Page 219 of Vicious Saint
“Because she’ll go off the rails. My father doesn’t need that shit right now.”
I don’t need that shit right now.
Bex folds her arms. “Hendrix is my best friend, Saint. I should’ve told her a long time ago.”
“Exactly. A long time ago. What good will it do her now?”
She looks down at the floor. “It’s just…now that I know about you two…I feel like a shit friend.”
“So you want her to hate you too? Feel betrayed even more?”
“Once again…sounding a lot like you care.”
“Just lookin’ out for you,my queen.”
“Right.”
Consider my nerves officially grated into shavings.
“What do you want from me, Bex? Huh? To admit I’m inlovewith Hendrix?”
“If that’s what you feel, then yeah.”
“Well I’m not. And I don’t. Other than just feeling like it, there are three reasons I hurt your bitchy little friend. One—she talkedshit about my sister. Two—she means nothing to me. Three—because it felt fucking good to make her cry.”
Bex takes a step back, clearly appalled. “Why the hell are you acting like this?”
“Because this is who I am!” I punch my chest. “I fuck girls, get bored of them, get rid of them. In that order. I have no idea why you’d think your precious Hendrix is any different.”
Bex counters with a fierce shake of her head. “I don’t believe it. Nope. You spent way too long obsessing over her, looking out for her, just to decide you’ve had enough.”
“All a result of the chase, baby.”
“Still don’t believe you.”
“Believe whatever you want, Bex. It doesn’t fucking matter anymore.”
It’s never been easy to get one over on this girl…putting up with a sick motherfucker like Crayton will have that effect on you.
Doesn’t mean I won’t fight till the death.
“You know what? You’re right.” Bex sucks air through her teeth. “It doesn’t matter because whether you’re lying or telling the truth Hendrix still deserves better.”
An invisible fist squeezes my chest so hard I fight back a wince.
Bex is right too.
Hendrix doesn’t only deserve better than me.
She deserves everything that isn’t me or what I represent.
The broken.
The monsters.
The temporary fixes.
And I’d be doing her the service of a lifetime to continue playing the role of her evil stepbrother.
