Page 104 of Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection 4)
Just to hang out, for the sake of it? With no guards questioning their location, just striving to stay afloat?
As a teenager, I’d been an envious person. I’d coveted the freedoms that I thought regular people had, but as I grew up, and as I saw the MC and the families of the brothers who were more normal than anyone I’d ever known, I realized everyone had their stresses, their strains. Nothing was ever easy.
There was just less bloodshed.
And striving to stay afloat sucked.Hard.
I curled my hands in on themselves, feeling the sting of pain and reveling in it. A shaky sigh escaped me, much like it would when a junkie took a hit and the feelings of that drug-induced ecstasy slowly started to take over everything else...
This was my crack.
My acid.
I understood why Brennan wanted me to change the way I did my nails, and oddly enough, I didn’t resent it.
He was the first person to notice.
The first person tocare.
My heart was in my throat as I registered that, but before I could get maudlin, Inessa appeared at my side.
She sported a frown that marred her perfectly made-up face as she slipped into a seat. “It’s not like you to eat through the day.”
“Is that an accusation?”
Her mouth turned down at the corners. “No. Of course not. I was just making a statement.”
I shrugged. “I’m hungry.”
“Good. You’re too thin. I can see your collarbones.”
“I can see yours,” I retorted waspishly.
“Yeah, but mine aren’t so prominent.” Her frown made another reappearance. “Are you sick or something? You’ve lost a lot of weight.”
I heaved a sigh. “Hence the sandwich. Look, I’m okay. Are you?” I asked pointedly, my gaze drifting to her stomach. It wasn’t like I could gawk at her between her legs, was it?
“The treatment’s working.”
“Glad to hear it.”
I caught sight of the server making his way toward us, and I let my focus shift to him until he placed our drinks on the table and returned to the counter, before I asked, “How’s Victoria doing?”
“She’s freaked out, and I can’t blame her.” Inessa doctored her coffee with a bottle of Stevia sweetener she pulled out of her purse, then leaned into me. “What the hell happened last night? Everything was normal as far as I could tell.”
“Nothing was ever normal in our household, was it?” I retorted dully, making a little hole in the foam so I could tip some sugar into my latte. As I stirred my drink, I murmured, “You know how everything derails, Inessa, and you can’t turn back the hands of time. I suppose that’s what happened last night.”
“Victoria says you were there.”
“Is that another accusation?” I snapped. “Are you sure they sorted out that rash? Is that why you’re so irritable today? Because I know as well as you do that you won’t be shedding a tear for that bastard. If anything, I’m grateful for what happened, and I’m pretty certain you are too.”
She pursed her lips. “Considering the circumstances, I don’t suppose there’ll be a funeral.”
I shrugged. “Off topic, but who knows?”
“I won’t be sad if there isn’t one. I’d prefer to toss dog crap on his casket than dirt.”
I grinned. “Well, that would definitely set the tone for the event.”