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ChapterTwelve

DAY SIX

“Sooo,” Pardi said, drumming his fingers against the bar top. “Not that I’m against day drinking but—”

“Pardi,” Dallas interrupted. “I’m not in the fucking mood. If you gonna be here, then just shut the fuck up and be here. Don’t say shit.”

“Well, excuse the hell out of me,” he huffed, exchanging glances with Kohl.

Silence fell between the three as Dallas finished off the last of his beer, bringing the glass down so hard that he was surprised it hadn’t shattered.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do?”

Shooting Kohl another glance, Pardi asked, “Are we supposed to still be shutting the fuck up or answering him?”

As pissed as he was, Dallas couldn’t help but laugh at his friend. “My bad, bruh. I didn’t mean to snap on you but this shit is—I don’t know. A lot. I couldn’t even sleep last night because everything is so fucked up.”

“Listen, my sister had some fucked up intentions but—”

“It ain’t no but,” Dallas interrupted, signaling for another drink. “The shit was foul. Simple as that. Regardless of the way things ended up, I never purposely intended to hurt Sevyn. She stepped into this shit determined to purposely fuck me over. How am I supposed to look at her after that?”

“You ain’t ever made a decision out of blind anger?” Pardi inquired. “Or said or did some shit that you didn’t mean because at the moment you were that pissed off?”

He had. But to Dallas, it didn’t matter. He’d never done it to her.

“Maybe. So what? Is that supposed to make what she did right?”

“She didn’t do anything,” Kohl pointed out. “Had you never overheard her talking to Avery, you wouldn’t have even known. Y’all would probably be spending time together right now—”

“Doing some more gay ass, lovey-dovey shit with your whipped ass,” Pardi added on.

As his next drink arrived, Dallas replied, “Fuck all that. I’m good on her.”

Pardi frowned. “Right. If that’s the case then why the hell are we at a bar on Christmas Eve? You miss her and want to talk about it. It’s cool. Just hurry the hell up ‘cause I got shit to do.”

That sparked Kohl’s interest. “What the hell you got to do?”

“Mind my business as you need to.”

“You know what, Pardi, you’re right. For once.” Dallas randomly interrupted.

Pardi shot him a bewildered glance. “Nigga, for once?”

Ignoring him, Dallas continued. “I do miss her. I love her. I wish I had never overheard that shit and that it didn’t change the dynamic between us, but it did. So what am I supposed to do with that?”

“Aight,” Kohl folded his hands on the top of the bar. “My sister was dead ass wrong, but tell me one thing and then I’ll leave it alone. Did you really expect better from her?”

“Damn nigga,” Pardi snorted. “She’s your sister.”

“Sevyn is who she is. She’s unapologetic about it. Bratty, stubborn, spiteful when she wants to be, holds grudges like no other—”

“You ain’t lying about that. She didn't talk to me for two months after that prank we played on Lorren senior year.” Pardi shuddered.

“You better be lucky that she didn’t beat yo ass,” Kohl snickered.

“Yeahhhh,” Dallas dragged out. “You took that one too far.”

Frowning, Pardi said, “I ain’t on trial right now, get back to your raggedy-ass sister.”