AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He patted me on the head.
Rude.
He went back into the kitchen and turned his back, and I took the chance to sneak some of the creamer into the brew. The last thing I needed was reflux to go with all the other betrayal in my life.
He snickered as if he had eyes in the back of his head and knew what I was doing. I glared, and when he turned from the counter, he brought over a spoon, which he held out. “So you can stir the creamer you didn’t put in that coffee.”
I took it and stirred my coffee. “I thought you were the mean, grumpy one.”
“I am.”
I licked the spoon and waved it at him. Mean, grumpy, tattooed men did not hand out creamer and spoons for coffee stirring. Especially after being insulted.
“To people that aren’t my friends.” He finished.
His words caused a pang in my heart, but I pushed it away. “You’re pretty mean to Jamie and Ben,” I pointed out.
He grunted. “They deserve it.”
I wasn’t about to sit around and defend any of them, so I said nothing. Remembering the phone in my pocket, I tugged it out to call for an Uber.
Max took the phone from my grasp.
“Hey!” I cried, trying to snatch it back. He stuck it into the pocket of the sweats he was wearing and dragged a chair out to straddle it in front of me.
“I get that you’re pissed. I would be too.”
“Thanks for the permission,” I said. Then suddenly, I felt contrite. This wasn’t really his fault. Yet here I was, sitting in his kitchen after sleeping in his house with coffee he’d made at my elbow. He was right. I was being a brat.
“I’m sorry,” I said, slumping a little.
“Sorry?”
“I was being a brat,” I mumbled.
He turned his ear toward me. It had several piercings along the cartilage. “What was that?”
I gave him a look. He smiled.
“I said I’m sorry I was being a brat.” I spoke louder this time. “I am mad at everyone for lying, but I shouldn’t take all of it out on you. Friends or not, you let me stay here last night when I was afraid, and you came to visit me at the hospital. If you give me my phone, I’ll go.”
“We are your friends.”
“My apology does not give you carte blanche to lie to me some more.”
Max shrugged. “Every person that was here last night is your friend. Yeah, we don’t see you as much, but you don’t come around as much. I’m pretty sure the girls invite you everywhere we go.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Right?” he pressed.
I nodded.
“This past week, we’ve just been treating you the way we always would if you let us.”
I shook my head.
“If you remember everything, then you know it’s true. I just figured you didn’t come around as much because Kruger was so annoying.”
