Page 115 of My Brother's Best Friend

“I talked to Poison,” I mumbled. “Then my mom.”

Oliver stiffened to my right.

God, I honestly didn’t have anyone in my life besides Maddie that I could talk to and not completely lose it. Everyone I’d trusted and everyone I’d wanted to trust, besides her, had stomped on me. Repeatedly.

After biting my tongue, I glared at the wall ahead of me. All this time, I had been trying to keep my cool with Oliver and Mom and Dad and everyone else on my list who had betrayed me, but after seeing Piper lying in a casket tonight … I wanted to fight.

I was so sick and tired of everyone pushing me around, of hurting me, of thinking they could make things up to me with a few crocodile tears and a half-assed apology. Maybe Maddie was right. The only people we could trust to get shit done and not fuck it up were Poison.

As sour as their name sounded, they didn’t disappoint.

“Oliver, what are you doing here?” Maddie said, deadpan, finally turning toward him.

I stifled a dead chuckle caught in my throat.

“You called me to pick you up,” Oliver said.

“In an hour,” she said. “Not now. You can go.”

“Maddie, I’m not going all the way back to the house now.”

“Don’t worry. Alec can bring me home.”

Oliver pressed his lips together, jaw twitching. He didn’t like to be told no, but Maddie wasn’t going to take his shit anymore either. I was proud of her for sticking up for herself. Sometimes, I envied the strength she had.

“The fuck happened to you not liking Poison?” Blaise asked me. “You working with them?”

“No, I’m not working with them,” I said. “They jumped me.”

Maddie snorted. “They jumped you?”

My lips curled into a small smile for the first time today. “More like harassed but …”

“What’d they want?” Oliver asked.

“They told me that they strongly believe that Piper didn’t kill herself.”

Maddie and Vera shared a long gaze.

“Where’d they hear that?” Maddie asked.

“I don’t ask questions,” I said. “And if I did … I’m not sure if I wouldwantto know.”

“How much money did you fork over for that information?” she asked.

“Too much,” I murmured.

“They charged you?!” Imani asked, leaping up from her seat and heading toward the door. “Oh, those boys are going to get it real good tonight. Come on, Allie. Let’s go beat them up.”

After grumbling, Jace shuffled behind Imani and Allie out the front door and into the hallway toward the lift.

Nicole stood up, too, and frowned, hands stuffed into her pockets. “I should get going too.”

“Oliver, you’re stinking up the place and making people leave,” Maddie sneered.

“Come on, Maddie. We’re going too,” Oliver said.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Maddie said, crossing her arms and shuffling closer to me. “Alec and I will see you at the house later tonight. Thanks for coming over an hour before I wanted you to and ruining the day.”

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