Page 85 of Collided

“Best friend,” I correct.

“—and you told Hope. Damn. She’s really got you by the balls.”

“Funny.”

“It is.”

I divert the conversation before he can hear how loud my heart is beating. “Her mom seems off to me. I haven’t met her, but the way Hope talks about her. She could be the one hurting her.”

A glare is sent my way. Clearly, he doesn’t like my opinion.

“Don’t you go and accuse her of abusing Hope. It would fuck up things. For both Hope and us. If she is the one, then we need proof or something to hold her accountable.”

“So we wait?” I spit out in anger. He can’t be serious.

“Yes.”

“She could do much more damage to Hope, Bash. Do you have any idea—”

“I know, Heath. You know I do.” A multitude of emotions flash across his face and his eyes darken in color, rich with the animosities he had to endure.

I shut up knowing damn well he knows better than me because he’s been through something similar. For fuck’s sake. I hate that he went through it.

School and police are out of the question. Marie was bullied every day for months by a trio of mean girls and the teachers and the counselor did shit to help her. She reached out in the hope that someone would help her, but no one did. It got worse until Sebastian met her and learned about it. He shared it with me to look out for her. I wasted no opportunity to chase those girls away from hurting Marie. How she is today is nothing like the girl I met last year. There was no self-confidence, courage, or bravery. She was weak, terrified, and malleable. Those girls snubbed her at every chance they got, and Marie didn’t do anything—mainly because she couldn’t. I hate both the teachers and the students at school for being fucking cowards and idiots. There’s no way I’m telling them a thing. They won’t do anything. Useless fucking bunch.

Police on the other hand might drop Hope into foster care if her mother is found guilty of abusing her. That scenario creates an ache in me that I’m sure I won’t survive. I don’t want her to be fucking away from me. I like it when she’s close to me. I like it a lot.

There has to be another way to keep her safe. I will find it out.

“Heath, don’t tell me you are—”

“What if I am?”

His face hardens. “We can’t just barge in and swoop her out when you aren’t even sure it’s her mom. Besides, she must be under eighteen, so she’ll be thrown into foster care. You have no idea the horrors that occur there.”

Agitation wraps around me like a vice as I burst out, “What I’m supposed to fucking do then? Leave her the fuck alone?”

Shaking his head he gives me a tender look that simmers down my anger a bit. “The only thing you can do is be her friend and try to be there for her. There’s a big chance that she’d tell you or ask for your help. Then we can think about doing something.”

Frustration swirls like a tornado inside of me and gives rise to the brimming fire of helplessness.

“I can’t be her fucking friend.”

Sebastian watches me with an amusing smirk. “Of course, you can’t be. Youlikeher.”

I shoot him a glare, but his smirk morphs into a grin and he wiggles his eyebrows at me. “Cat caught your tongue, James?”

“You fucking know all about that, huh? You friend-zoned Marie because you were a pussy to admit your feelings.”

Shaking his head he says, “I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“So you watched her date other people.”

“It was two dates for Christ’s sake.”

I smirk. “Two dates that got your balls twisted. It was fun watching you roll in misery over some girl.”

“She wasn’t some girl then and she isn’t some girl now. She’s always been special.”

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