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Uncontrollable anger pulses through my veins, and I grind my back teeth, knowing I’m about to say something I shouldn’t, but unable to stop myself. Because that’s how fucking insane this girl makes me feel.
“Guess you’re just like. Your. Fucking. Mother, Little Bird.” I drag in a shaky breath, feeling my head spin. “Shocker. I was warned you’re all alike.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” She scowls. “What does my mother have to do with the conversation we’re having?”
Taking my phone out, I open my email, pulling up the file. “There you go, Sutton. Here’s my end of the deal. A deal it seems you can’t fucking wait to get out of.”
Snatching it from my hand, she reads through everything. She’s quiet as her eyes take it all in, and I watch her chest rise and fall.
“This doesn’t make sense,” she whispers more to herself than to me. “If this is true, then my dad…isn’t my dad.”
“What?” I say, stunned because I didn’t actually read it.
I only knew that her mother was a prostitute because when Jake called, he told me as soon as I answered my phone. And I certainly didn’t think this was how I’d drop that bomb. But the girl makes me so fucking angry that I blurted it out. Now, I wish I could take it back and say it nicer even if she is pissing me off.
“My mom was pregnant when they met,” she croaks. “He’s not my dad. I’m not a Savage.”
“Fuck,” I utter, raking my hand through my hair. “Fuck.”
“I have a brother from South Carolina.” She keeps reading before her face pales. “He went to college here.”
“What?” I grab my phone, trying to find where she left off. “Who?”
Her eyes lift, but they don’t look directly at mine. “Brody O’Brien,” she barely whispers. “Brody O’Brien is my brother.”
I stare at her in complete disbelief. Unable to form a thought, much less a word. Because I was just a complete dick to someone who was about to learn that everything she thought she knew…was a lie.
And she’ll probably never forgive me now. I blew it before I even got a real chance.
Sutton
The rain pours on the windshield as we sit on the side of the road for close to an hour. Hunter’s asked me if I’m okay numerous times, and I just keep nodding, telling him I’m fine. But the truth is, I’m not.
After I found out what our dancing fundraiser was for, I did my research on Brody since he had started One Wish.I learned that Brody O’Brien started this foundation because his childhood had been so bad that he wanted to make it his mission to help kids in similar situations. His father—who could be my father—was apparently a raging alcoholic who had beaten the shit out of him day in and day out. And his mother—my mother—had left him alone with that monster when he was a toddler. Brody shared all these painful things when he first started One Wish.Which is so incredibly brave.
If I ever thought my mother could be forgiven for what she did to me, I now know I’ll never look at her the same after learning this.
“If you want to go see Brody and talk to him about this, I can take you. He’s a good friend of mine, and I know he’d be open to seeing you.Ifthat’s what you want. If not, that’s okay too.” He reaches over, patting my knee. “Whatever you need, just tell me.”
“I need you to take me home,” I mutter. “And I need our deal to be off.”
“Sutt—”
“No,” I snap. “You are confused. You miss Paige, and now, sex between you and me has clouded your judgment. But at the end of the day, she’s the one you love. Not me.” I look out the window. “We have our dance down pat. You practice your steps on your end, and I’ll do mine. In a few weeks, at the fundraiser, we’ll meet up and get it done.”
“And then?” he croaks. “What happens after that, Sutton?”
“We’ll go our separate ways. And pretend none of this happened.”
“You want to pretend like we never happened?” he growls. “That the pastmonthhasn’t happened? The yacht, your bedroom, the rage room?” He jerks his thumb behind him. “Back in that changing room?” His body turns noticeably rigid. “I can’t fucking forget that. Don’t you see that?”
“It’s over, Hunter.” I swallow back the lump in my throat. “It’s not like it ever even began. Not really.”
“That’s not what I want,” he murmurs. “And it isn’t what you want either.”
“Take me home, Hunter. I need to go home.”
For what is likely minutes, he just sits there, looking at me. But when I continue ignoring him, he throws the truck in drive and peels away from the side of the road.
