Page 1 of Vengeful Sins

1

TUCKER

Ialways wondered about people who complain when their friends start dating somebody. When they bitch and moan about how things aren’t the same. Like, life doesn’t stay the same. That’s the point. I always thought that was immature.

Now, I’m starting to understand.

Not like I would ever tell my best friend, Briggs, to stop dating his girlfriend Wren. For one thing, I like all my teeth being where they are, which wouldn’t be true anymore if I made the mistake of complaining about her. He’s completely into her—I’ve never seen him like this with any other girl. None of us have ever committed. Girls are fun, they scratch an itch, and they’re good to look. But actually staying with the same one? I’d get bored by the end of the weekend.

I don’t have to understand, I guess. What I have to do is learn to get over having her around all the time. I’ve heard people muttering and whispering about them while we hang out in the cafeteria or outside on campus.Maybe somebody sewed all their clothes together. Do you think she keeps his balls in her backpack?

I kind of like having my friend around and wouldn’t want to visit him in prison, so I won’t tell him about any of those comments.

Still, I get it. And the thing is, none of those smirking assholes have to watch what they say when they’re with their friends, when not that long ago there was a time we would feed off each other’s bitterness and cynicism. It was kind of how we relaxed. Who could say the most fucked up thing?

“I saw Tiana park her car near yours this morning.” Carter grins at me, and I know my balls are about to get busted. “Is there something you’re not telling us?” he asks me.

“Oh, yeah. I totally forgot.” After cramming a few fries into my mouth, I mumble, “She’s totally pregnant with my babies. We’re probably gonna go to Las Vegas to elope.”

“I just thought maybe she wanted to say hi. But I guess there are better things she could do with her mouth.” Just in case nobody gets the idea, he pokes his tongue against the inside of his cheek.

“You look awfully comfortable doing that.” The fry I tossed at his face bounces off his forehead, but he just keeps doing it.

The tiny, choked noise coming from the other side of the table makes me look up from my food. Wren looks a little sick before she slides a look toward Briggs, who puts an arm around her shoulders.

“Maybe let’s talk about something else,” Briggs said. “Nobody wants to hear about that bitch.” Right, Tiana threw Wren into a pool not that long ago when she didn’t know how to swim. She can be a nasty bitch when she decides to be. She works overtime at it.

Carter’s face tells me he doesn’t like having anybody decide what he can and can’t talk about. It’s not like I blame him or anything—none of us are all that good at listening to anybody who tells us what to do. But he’s wrong if he thinks I’m goingto roll my eyes or shake my head or anything like that. I’m not starting shit over this.

Besides, he should know how important it is to Briggs that Wren is safe and happy after what she went through. Carter’s dad, Paul, has been helping Briggs track down his dad. They haven’t been successful yet.

If my girlfriend got death threats from my dad before he tried to kill her with his bare hands, she would never leave my sight. And, yeah, I might not talk the way I used to if it offended her or whatever.

Wren’s apologetic smile goes wide when she sees something over my shoulder. “Hey!” She lifts a hand to get somebody’s attention. I don’t think she has that many friends around here, which tells me there’s only one person she would look so happy to see.

I would swear I’m moving in slow motion, turning around in my seat and looking at the doorway leading outside. Somebody just walked through. A girl whose strawberry blonde hair looks like a halo around her head when the sun hits it the way it is right now. Only she’s not a saint. She’d probably burn up if I threw holy water on her. What a shame I don’t have any.

At first, when Maya notices Wren waving, she smiles back. The sight of it makes my stomach turn, which is a shame because I just filled it with French fries. I wonder what she’d think if I threw up at the sight of her.

Then she notices me.

I didn’t see a roach crawl across her foot, but her body jolts like that’s what happened. Her face looks like it, too, with her nose wrinkling and her forehead creasing.

Before Wren can call out to her, Maya points to the back of her wrist and shrugs, then almost runs over to the cooler full of pre-wrapped sandwiches and packaged salads for anybody in a hurry. If I didn’t know better, I would think the cafeteria was onfire, and she’s trying to grab lunch before the whole place goes up.

Once I’m satisfied she’s not going to ruin my day anymore, I go back to my food, although it doesn’t taste as good as it did before. It doesn’t have as much flavor. I guess having to look at an evil cunt affects the taste buds or something. The weird thing is, Wren seems like a decent girl, really. Now that I know her a little better, I sort of feel bad for the way we bullied her before.

Why the hell is she friends with somebody like Maya?

Looking at Wren, I see she’s following Maya’s movement over my shoulder. I see her now out of the corner of my eye, paying for her food. She’s so nervous, she fumbles her wallet, and it drops on the floor.

A coward. In the end, that’s all she ever was. Enough of a coward that she can’t admit the things she’s done. When I make a choice, I own it. People like her pretend otherwise.

That’s right. Run away. You’re so good at that. “She needs to leave,” I mutter. As much as I want to look away from her, for some reason, I can’t. I’m glued to her every move. I want her to know I’m watching—that’s probably what’s making her so nervous. Let it. Maybe I won’t have to see her again while I’m trying to eat.

By the time Maya runs away, Wren has gone from staring at her friend to staring at me. “What’s up?” I ask. Not in a bad way, not like I’m trying to start a fight. I’m curious. “Did I grow another head?”

She snorts at the way I pat my shoulders like I’m checking there’s nothing growing there. “No, everything looks like it’s in the right place. I was just wondering…”

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