Page 20 of Stella
“Which you would know, you’re around there every chance you get.”
“It’s called law and order for a reason,” I say. “I would hate for Stella to be used, she’s better than that.”
“You think I’d let my own goddaughter be used by the MC, fuckface?” Okay, so maybe I overstepped, but whatever. He’s big, but he doesn’t scare me.
“No, I don’t thinkyouwould, but others might. It’s a fair assumption given most of you are sexist assholes.”
He shakes his head, holding a spanner in one hand, and a rag in the other. I’m fairly sure he’s thought about beating me over the head with it more than once during this conversation. “You think my ol’ lady would put up with that shit? Let Stella be a doormat for the rest of us?” he snorts. “Not gonna happen. So whatever this bleedin’ heart shit is, go shove it up your ass. We take care of our own, and we don’t need you pokin’ your nose in where it’s not wanted.”
Behind me, I hear a woman crying. Me and Tag both turn around at the same time.
To my relief, it’s not Stella; not that she’d be crying over our conversation. Instead, Stella has her arm around Amanda as she’s giving her a hug.
“I know, men are dicks, if he’s not willing to understand accidents happen, you should kick him to the curb,” Stella says. “Honestly? If anyone called me a stupid bitch, I’d stab him in the eye with my stiletto.” Her eyes wander to mine as she quickly adds; “Theoretically speaking, of course.”
“He’s such an ass!” Amanda says as if it’s just the two of them standing there. “All of my friends told me to ditch him, that he’s no good, but I didn’t listen. I work three jobs, and he’s at home playing World of Warcraft all day and pretending he’s applying for jobs!”
“What an asshole.” Stella’s eyes are still on me before she looks back at Amanda.
“It’s my own fault. I always pick the bad ones.”
“I know what you mean,” She says. Yep, she’s mad. “I always pick the pretty ones too, and they very rarely have any substance once you get past all the superficial stuff.”
“Ugh, right? I always fall for a handsome face and a big dick, but there’s more to men than just that, ya know?”
Stella smirks. “Oh, I know, honey. Men are jerks. They think just because they can swing a dick like fucking Tarzan, we should come running and forget about every shitty little thing they did wrong. Well, now is a turning point,” she says, pulling back as she takes her new friend by the shoulders and shakes her a little. “You can choose to put up with this nonsense, or you can empower yourself and know that you deserve better because you’re a queen. You can totally do a thousand percent better than that asswipe, trust me, you’re gorgeous and sweet, he’s a total douchebag.”
“Holy fuckin’ Christ,” I hear Tag mutter.
I hold back my smirk.
“I’m annoyed with myself, ya know?” she goes on. “Because I knew I was taking the load and he wasn’t doing shit. I’m paying for everything while he just sits around on the couch and — you won’t believe this — he waits for me to get home to cook him dinner!”
Stella wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. “You have to be kidding me?”
“Unfortunately, I’m not. He doesn’t clean either.”
“Even after you’ve worked all day and night?
Amanda nods solemnly. “Yep. And I fell for it.”
“Girl? You need to seriously kick this boy to the curb, he’s not a man, he’s a fucking pussy boy. You can do so much better.”
“He’s never gonna let up about the car,” she sighs. “I mean, I’ll pay for it, I crashed the thing, even though he does owe me money?—”
“So just take it out of what he owes you since you pay for everything,” Stella goes on. “Do you have anyone to come with you while you grab your stuff?”
She shakes her head. “All my family lives in Utah.”
“Well, if you want, I could come with you?”
Amanda’s eyes go round. “You’d do that?”
Stella shrugs. “Sometimes you just gotta have some girl power, you know what I mean?”
Amanda starts to cry again.
“Happy to assist,” I say, moving closer to them. “Does he have a tendency to be violent, Amanda?” I don’t want either one of them going there if that’s the case.
