Page 31 of Breaking the Sinner

“Why would Cobra ghost? It makes no sense.” She smoothed her hair into three sections again. Some strands turned into flyaways with the static electricity.

“Who knows? Men don’t often make sense.” Sophie sat back, crossing her legs in front of her. “Let’s eat!”

Gen frowned, working quicker to get at least one braid in. “I’m sure he’ll text me soon. He said he’d let me know when he could hang out.”

Sophie’s snort didn’t convey much confidence.

“I mean, why wouldn’t he want to keep seeing me? We have an excellent arrangement.”

“Most guys don’t want to date,” Sophie said, wielding her chopsticks as if she’d done it her entire life. “If they can get the milk for free, why buy the cow?”

“We’re not dating,” Gen reminded her, abandoning her braid once another lump appeared. She tugged her thick stresses behind her head into a loose bun. “And I’m not a cow. I don’t even live in a barn. He’s helping me with the list.” Gen reached for the chopsticks, mimicking the way Sophie had them. Even though she held them almost the same, something didn’t look right. “Am I really supposed to eat with these things?”

“Yes. But hold them more here.” Sophie reached over the coffee table to adjust Gen’s fingers.

“I don’t see how I can do anything other than stab.”

“Watch.” Sophie demonstrated a graceful pick-up with her chopsticks, popping the sushi effortlessly into her mouth. She smiled as she chewed. “Now you.”

Gen hovered the chopsticks close to a sushi piece, fumbling to get them on either side of the rice. The sticks crisscrossed as soon as she attempted to pick it up.

“This is gonna take some practice,” Gen said.

“Like everything in life.” Sophie smiled cryptically. “Now try your beer.”

Gen sighed, abandoning the chopsticks. She took a sip. It bubbled bright on her tongue. “Love this beer.”

“I’ll make you a beer connoisseur yet.” Sophie maneuvered another sushi piece into her mouth. Gen worked her jaw back and forth.

“Can you feed me the sushi since you’re so good at it?”

Sophie laughed, and a piece of rice flew out of her mouth. “Oh, sorry. Spitting isn’t nice.”

“Not as bad as farting on someone,” Gen said, pushing to standing. She grabbed a fork out of the kitchen before returning to her spot on the floor in front of the coffee table. “In case we all forgot that actually happened.”

Sophie bit her lip as she laughed.

“Maybe Cobra is ghosting me because he’s looking for someone whowon’tfart on him,” Gen went on.

“Even though he made out with you despite the farting,” Sophie said.

“Sure. There was that. But I must have kissed so horribly that he’d rather never speak to me again.”

Sophie frowned. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I don’t want you to stress about this.”

“Too late. You taught me about ghosting, now you have to deal with the consequences.” She chewed thoughtfully, a bulky thought crowding her mind. “Did I ghost on my family?”

Sophie looked up at her with a lighthearted look, but it dissolved quickly. “Sorta, I guess.” She offered a nervous laugh, one that showed the cracks in her badass exterior. “I sure did.”

Gen forked a few pieces of sushi, staring at but not seeing the food in front of her. “I miss home.”

Sophie pursed her lips. It was hard to talk about their community with her. Mostly because it was plain that Sophie didn’t call it home anymore. She’d never gone back. Likely never would. “I bet you do. Twenty-four years in that place.”

“You know, I tried calling home a few days ago. Abigail picked up.” Gen tucked her hands under her thighs, staring down at the shag rug. “She wouldn’t talk to me. Just handed the phone off to Mary.” Mary was the youngest of her family. At age thirteen, she’d been deeply wounded by Gen’s departure but didn’t seem to hold it against her as badly as the rest. All of them had lapped up the victimization story their father loved to spout, that this wasGenpunishingthem,as though Gen hadn’t been punished her entire life simply for existing.

“Did Mary talk to you, at least?”

“Yeah. My parents were out, so that was good. Or maybe bad. I’m not sure anymore.” Gen laughed, but it was humorless. “She begged me to come home for Thanksgiving. I told her I’d see. Overall, sounds like things are the same. Which means I should be glad to be gone. But sometimes, there isn’t anywhere I’d rather be.”

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