Page 20 of Wicked Sins

“Wouldn’t want them finding out about Emma,” he says, stepping closer. My hips thump into the railing behind me a moment before Josiah’s thighs brush mine. “Do you?”

I let out a furious whispered, “I didn’t—”

“Or about the party? Want them to know how you slipped out of the house and got fucked up in a stranger’s place?”

My protests fade. “I wasn’t going to say anything about…you.”

“That’s best.” Josiah’s eyes slide past me. “Besides, it looks like they’ve got their hands full.” There’s such sudden malice in Josiah’s eyes, I can’t help but peek over my shoulder.

Wayne has my mother pinned to the wall, one hand up her skirt, the other grasping roughly at her breast.

“I—”

But when I turn back, Josiah’s gone.

I straighten hurriedly and step away from the landing in case either Mom or Mr. Bale happen to look up. When I realize I’m staring at them making out, I hurriedly look away and head back to my room.

I’m being an idiot.

The only person who doesn’t fit in around here isme. I guess I’ll just have to suck it up like I always do.

Suck it up and move on, Candy.

That’s how the Furey girls roll.

Chapter Eight

Josiah

I’m warming up my muscles for practice when I notice some of the guys bunching up by the touchline. Coach Davis is off to one side, texting on his phone, and hasn’t seemed to notice that practice has all but ground to a halt before it’s even begun.

Working my shoulders, I jog over to the guys, slowing as I get near. They’re taking turns glancing toward the bleachers. I take a look, squinting when the sun hits my eyes. A few students have gathered, but it’s not exactly a crowd. Some kids watch us practice, but others congregate for the sheer hell of it, gossiping or doing homework or shit.

“…behind, those legs nice and wide,” Daniel—one of the team’s fullbacks—is saying. “Maybe even strap her down a little if she puts up a fight or—”

“Oh, she’ll put up a fright,” Eric cuts in with a snort of a laugh. “She’s a cold-hearted bitch, that one.”

A few of the guys laugh in unison.

“Chicks are always bitchy to you,” Sean says. “Me? Five minutes, and I’ll have her number. I get that, my dick will be down her throat by nine tonight.”

More laughter and some guys are leaning over to shake Sean’s hand. Money’s going to exchange hands in the locker room, and it will all revolve around whoever the team’s decided to add to their Hot Enough to Fuck list.

When Eric spots me, he drops his gaze and turns his back on me. “Guys, quit it,” he mutters.

Instantly, my gaze snaps back to the bleachers. Now that I know what—who—I’m looking for, I find her almost immediately.

On one side of the bleachers, far removed from the scattered groups of students, Candy sits with her head in her hands, elbows on her knees, staring out over the pitch as if she’s about to die from boredom.

When I face the Maple Ridge Academy’s football team, they all suddenly remember we’re at practice and scatter like fucking grapeshot. Eric doesn’t make eye contact with me as he hurries past, but Alex stops and gives me a sympathetic look. “They’re just fucking around,” he says, waving in their direction. “No one will touch her.”

He’s the only guy on the team I’d consider a friend. My only friend, truth be told. Guys my age don’t like hanging out with someone as sober and somber as I am.

“I don’t give a fuck,” I say, glancing up at Candy again. “You do whatever you want, just don’t show me any goddamn photos and shit.”

“But, like, she’s not even related to you,” Alex says, his words lit up with a laugh. “Why the fuck would it matter?”

It shouldn’t.

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