Page 183 of Did They Break You

“I don’t give a fuck about?—”

His eyes narrow, but he’s smiling as he cuts me off. “It’s my parents. Dad’s the head of the insurance division at the warehouse. He contracts out work to your mom’s firm. And you know what else?” His smile widens. “He’s best friends with the senior partner at your mom’s place.”

“Like I said,” I’m having trouble not lunging across the table, “I don’t give a fuck about my mom’s job.”

“Yeah, but here’s the thing you might give a fuck about.”

I hold my breath, body tense. But there’s nothing he could sway me with. Not money. Not this fucking house. Nothing. I’ll pack my shit, drop out of school and move back to WV, work for my uncle again before I let Chase McGowan dangle shit in front of me.

“My dad is pretty well-respected in Ellicottville. This whole side of the fucking state. And if he supported your mom’s word thatyourdad was a neglectful parent—always on the road, never able to get enough food in the house because he put his work before his kid?—”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” I step around the table, toward him, and like a pussy, he backs up. “Don’t you dare bring my brother into this,” I warn him, taking another step. “He has nothing to do with your paranoid bullshit.”

He takes another step back, but he doesn’t shut the fuck up and leave. “None of that’s going to happen,” he says quickly, glancing at my fists by my side. “As long as you let Remi Ocean live inpeace, Cort.”

“Get out of my house right now, Chase, or you won’t have a chance to.”

He dips his chin, eyes wide. “Are youthreateningme over a fucking whore you already had?”

I close the space between us and shove him against the wall, his shirt in my fist, my fingers around his fucking throat. Hereaches for me, but I knock his head back, and he stills, real fear in his eyes for the first time.

“Get out of my house,” I tell him, my nostrils flared, inhaling the scent of his cologne. “Or I’ll kill you.” I tighten my fingers around his throat. “It’s not a threat, Chase. It’s a fucking promise.”

I release him, stepping back, into Storm, who’s standing behind me. He puts his hand on my shoulder, but his next words aren’t for me.

“I don’t have a future, Chase,” he says quietly. “And I don’t have a brother, any family you can threaten me with. I don’t have much of anything to lose,buddy.”His fingers dig into my shoulder as he keeps talking to Chase, whose hand is at his throat, rubbing where I choked him. “That’s a little scary, huh?For you.”Storm drags me back, jerking his chin toward the hall that leads to the door. “You’re not with us anymore, so this is a very,verydangerous place for you to be in.Get out.”

CHAPTER

FIFTY

REMI

“I’m goingto Asa’s apartment,” Sloane says, staring at her computer.

My arm itches from a few healing cuts, and I rub my hand over them, on top of my hoodie. I use my thumb to bookmark my spot in the book I’m reading and lower it down, turning on my side in bed to face Sloane.

She’s wearing a slouchy, purple sweater and her hair is in one long, thick braid down her back. Her knees are to her chest, and she’s just tapping one key on her laptop, over and over.

She hates me.

She hasn’t asked any more questions, but when I got back from camping yesterday, she stared at me for a long time, then went to take a shower.

I can feel the tension between us. The change.

I don’t know what to do.

Van is caught up with Ryann, and it’s easier to lie to him. To blow him off for lunch, because he’d rather be with Ryann anyway. But Sloane… my chest aches, thinking of how much damage I’m doing to our friendship.

“That’s cool,” I tell her, forcing a smile. I glance at my book and fold down a page, wondering about the next plot point. The hero in the story is accidentally burning down the heroine’s house because he’s drunk as fuck.

Romantic.

I bite my tongue at the thought to hide my smile, then toss the book down on my desk and tuck my arm under my head as I look at my best friend.

“Yeah,” she says. “I think I’m staying there for the weekend.”

Immediately, I think about all the time I could spend with Cortland while she’s gone. And right after that, a wave of guilt crashes over me.

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