AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 31
Astrid
An hour and a half goes by. Roni is thankfully gone when we sneak into my room to shower. A chair is pushed against the bathroom door that leads into Gemma’s room. She can listen from the other side, but I don’t want her to see a visual. I don’t want her to run and get Charlotte. We argue while showering together. Bryce insists on walking me to meet Pierce by his car.
“No,” I speak over the running water, “You can’t walk with me to his car.”
He shrugs as if it’s okay to follow me. “I’m going to talk to him. And tell him not to pull any shit. Or I’ll get him for it.”
I steal the soap out of his hands. “Are you sure? ’Cause I think you want to brag.”
In five minutes, we’re dressed and heading out the door. My nice date outfit is soiled, so I settle on a chunky turtleneck and jeans. I hurry toward the student parking lot, clutching a tote bag with a makeup bag inside. I told Pierce that I’d rather not spend the night in Boston, but it’s better to be prepared. We hurry along the path, but I almost run into Bryce’s back when he stops short.
I peer around him, and Pierce’s car is being lifted onto a tow truck. All four wheels are flat, and someone has painted crude but cool graphics of monster dicks spurting huge drops on his car. It’s wicked, but I have to bite the inside of my cheeks not to laugh.
Pierce rushes at Bryce. “Did you do this?” he shouts, pointing at the wreck. “Of course you did. You’re a spoiled asswipe of a twat.”
Bryce holds up his hands in surrender and doesn’t bother to hide his glee. He can barely speak because he’s laughing too hard. “It wasn’t me. I swear. You can ask Astrid. I was with her all morning. I’m the reason why she’s late.”
Fuck. I pride myself on not blushing, but my cheeks feel so hot I could light a cigarette. “He was with me,” I mumble.
Pierce’s sharp look bounces from me to a smirking Bryce and back again. I know what he’s thinking, and I can’t deny it’s true. I’m late because I was fucking another guy before my date with someone else. My shoulders sag under his scrutiny.
“Why don’t you ask Justin?” Bryce asks, “He’s the artist.”
I have to get between them before there’s a fistfight in the parking lot. “Stop it!” I shout. “I’m on Rawlins’s shit list for life. I can’t be around when you beat each other up.”
Our attention instantly returns to the car as the tow-truck driver taps the horn to get our attention before pulling off. We watch as the two vehicles turn out of the parking lot and disappear at the end of the road. My trip to Boston ended before we could leave Stonehaven.
Bryce smiles widely and looks like the happiest person in town. “I guess you’ll be staying here then, Pierce. Can I buy you lunch?”
Of course, Pierce knocks Bryce to the ground with a kick to his knees. They wrestle across the blacktop, heaving insults at each other as they lock each other into a death grip. Pierce doesn’t care that he’s ruining his pressed khakis and forces Bryce’s face into a gross pile of weeds growing from a crack in the concrete curb.
“We said no fists!” shouts Bryce as Pierce slams a fist into his gut.
“I’m hitting you because you’re an asshole, you prick!” shouts Pierce.
It’s more shouting than hitting as they roll back and forth. Finally, I do the smart thing and walk away. My body is nicely sore, but my heart sinks. I can’t help thinking that maybe I was used.
