Page 14 of Falling for You

People see what they want to see. A charming smile and the right words can get you anything at any time.-Brad

Ronnie

Dax’s interruption came at a good time. Things were getting too intense. My hands are shaking as I rifle through the cabinets to find a griddle to make pancakes. I’m not ready for Sawyer. A cabinet bangs behind me, and I jump.

I turn around to find Brad leaning against the counter and staring at me. “Making yourself useful, Ronnie?”

“Of course,” I mumble. I don’t know what to say to him this morning. He was a total dick last night.He ignored me and made out with someone else. Right now, I can’t even find it within myself to care.

He frowns slightly and walks over to me. He rubs my upper arms, and I put my hands up to push him away. “What’s wrong with you?” He tugs lightly on one of my curls and I jerk away.

I turn around to turn on the stove. “What’s wrong with me? Do you even remember last night?”

I can feel him at my back. His closeness makes me want to bolt. Oddly, the exact opposite effect his cousin has on me.

“Nah, to be honest I don’t remember much of it. But, you know, everyone got a bit crazy. That’s just how it is Ronnie.” He steps closer, and I can feel the heat of his breath on my neck. He still reeks of alcohol.

“You would know this is how teenagers act if you had ever been out before. Everyone had fun last night. That’s all that happened.”

I can’t help but snap at that. I turn around and push him away again. “Yeah, it definitely looked like you were having a lot of fun last night with Britney.” I sigh. “And that’s fine with me. I told you I wanted to be friends and you agreed, but honestly you haven’t been much of a friend since we got here. I don’t know why you invited me up here if all of your friends are just going to make fun of me.”

His blue eyes narrow as he glowers down at me. “I brought you here because you’re mine. You can say what you want, Ronnie, but no girl just wants to be friends with me. I don’t remember much from last night, but I seem to remember you talking to my shit bag cousin. You should stay far, far away from that trash.” He steps forward and grabs my arm.

I try to pull out of his grasp, but he holds on tighter. I wince. “I’m not yours, Brad. That’s crazy. And I did just want to be friends with you.” I emphasize the word did so that he knows I’m done with even that much of a relationship. “Sawyer has been nice to me, unlike other people. Besides, he’s your cousin and that’s no way to talk about family.” I try to twist my arm out of his grasp. It hurts as he pulls me tighter in response. “What do you care? Let me go. You were with a different girl last night. You couldn’t even be bothered to defend me against your friends.”

He grinds his teeth and his eyes flash with anger. “That doesn’t matter. You’re mine because I want you, and that’s the way it’s going to be. The sooner you get used to the idea, the easier this all will be. No girl of mine is going to be slumming around with the help.”

I shiver in fear. I don’t like the look in his eyes. “You’re starting to hurt me, Brad. Let go of my arm. I’m not a toy you can declare ownership of.” The absolute rage on his face has me trying to back away. His nostrils flare and his grip tightens. Has he really been spoiled so much his entire life that he things he can have ownership of another person?

He finally lets up on the pressure. I sag in relief when I hear Marissa’s voice. “What’s up, bitches? What’s for breakfast, nerd girl? I’m starving.” She opens the refrigerator door and looks over at us in confusion at our continued silence. She arches an eyebrow. “Did I interrupt something?” She scans back and forth between Brad and I, and he slowly lets go of my arm.

“Nope, everything’s fine Riss. Just telling Ronnie here about the wild night she missed.” His attitude turns from psycho to affable friend in an instant.

“Man, it was crazy. You so missed it, nerd girl. Of course, I wouldn’t have expected your goody-two shoes ass to understand though. I repeat, though, what’s for breakfast?”

“Just making pancakes for everyone. Y’all go sit down and I’ll finish breakfast.” My voice trembles slightly, and I clear my throat.

“Don’t have to tell me twice. Come on, Brad. Let’s let the girl get back to work. God knows you don’t know your way around a kitchen.” She pulls Brad’s hand, and he follows her. She throws me a glance that I can’t discern as they leave the kitchen. Something about it makes me think she knows what she interrupted.

I let out a long breath and sink to the floor when they leave. I look down at my arm and notice a ring of red above my elbow. My heart beats like I’ve run a marathon. I take a few more deep, soothing breaths. Maybe I’m exaggerating what happened in my head. Brad’s kind of a dick, but psychopath seems far-fetched. I shake my head to clear it. That’s it. He was jealous and angry so he went a little off of the deep end.

My knees are rubbery when I stand to start the pancakes. Never in a million years would I have thought that Marissa would be my rescuer, but I’m grateful she came in when she did. Now, more than ever, I’m ready to leave this so called ‘popular crowd’ behind and disappear into a good book again.

Chapter Thirteen

Most of my family is full of shit, so I must be partly full of it myself. Isn’t that how genetics works? -Sawyer

Sawyer

“Dude, how many girlfriends does your uncle have? There’s like a file here for each one, likes and dislikes, and some damn kinky shit too. It’s not even hidden. I’m guessing he doesn’t care if your aunt knows,” Dax says in awe.

I snort. “The day my uncle cares about anything my Aunt Beverly has to say is the day that hell freezes over.”

“So, what exactly am I looking for?” Dax cracks his knuckles and types out a series of numbers so fast my eyes can’t take all of it in.

I shrug. “You’re the computer genius here. I assume we look for numbers that look like a bank account number? Anything to indicate a movement of money. Shit, I’m not a detective. All I know is that my uncle had to know that my dad was stealing. My uncle is too damn obsessive compulsive to not know what’s going on within his own company. He knew and he was stealing too, I’m sure of it.”

Dax scratches his head and leans closer to the computer. “I’ll look through everything I can, man. Hopefully, I can copy most of these files and look at them at home. Maybe I’ll find something unusual.” His expression is sympathetic. “You know the chances of me actually finding anything are pretty slim, right? I wish I could guarantee it, but your uncle is pretty sharp.”