are all getting what is coming to them in time. “I’m sure you remember what we got up to when we were their age?”
“So, you and my mom had group sex with other Sainthood members, and you recorded it without her permission and then shared it with the world?” I plant my hands on my hips as I challenge him.
“No, but we were like rabid bunnies, fucking any chance we got.”
Ugh. That so backfired. “You’re disgusting.”
He smirks. “We’re all adults here, and you seem sexually promiscuous, so I think we can all agree you are overreacting. My boys made you a star. You should be thanking them. I bet you have dudes lining up to pound your cunt since the footage aired.”
My nostrils flare, and anger boils my blood at his disgusting slur.
Mom pushes Neo away, hurt flaring in her eyes. “Neo,” she gasps. “That is completely inappropriate as well as being untrue. Your boys betrayed her trust, and you shouldn’t condone that behavior.” She glowers at all of them, and I silently champion her. “You owe my daughter an apology.” She prods her finger in the air, moving it around them. “All of you.”
“We’ve already explained ourselves to Harlow, Mrs. Westbrook,” Saint says, looking like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. “We weren’t aware Galen’s mom had cameras in that room, and we weren’t the ones who shared it online. We were just as upset as she was when the tape aired.”
“Bullshit.”
“Are you accusing my son of lying, Harlow?” Neo asks, pinning me with a cautionary look.
I maintain eye contact with him, refusing to show fear.
“Because taking such a line would upset me greatly,” he continues, “and I’m sure you don’t want to do that.” The underlying meaning is crystal clear, and fun time is over. “You’re going to be my daughter. You and Saint will be stepsister and stepbrother, and I’m sure none of us want to get off on the wrong footing.”
Mom glances between both of us, conflicting emotions raging in her eyes.
“I apologize if my comment offended you. I merely meant you seem sexually confident,” he says, and he might be fooling Mom, but he’s not fooling me.
“It’s fine, and you’re right,” I lie, smiling sweetly. “What’s in the past should remain in the past. This is a clean slate.” I extend my hand to Saint, watching as he examines me closely, his gaze drilling holes in my brain as he attempts to extract the truth. “Welcome, brother. I hope you’ll be very happy here.”
“So that’s why they claimed you,” Sariah says the following night as we sit side by side in the old abandoned warehouse, drinking warm beer from bottles while we watch the largely inebriated crowd jump around the makeshift dance floor.
This party is in the rougher part of Lowell, a scene I usually avoid. It’s especially risky attending, because The Arrows are known to frequent these parties, but I couldn’t stomach bumping into the Saints at Beth McCoy’s bash. Beth is Parker’s bestie, and she’s throwing a party in the woods behind Lowell High to try to salvage relations between Finn and The Sainthood. But she’s an idiot because Finn made his bed, and now, he must lie in it. He should have taken Saint’s offer and at least held on to his dignity.
Now Saint will go out of his way to humiliate and shun Finn.
At least, it might deflect some of the heat off me.
School next week should be fun.
“Yep,” I lie, because I know Saint hasn’t claimed me because I’m to become his new stepsister. But it’s handy to have a reason the public at large will accept.
“Has your mom lost her mind?” she asks, as I rip pieces of the label off my beer bottle.
“I never would’ve thought Mom would shack up with a degenerate like Neo Lennox, but I clearly don’t know her as well as I think.”
“I can’t believe she’s letting them live in the same house as you after they pulled that shit.” She shakes her head, leaning back against Sean as he comes up behind her.
“I’m choosing to focus on the positives.” I smile as Emmett climbs up on the old dresser beside me.
“Which is?” he inquires, clinking his bottle against mine.
“I can murder them all in their beds and claim it was a home invasion.”
We all laugh, but I’m only half-joking. The thought has crossed my mind.
The other thought that’s crossed my mind is that I need to come clean to Sariah. At least about some of it. Her association with me places her in danger, and I can’t make that decision for her. She needs to know enough to make her own choice. But I’m terrified of that conversation because she might choose to walk away. And then, I’ll truly be all alone.
The next hour passes pleasantly, and the more I drink, the more I relax. Emmett has only left my side to grab more beers and I’m enjoying talking with him. Sariah and Sean are dry humping one another on the dance flor, and I can’t help smiling. If anyone deserves to be happy and in love, it’s my bestie.
“You want that?” Emmett asks, tilting his bottle at the dance floor, in the direction of our friends.
“Someday, sure. Doesn’t everyone?”
He nods. “I know I do.”
“How is it Lowell High has two atypical jocks? You and Sean have got to be blowing some stats to smithereens somewhere.”
He chuckles. “Not every guy on the team is a manwhore douche. There are plenty who are in it for the sport and the camaraderie. You must be reading a lot of the same books as my sister. The ones that paint jocks as man sluts. Don’t believe everything you read.”
“This is your sister who’s ill?” I ask, remembering what Theo had said that day.
He nods, his expression turning serious. “She has leukemia, and she’s been in this experimental trial the past four months, which is delivering results. We’re hopeful she’ll pull through.”
I touch his arm. “I’m glad to hear that, and I hope she does.”
He moves a little closer, staring at me, and we share a moment. “She’s the only reason I’m not making a move on you right now.” Apology shines in his eyes.