Page 48 of Acid

He flinches, and I sneer at him before storming off to the counter. Screw him, the jackass….

“What was that, Pezza?” Coby asks when I walk past him. I glower at him, but his eyes are on Acid, his hands fisted.

The man has just put himself at the top of my list of suspects.

Ignoring his question, I grab the coffee pot and do refills around the diner, and just as I make it to the back table, the door to the diner opens again, the bell chiming, but Cooper’s excited, “Piston!” drowns it out. I smile as I watch Natalie’s little brother run over to his brother-in-law.

Nat didn’t have a relationship with Cooper growing up; her stepmother refused, and her father, the bastard that he is, went along with it. They never wanted her, and neither did her birth momma, leaving her on her father’s doorstep, not even a day old. Yet Natalie has come out strong. She’s a fighter, and I’m proud to call her my friend.

I just wish I had her strength.

I notice Natalie in a blue maxi dress, finally wearing her cut, as she comes inside. She waves, and I pull a funny face, making her giggle before she joins the boys.

My eyes automatically go to Acid, and I melt a little, seeing him interact with Cooper. It makes me wish for things I have no business wishing for.

I wish he could see me, like really see me, and want the person I am.

I wish I never got raped, becoming tainted.

I wish he never touched Andrea….

I feel my heart crack, and I clear my throat, trying to ignore the pain and continue with my job, knowing if my thoughts spiral, I’ll want to cut, though my wishing never stops….

“Hey Perrie, can I get a refill, baby?” Coby says loudly, and I swallow my growl, hoping I don’t hit him.

I give him a tight smile and walk behind the counter, making him scowl, but I ignore it. The last time I poured his coffee from beside him, he wrapped his arm around my waist and tried to pull me onto his flipping lap.

“When are you going to give us another shot, Pezza?” he asks as I pour the coffee and sigh.

“Coby….” He smiles at me, but it drops when I remind him, “Not one but two men raped me. You and I can never happen. What we had was a way for me to try and forget my trauma, to overcome it, and it didn’t work. Move on, please; I know I have.”

His eyes blaze, and I sigh again, about to head to see what Natalie wants to drink, when I hear Cooper shout for me.

I frown, looking down the hallway, before he shouts again. My eyes widen, realizing he’s shouting from the storage room. Without thinking, I put the pot down and rush over.

Jiggling the door handle a few times, I manage to open it before I stumble in, nearly tripping, just catching myself on the shelf before the door slams shut, making me jump, and I turn in shock only to narrow my eyes as I realize I’ve been set up!

Anger hits me as Acid smirks and locks the door before leaning against it, stating, “It’s time you and I talked, Tinker. Now, about that note….”

He leans against the door showing he won’t be moving anytime soon, and I sneer, “Open the door!” He grins, crossing his arms over his chest, lifting his left leg, pressing his foot flat against the door, and I shout, “I mean it, Acid, open that damn door, or I swear the baby that whore is carrying will be your only one!”

He shrugs. “Not until we talk.”

I scoff and demand, “About what?”

“Us!” he snaps back, “The note, Andrea, fucking everything, Perrie!”

I point at him and spit, “There is no us, Acid; you made sure of that. The note has nothing to do with you; it’s my business, and I don’t want to speak about her!”

He curls his lip, pushes off the door, gets in my face, and snaps, “How can you stand there and say there isn’t a you and I, huh? Eleven years, Perrie, that’s how long you’ve been in my fucking life. You are my best friend.”

My eyes burn, and I growl, “You stopped being my best friend years ago, Acid, and you know it.”

He shakes his head and cups my cheek. I try to move out of his hold, but he wraps his arm around my waist, and my stomach flutters with how close he is to me, his woodsy scent taking over my senses. I shove against his chest, but his hold tightens, his eyes holding mine prisoner.

“I never meant to hurt you,” he whispers.

I laugh darkly. “Well, guess what? You did. You screwed me only to screw my so-called friend a week later, a friend who has claimed to be pregnant with your child, showing off a small bump every chance she gets!”