Page 152 of Scars Like Wings

“Jeez, who spit in your cereal this morning? What’s your problem?”

“Cooper!” Cole emerged to chase after Cooper. “We were just talking?—”

Cooper cut him off with a sneer. “I’m done talking to you people. You don’tlisten.”

“Why did you even come if you were going to be pissy the whole fucking time?” Nat asked, crossing her arms.

“Because, unlike you pussies, I know what mydutiesare, and I’m loyal tomyfamily,” He spat at Nat and Cole. “You are a fucking disappointment.Allof you. I’m out of here.”

Cooper stormed away. It wasn’t long before we all heard the front door slam hard enough to shake the whole house. I flinched.

“Ohmigods, what was that all about?” Simone asked. “Are you okay, Coco?”

Cole nodded and gave his girlfriend a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, but I’m so sorry you had to see that. Cooper’s just…He’s just throwing a temper tantrum. Why don’t y’all finish getting ready? Cody, Quinn, and I will meet you downstairs.”

“Ooh, since you are headed down there, can you have Dorian bring up eight shots?” Nat asked.

“Damn, Natty-Light, you know the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.” When she stuck her tongue out at her brother, he laughed but agreed to send him up.

As we made our way back into the bedroom, Simone shook her head. “I don’t understand what his issue is. He has been so weird this whole trip. Like, is something wrong with him?”

“How much time do you have for a full answer to that?” Nat raised an eyebrow as she slipped into the new emerald green dress Quinn had bought her today.

“Okay, but seriously,” I asked, sitting on the bed to put my heels on. “Where is all this animosity coming from? Did I or one of the girls do something that just offended him?”

Nat looked at herself in the mirror, turning this way and that. She took so long to answer the question I thought she wouldn’t. Finally, just when I was ready to give up on her answer, she sighed. Under her breath, I could hear her say, “I’m going to get in so much trouble about this, but fuck it honestly.”

Then she turned around to face the room. “So, how much have they told you about the family business?”

“Y’all know that Cody is just my fuck-buddy, so absolutely nothing at all,” Maisie answered, applying mascara.

“Cole has only told me bits and pieces. Honestly, I learned more that one breakfast after the party than he ever told me directly.”

My black stone became incredibly interesting. “Quinn has told me enough to put some stuff together, but I have never told anyone any of it. I just always thought it was something Quinn would tell me when she was ready.”

“That’s the thing, sugar,” Nat said. “We can’t.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“This shit runsdeep. We are born into this, created for this. It’s all we know. Our family believes this is what we were made for. Okay, those who drink the proverbial Kool-aid believe that. Most of us don’t. But I guess I should back up a bit to explain this whole thing better. Fuck, it would be much easier if I wasn’t sober?—”

A knock interrupted her as Dorian appeared right on time with a tray of shots and chasers. Nat clapped her hands before letting him in. “Oh, Dorian! My guardian angel! Thank you so much!”

“Of course, Miss. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.”

“Oh, there’s plenty you can do for me. Are you free tonight?” Nat smiled.

“We’ll see.” Dorian winked. “I know where you’ll be.”

After he left, Maisie got up to grab her shot. “So, if I don’t get in on that, you are committing a hate crime, ma’am.”

Nat laughed and handed me and Simone our shots. We toasted and took our shots. The tequila burned immediately, but my Vanilla Coke cooled the worst of it. I felt tingles from the booze flow down and out to my fingers as the alcohol started loosening me up. After collecting our cups, Nat started again, flicking her purple bangs back from her face.

“Okay! So, what do you know from what Quinn told you?”

I worried my magical dark red lip between my teeth, unsure of what to say – what Icouldsay.

“Hey, it’s okay. Quinn isn’t going to be upset about you telling me. Also, this isn’t just her story. It’s mine, too. The thing about all of this is that we can only talk about what you already know. If you don’t say it, we can’t say anything to confirm or deny. So, I have to know what you know.”

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