Page 112 of Positively Pricked
I gave another shrug, but made no reply. After all, what could I say?
Teddy made a scoffing sound. "Are you forgetting? That asshole screwed my girlfriend."
Stupidly, I couldn't help but think,"At least it wasn't your wife."It's not that I was excusing Zane's awful behavior. He was a monster, plain and simple. But Ididrealize that it could always be worse.
Still, what could I say? Honestly, I had no idea. I was still searching for the right words when Zane's voice cut through the silence. "She was no girlfriend."
Teddy turned to glare at him. "Oh yeah? Then what was she?"
Without missing a beat, Zane replied, "A gold-digging slut."
I heard myself gasp. He didnotjust say that. But his eyes were now open, and he wasn't taking it back.
Teddy was still glaring. "What?"
"If you ask me," Zane said, "you're better off without her."
Teddy was sputtering now. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."
But Zane wasn't kidding. I knew this, because for fifteen whole minutes, Teddy tried – unsuccessfully, I might add – to get Zane to take it back.
Instead, Zane doubled down by telling Teddy that he should be grateful he learned the girlfriend was garbage before Teddy did something really stupid, like marrying her.
Teddy was practically yelling now. "Iwasgonna marry her!"
If Zane felt guilty, he sure as heck didn't show it. "Then consider it a bullet dodged."
The argument ended like two minutes later after Zane casually mentioned that Kalamazoo wasn't theonlyairport on the way to New York.
It was a threat, obviously. And no doubt, Zane would've made good on it.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought so. From then on, Teddy said nothing to anyone.
The awkwardness aside, that was fine by me.
I was tired and confused, not only by what I'd just learned, but also because of my own conflicted feelings. I said a silent prayer that after we arrived in New York, everything would be smooth sailing.
And who knows? It might've been, if it weren't for the unexpected arrival of a certain senator and his wayward fiancée.
