Page 93 of There's No Us Without You
I nod. “Will do.” When I know Emerson and Eden are safe, I turn on my brother again. “You promised you were clean.”
Tyler sighs, his shoulders slumping forward. “I am clean. If you’d give me five minutes?—”
“Bullshit. I’m not here to listen to more of your lies, Tyler. I’ve done plenty of that over the years and look where that got me.”
“But I’m not lying. Come on, bro.”
“Your word means fuck all to me,” I say, giving him one last shove. “Stay the fuck away from Eden, and stay the fuck away from me.”
Seconds later, I’m shoving my way through the crowd towards the front door.
It’s only when I reach for the door handle, Brady appears, followed by Gabriella—my ex.
Great.
I sigh and lift my face to the ceiling, closing my eyes for a quick second.
Let’s just get this over and done with.
“Brady.” I ignore Gabby.
He grins at me, his two crooked front teeth letting me know he never got them fixed after the last time I almost knocked them out. “Nice to see you again, Willis. Didn’t think Emerson would be back so soon. Tell him I said hi, and I’m sorry I missed him.”
“What the fuck are you on about?”
With a sly smirk, he tilts his head, narrowing his eyes on me, like he knows something I don’t. “Let’s not worry about that right now,” he says, sniffing. “I’m more concerned with what you’re doing here?”
I raise an eyebrow, my hand tightening around the door handle. “Last I checked, my brother lives here.”
Brady’s jaw clenches as he glances over at Tyler—my brother too wasted to know what’s happening—before he nods to Gabby. “Let’s go, Gabs. Fuck this dickhead.”
I roll my eyes as I huff out a sarcastic laugh. Yeah . . .I’mthe dickhead.
Gabby hovers, scratching the inside of one of her wrists. “I’ll be with you in a minute,” she says, flashing him a quick smile.
Brady narrows his eyes on her before giving me one last glance. “Fuck. Whatever.” He throws his hands up and stalks off,leaving me face-to-face with the first woman I’ve ever let get a little too close.
Big mistake, that was.
When Brady is out of sight, Gabby steps closer and rubs her hands up my chest. “Hey Will. It’s good to see you.”
On reflex, I stiffen, a chill running up my spine as a bitter taste burns the back of my throat. I grab her hands and shove her away from me. “Gabriella. I see you haven’t changed.”
She smells of cigarettes, and something sweet. Probably from whatever alcohol she’s consumed.
A scowl lifts one side of her mouth, her lip trembling, before she crosses her arms over her chest. “And I see you’re into fatties now.”
“Wow,” I say, throwing my head back on a laugh. “You really are a piece of work. First off, you know nothing about Eden, and second, she’s so much more than you’ll ever be.”
Gabby scoffs. “Yeah, twice as much... apparently.” The smirk on her face tells me she thinks she’s won the argument.
Pity I don’t give a shit what she thinks anymore. That ended when she decided to pair up with Tyler and steal the only thing I had left of my mother, just so they could sell it to score whatever drug they were taking at the time.
“Jesus Christ. You’re pathetic.” I practically spit the words as I get into her face. “Run back to Brady—you deserve everything he gives you.”
I regret the words as soon as they leave my mouth—no woman deserves to be dating Brady—but fuck if I’m not ready to punch every arsehole in this place.
Gabby sucks her cheeks in, like she’s just sucked a lemon. “You’re an arsehole,” she says before spinning on her heels and storming off.
