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“It was fine. What are you going to pick a fight about now?” I ask, almost too mentally exhausted to deal with her right now.
She shrugs, unaffected by me.
That pisses me off more than anything. The two of us both know that she holds all the power in this relationship. With the snap of her fingers, she can call up her daddy and ruin my fucking life. I know that and she knows that. She uses it against me constantly.
I walk into the bathroom, slamming the door shut, getting into the shower. Leaning my forehead against the shower door, sighing, I think about what life could be like if I weren’t bound to Riley. If I hadn’t fucked up all those years ago.
I let my thoughts drift to thoughts of Marley, even though I know that even if I weren’t stuck with Riley, Marley is still the forbidden fruit I’d never be able to have a piece of.
“Hurry up in there,” Riley yells, banging on the bathroom door.
“Jesus,” I mutter.
I finish washing off, stepping out of the shower, wrapping myself in a towel.
“What the fuck do you want? Don’t you think you’re ruining my life enough as it is?” I ask, grabbing some shorts from my bag.
“You’re so fucking dramatic, Clark. You’re the one that got yourself into this situation.”
She’s not wrong.
“The real question is, what do you get out of this whole thing? It’s obvious to me and everyone else that we can’t stand each other.”
“You know as well as I do that I want my dad’s money. If you and I continue to play house, then I get the money.” She shrugs.
“You’re ruining my fucking life over some money?”
“Of course I am.”
I throw my shorts on and storm out of the room. I’m afraid if I stay cooped up in this room any longer then I’m going to fucking kill her.
I find Mitch and the girls in the kitchen, laughing, which stops immediately when I walk into the room.
“Whoa. Are you okay?” Mitch asks, concerned.
“No. I’m not fucking okay.” I sigh, slamming cabinets in the kitchen, searching for something… I just don’t know what.
“Want to smoke?” Marley asks, making me freeze on the spot.
“Yes, please.” I lean my head against the cabinet, trying to take a few deep breaths.
“Well, come on then.” Delaney smiles, clapping her hands together.
“I’m gonna sit this one out. I’ve got some shit to take care of,” Mitch says, wrapping his arm around his sister for a hug.
I smile at the two of them. Mitch has been lost for a long time, since Mallory died and Marley got sent away. It’s nice to see him genuinely smile again.
I follow the girls outside to the back porch, looking over my shoulder for Riley to suddenly appear and ruin my fucking night.
The three of us grab seats on the patio, and I listen to them talk about their upcoming year in college, while I zone out, passing the joint between us.
“Earth to Clark,” Delaney says, waving her manicured hand in front of my face.
“What? Shit, sorry,” I say, sitting up in my seat.
“You were so far gone,” Marley says, laughing.
Her laugh sounds like a warm breeze on a summer day, or some poetic shit like that.
