Page 24 of Josh Dalton

We take our seats, and when her friends show up, they immediately draw her into a conversation.

Brent sits next to me. He and Dillon don’t have dates, which isn’t unusual for the two of them. They probably already have girls lined up for the end of the night.

Brent leans over. “How long have you been seeing her?”

“None of your business.”

He accepts that and changes subjects. “Do you know if Elizabeth is seeing anybody?”

I do a double-take. How the hell am I supposed to know if she’s dating anybody? Am I a girl?

“I don’t know,” I answer. “Ask her to dance and find out.”

I’m not going to encourage him dating her. If Zoey catches wind of Brent liking Elizabeth, I don’t know what will happen.

I glance at Kim, wondering if she overheard. She’s staring out at the dance floor. Her mother is dancing with an older gentleman. I was hoping she would have left.

I put my arm around her. “Ignore her.”

She lays her hand on my leg. This is the first time I don’t want to leave one of these things right away. It’s all because of Kim. She can make anything bearable.

Kim moves in her chair.

“Where are you going?”

“The ladies’ room. Be back shortly.” The girls and she head that way.

I ramble over to the bar, and my brothers follow me. While waiting for our drinks, I notice Kim’s mom is waltzing toward the bathroom.This can’t be good.

She won’t let go. I ignore the drink the bartender slides over to me and walk after her.

Not on my watch, lady.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

KIM

The women’s bathroom is packed. Women hogging the mirror, fixing their makeup. I hate crowds like this, but being with Josh helps a lot. It’s nice to have him hanging out with my friends.

Beth and I head straight to the stalls. We have to pee pretty badly. Zoey and Rachel only came along to stretch their legs.

I finish the deed, and when I walk out of the stall, my mom is there. She looks older in this lighting. Had some work done. A lot of work done. She should have stopped a couple of procedures back. She really should have.

Mom stomps over. She’s pissed and not trying to hide it. This is going to be bad.

“You rotten, spoiled little brat,” she hisses. “How dare you treat me this way.”

The room grows quiet, and my friends gather next to me for support. It’s just what I needed.

“Enough, Mother,” I say and walk past her to wash my hands. She grabs my arm. Drives her fingernails into me.

“You ungrateful bitch,” she howls. “After all I’ve done for you.”

She’s had too much to drink, because she rarely likes to fight in public.

“Let go of me.”

She does so by pushing me away. I almost fall. And would have if my friends weren’t behind me, helping me stay upright.

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