Page 112 of Clinch'd

Am I going to hell because I’m relieved, he’s gone?

“I was attacked,” I say, dropping my hand and standing. “What’s going on Lorri?”

Her eyes widen and she looks away. My spine tingles and I step before her until she meets my gaze.

“I fucked up, but I-I’ll make it right,” she says.

“How?”

Sucking in a breath, she forces me to back up when she rises. My chest burns at her lost expression, but I don’t know how to help her. I don’t even know how to help my fucking self.

Still, old habits die hard and with a sigh, I turn away and say, “How Lorri?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she mumbles, and I grab her arm.

“Yes, it does. Did you know about Cooper?”

“What? What about him? He said you betrayed him. Did you, Minnie?”

Eyeing her carefully, I finally say, “After that stupid incident at the club, I was approached by some fucker who works for Castinetti.”

Lorri flinches, her face pale and I nod grimly. When she waves her hand, I say, “He sent me in to fuck up Cooper’s world. If I did, nothing would happen to you.”

Her shoulders sag and after a moment in which she seems to be considering my words, she says, “I’ll fix it.”

“What? How?” I can’t contain my suspicions but I’m also worried that she’ll do something impulsive and make this situation worse than it already is.

“Don’t worry about it,” she says as if she can read my thoughts.

“Max, wait,” I say but she brushes past me, and I watch helplessly as she opens the door.

When she pauses, I exhale, except she doesn’t give me a chance to speak as she says, closing the door behind her, “I’ll fix it.”

Fix what?

Walking to the window, I wait for her to appear, gazing blindly at the building across from me. What is she going to do? How the hell did we get caught up in this?

When she appears on the sidewalk, I feel like a prize class idiot because I see the fancy ass car idling at the curb.

How did I walk right past it without noticing? It sticks out like a sore fucking thumb in this neighborhood.

Whatever. She clearly didn’t come here on her own which makes this interaction that much more suspicious.

What the fuck is she doing? Whose car is that and why do I get the feeling this is far from over?

A few days later, I’m tired of my circling thoughts. The apartment is quieter than ever and being home alone only reminds me of how far I’ve strayed from what I complained about before. Now, I’d take Lorri’s flighty behavior and obsession with having fun any day.

Although it’s hard to admit, something is irrevocably broken between us. She hasn’t come right out and admitted it but she knew about Cooper and me and shacked up with him anyway.

I know I sound like a hypocrite but my interactions with Beast were always caused by something out of my control.

Even so, I worry about what she’s planning and hope texting her will bring her around. Maybe I’m tired of saving her ass but we’re both on the line now. We should be doing this together.

Strangely, memories of when she was a baby rise in my mind and with a smile, I remember how precocious and freaking adorable she used to be.

Where did it all go wrong? Are genetics to blame for Lorri’s continuous bad choices? Or is she chasing something as a result of her loss that she’ll never find?

In any case, she’s pregnant now and if there is a god, she’ll be a better parent than our parents were.

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