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“Really? This is all a joke to you because it’s serious to me. You and Jagger plan all this shit behind my back. Just like last night. You sent me on my merry way, then fucked with her without even running it by me.”
“Guess I missed the part where I was supposed to get your approval.” The sarcasm in his tone unnerves me.
“We’re a fucking team. You, me, Jagger. Lately, though, it’s you and him and I’m sitting on the sidelines. Just like that shit at the river. You were never supposed to have her pushed in. It was supposed to be a scare tactic only. You could have seriously hurt her.”
“She was fine.” The way he’s downplaying the situation is unsettling.
“This time. What about next time?”
“Be real with me, Crew. This isn’t about us leaving you out. This is about her. You don’t like the idea of anyone fucking with her but you.”
It’s true, I don’t. Scar was mine first. I saw her first, I touched her first, and I’ll be damned if these guys are going to push me aside like she belongs to them now.
“You know what? Maybe I don’t.” I look him dead in the eye as I speak my truth. “You and Jagger made me out to be a traitor for being with Scar. You behaved as if I was betraying Maddie, but Maddie was already gone. She might still be here, but she’s gone, Neo.”
Neo cuts me a glare, pushing me back a few steps. “Don’t you ever fucking say that again. Maddie is still here. She will always be here.”
Bad choice of words, but it isthe truth.
“Did you expect me to just stay in a relationship with her forever? Am I supposed to wait for her, to what? Get better? Because she’s not getting better, Neo.”
“No! What I want is some respect for my twin sister. The girl who was always at our side growing up. She was one of us until Scar began pulling her away.”
Neo never liked Scar because he felt like she was always trying to take Maddie from us. Before long, he convinced us of it, too, and we followed his lead.
“I knew Maddie loved you when she was only nine years old. I didn’t want to, but I accepted it. You were my best fucking friend, Crew. I approved because I knew you’d treat her right. Maybe I pushed a little too hard just to make her happy, but she’s my sister. Fuck!” He grips his head, tugging at his hair. “She’s my fucking sister, and she’s the only person in this goddamn world I love.”
“I know, man. I know. I love Maddie, too.”
“Not the way she loved you. You wasted no time after her accident to shack up with her best friend—the girl who brainwashed Maddie into thinking The Blue Bloods are nothing but entitled pricks. That our rules are set forth simply to control members. Scar convinced Maddie not to attend The Academy and before long, she would have convinced her to leave The Blue Bloods altogether. And here you are still feeling sorry for her.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical for both of you to give me shit for sleeping with her when you’d crawl between her legs at the first opportunity?”
He’s quiet for a second, watching me and shaking his head subtly. “There’s a big difference between what we’re doing and what you did.”
“Oh, yeah?” I tip my chin. “What’s that?”
“Feelings, Crew. You’ve got feelings for her. We don’t.” He pats my chest with his hand, then turns to walk away.
“Dammit!” I drop my head back, staring at the clouds in the sky.
I don’t know what else to do. I’ve done everything they’ve asked of me, but I still don't have their trust. I’ve convinced myself I hate her. Even played the part. I’m just not sure how much longer I can pretend I don’t care.
ChapterSixteen
SCARLETT
“You sure you’re not hungry?”Jagger asks, holding up my salad in a paper bag.
I shake my head while trying to wrap my head around everything. Crew and Neo are probably killing each other in the dining hall right now, for reasons unbeknownst to me. Jagger swept me away like a knight in shining armor. But Jagger is no knight. So, why? Why is he walking casually at my side down the trail and being so nice?
“We can get this over with,” I tell him. “Give me my punishment so we can go back to class.”
He looks at me, a smile creeping across his face. “Actually, I had a better idea. What if we blow off the second half of classes and I take you to one of my favorite places?”
My eyebrows knit together as I glance at him from the corner of my eye. “And why would you do that?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “I dunno. With all the chaos, I guess I just thought it’d be nice to get away for a while.”
