Page 75 of Last Round

“Told ya,” I say to Sean, then flip Jessica the bird.

Sean follows me as I stomp upstairs to my room. I push my door open; it swings and hits the wall. I grab my duffle bag and start shoving anything and everything within my reach inside of it.

“Molly, please, can we talk about this?” Sean pleads.

“I love you. Jessica might need to work on her delivery and people skills, but she’s not wrong. You have done so much for me and I would do anything I could to help you.” Like assisting his gym with PR when it’s the last thing I want to do, especially with Tony there. “But I can’t spend another second under this roof with her.”

“Things got tense down there, I know that. But I think if we all cool down—”

“No, Sean, there is nocooling down. She was a cunt back in high school when she wouldn’t give you the time of day, and she’s a cunt now. How you’re completely unable to see that is beyond me. Because I’ll let you in on a little secret. Everyone, and I mean everyone, around you hates her.”

“Molly, I know you two are butting heads—”

“Look… I’m not going to bother wasting my time or stooping to her level and give you an ultimatum of it’s her or me. But I’m not going to stick around and be subjected to her bullshit for another second.” Taking a deep breath, I square off my shoulders. “Sean, I quit.”

“You quit? You can’t just quit being my sister.”

“No, I mean I quit your job. Both of them. I’m hopping off your shoulders, walking on my own two feet. Sorry if I hurt your back.” I shove past him.

He chases after me. “Wait.”

I don’t stop or turn around.

“Molly, you can’t just walk out of here. Where are you gonna go?” Sean shouts.

“Not your problem anymore.” I wave him off.

“You’re my sister. It’s always going to be my—”

“Seany,” Jessica whines. “Let. Her. Go,” she whispers harshly.

I don’t bother sticking around to listen to their argument, as amusing as I’m sure it would be. Instead, I get the fuck out of that house. I’m so furious that it isn’t until I’m standing outsidehisbuilding that I realize where I wandered to.

Crap,he was going out tonight. I doubt he’s even here. I should really get a hotel or go to Bex’s. Although Jessica gave Sean all the credit for funding my adult life, the truth is Killian is the one who foot that bill. The last thing I want is to go from being Sean’s burden to his.

Is she right? Can I really not stand on my own two feet?

I shake the stupid thought from my head. No, I’m just angry and tired. While admitting it might make her assessment of me somewhat accurate, I really just need him right now. Tomorrow I can be strong and stand on my own. Tonight, I want to bury myself in his comfort and disappear from the world.

Real

Killian

Theknobtomyfront door rattles as I pick up my wallet from the table. There is scraping from someone trying to pick the lock. These are some dumb-ass criminals. They chose the wrong place to rob. I stand, arms crossed, waiting for them to enter. But eventually I get impatient with their struggles and open the door.

Molly looks up at me. The key is still in her hand. Her eyes bloodshot and face wet. Before I can ask what happened, she rushes over to me. I wrap my arms around her, hoping it will shield her from whatever bullshit has her in tears and so upset she can’t use a key. I shut the door, scoop her up, and carry her to the couch.

“Molly, what happened?” I ask as I look her over. She doesn’t appear to be hurt physically. At the front door, I see a duffle bag. “Did something happen with Sean?”

Shit…Did he find out? Worse, did he kick her out for it? My fist clenches as I rein in my anger. This is Sean. He loves his sister. He might hate and beat my ass, but he wouldn’t toss her out.Would he?

“Molly, I really need you to tell me what happened?”

“I thought you were going out?” she says but doesn’t seem present.

“Firecracker.” I take her cheeks in my palms and force her to look at me. “What happened?”

“Jessica.” The name alone explains it all. As I assumed and Molly verified in her venting, the second I took a step back from the bar, that bitch’s greedy claws have been all over the place.

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