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8
The thrashing behind my ribcage feels like a trapped animal fighting to escape.
Cassie’s pouty lips and glare keep popping into my head. The more I combat her image, the harder it trickles in.
“Don’t break my damn controller,” Mark grumbles, speeding his car alongside mine.
I ease my grip, but I still manage to zip my car across the finish line ahead of the rest.
“Damn. Two losses in a row.” He grabs a beer and slumps back on the sofa. “I’m going to see my dad tomorrow. Spend a few days with him and my evil stepmother.”
“Good luck.” I toss the game controller aside and reach for a light beer.
“What’s up with you?” he asks.
“My cousin is visiting.”
“Oh, nice. We’re the same age, right? What’s she like?”
I snap to him, and it wipes the grin from his face. “Shit. Is she awful?”
Flushing out a groan, I jump up from the sofa and pace back and forth. “She has a likable personality. Smiles with everyone.”
He snorts. “Sounds lovely.”
I throw my hand up. “That’s not the point. The thing is, Cassie’s back after seven damn years, and she thinks we’re cool. Like, where the fuck was she when I needed her.”
Mark braces forward and places the can on the coffee table, clasping his hands afterward. “Okay. I’m guessing you’re talking about all the shit you went through with your grandfather.”
“Yeah.” I drag my hand through my hair, huff, and chug a bit. “I had to fill a spot when she left.”
“You mean when your uncle took his family and left,” he corrects, raising his brows.
I hiss. “Whatever, man. Regardless, Cassie left, and I had to work a hundred times harder to qualify as a grandchild. She didn’t even come back for the funeral.”
He hangs his head and sighs. “Again, it sounds like you’re putting all the blame on her. It wasn’t her choice, Reid.” He looks up at me. “Aren’t you being a little too hard on your cousin?”
“Perhaps.” I shrug. “Look, if she wants back in, it’ll take the whole summer.”
A countdown blares from the video game on the large screen, indicating another race is about to start.
I hurry back to the sofa, grab my game controller, and rev my car.
“Be careful, man. You might push your cousin away again,” Mark says after picking up his controller. “You told me a while ago that you missed her. Just tell her how you feel and work through it.”
I speed from the line as the countdown ends, considering Mark’s words as I race him and others. I know he’s right. I’m just mad at how everything went in my family.
Mark crosses the finish line, beating me in the final seconds. “Hell yeah!” He throws his hands up. “I’m back in it, bitches.”
“Shut up. It’s just a game.”
“You only say that when you lose,” he counters.
Clicking my tongue, I reach for my beer and wait for the next round. My phone buzzes with a text.
I feel an instant dip in my stomach when I see it’s from Barry.
Can you help me out, kid?
Great. He told me the last time that he wouldn’t ask me for money again. Yet, here he is doing the same thing. I should ignore him, considering he hasn’t changed in eighteen years.
But I can’t, no matter how often he lets me down.
