But I’m not sure it’s wise to do the same thing to guys who haven’t spoken to me in years.
Tracking the texts—that’s the best shot I have, but I hate that it’s out of my hands. I wonder how long it’ll be before I become completely unhinged.
I’m about to slip the phone back in my pocket, but another text chimes.
How many guys have fucked your girlfriend? Do you think the news will tell us the number? – Unknown
“Everything okay?” Rose asks as the car slows down by the gate.
“Yeah,” I lie, typing quickly.
What do you want? I text back.
If it’s money, I’ll find a way to pay him off. I can ask my father for a loan. I’ll double the amount that the tabloids are offering him. I just don’t want Lily’s secret to reach her family’s ears. Once her parents learn that she’s a sex addict—I’m not sure Lily will be able to handle that shame. I don’t think she’s ready for it.
Satisfaction – Unknown.
What the fuck does that mean? Of what? I text.
My leg jostles as I wait for the reply. I realize that Rose has put her Escalade in park, waiting by the gate’s keypad. She rolls down the window but watches me closely before she types in the code.
“Don’t,” I snap at her. I really don’t want to hear her ideas or thoughts on the matter. She probably has tons of opinions about how I should be responding to this guy, and I’m positive that she would handle this differently.
“You shouldn’t provoke him.”
“I wouldn’t.” Yeah, I kind of would. That’s what I do, even unintentionally.
Her lips purse. “Please. I know you.”
My phone vibrates on my leg.
I want the satisfaction of hurting you the way you’ve hurt me. – Unknown
The bottom of my stomach drops. This isn’t about money. This is payback for whatever I did. I’m not a saint, and I wouldn’t begin to defend myself. I just never wanted to believe that Lily would be the one destroyed because of me. So I text, Don’t go after her. You can do whatever the hell you want to me. Just leave her out of this. And I hesitate before I press send.
I’m sniveling. I’m giving this guy exactly what he needs. Ammunition to use against me. My father would never show him weakness like this. And what is the guy going to say in reply? Oh, I’m so sorry, Lo. I didn’t know she meant so much to you. No, he’s going to tell me to eat shit and watch my girlfriend burn.
This is not the way to win a fight.
So I delete that text and rewrite: I’ll find you, you motherfucker. Don’t ever doubt that. Send.
I pocket my phone and meet Rose’s moody gaze.
“What?” I say.
“You did exactly what I told you not to do, didn’t you?”
“Yep.”
She mutters under her breath, shaking her head. And as she leans out of the window to type in the key code, her eyes fall to something down below. I’m glad for the distraction. The phone feels less heavy in my jeans. I begin to shelve the texts in the back of my mind. On a normal day, I’d just go grab a bottle of Macallan and call it a night.
“Drop a bracelet?” I ask.
Her lips tighten.
“Worse than a bracelet? Damn, we’re at a DEFCON 1 then. Better prepare for nuclear war.”
She actually looks impressed. “You know what DEFCON means?”
“Yeah. I also know how to spell ‘duh’ and ‘hurry the fuck up.’” I don’t add that X-Men uses a version of the term for an imminent mutant crisis. How I learned the facts shouldn’t matter anyway.
She shoots me the signature Rose Calloway glare—the one that looks like she’s two seconds from eating your soul. I glower back, but internally, I want to run the fuck away. I don’t know how Connor smiles when she looks at him like that. She’s not bluffing. I bet she eats the hearts of every womanizer for the hell of it.
She flings her door open. “Wait here.”
Yeah, where else am I going to go?
She rummages out of sight for a minute, and curiosity gets the better of me. I unbuckle and stretch over the driver’s seat, peering down through the window.
Rose squats on the ground next to purple hydrangeas, ivy spindling up the iron gate beside the robust flowers. White petals flutter by her side, but her back blocks whatever’s in front of her.
“What are you doing?” I ask like she’s gone insane. I think there may be a screw loose in all of the Calloway girls. Well, maybe except Daisy. She seems pretty normal.