Page 47 of Sweet Punk
“I’m just going to grab one of these.” She reaches for a condom and hands it back to me.
Maddox’s deep booming voice cuts right through the calm of the morning. “Lovebirds, I hate to do this to you, but we have a problem.” He raps his knuckles hard against the door. “Time to wake up and meet the bullshit of the day.”
“Fuck,” I whisper. Then louder, “Yeah okay, we hear you. Be right out.” I heave out a frustrated sigh. “I guess we need to go see what the hell is going on.”
“Maddox wouldn’t be pounding on the door for nothing. But I don’t want to know. It can’t be good.” Star’s face pinches with worry.
“Nope, he wouldn’t. And maybe not. But we’ll deal with it. Together.”
“I hate that we haven’t even heard what’s going on, and I already have this sinking feeling in my gut.”
Five minutes later, we’ve managed to brush our teeth, pull some clothes on, and stumble out into the suite’s living area. We’re greeted by four concerned faces.
Without a word, Lux points at the table. Beside me, Star gasps, covering her mouth with her hands as she stares at the clear evidence that Milo was inside this suite within feet of all of us last night. The huge pile of matchbooks he’s left for us is alarming. A clear warning.
My heart tugs, knowing how upset Star has to be. I reach for her to pull her into my arms, but she flinches and tugs herself away.
“I’m sorry, guys.” With a shaking hand, Star pulls her phone from her pocket, thumbs it open. She draws in a breath and exhales slowly. It looks to me like she’s looking for something, like maybe a particular contact in her phone. I have no clue what she intends to do until after staring at it for a few seconds, she taps on the screen. The phone’s been set to speaker, and we wait while it rings a few times before someone answers.
The voice is female. “Star? I wish you’d stop calling us like this.”
Oh, fuck.I think that’s her mom. My gaze flicks around the room to each of my friends, who are listening in stunned silence. “I-I’m sorry, Mom. Um—” I’ll be damned if I don’t show her some support. I put my hand on her back so she knows I’m right here. Her body trembles, but she doesn’t pull away.
“Spit it out. Your stepfather is getting ready for work, and I have a personal trainer coming in five.”
Her ragged breath is the only audible sound in the room. “Mom, did you know Milo is here?”
“Where? Milo’s working in Freeport. I told you that. He’s got a swanky apartment, brand-new furniture, the works. And now that he’s got the job there at that tech company, he’s all set. Screw college. Turns out he didn’t need it.”
Star shakes her head, and after a second stares up toward the ceiling, like she might be trying to stop herself from crying. “No, Mom. I mean he’s here. He’s been on campus at Shadow River.” She turns away, putting her back to the rest of us. “Mom, he’s been following me and is up to his old tricks again. There was a fire in our dorm last night.”
“That’s crazy. Don’t be silly, honey. What would he be doing at Shadow River? He’s getting his life back together. This whole debacle was ridiculous. He says to this day that he wasn’t going to start that fire at the high school. That it was a joke. A misunderstanding.”
Star huffs out a disturbed laugh. “When are you going to wake up, Mom? Why do you think he was kept in that psych ward after the evaluation by the doctors? He’s not right in the head, and now that he’s out, he’s threatening me.” She sucks in a quick breath before adding, “And my friends, too.”
A deeper voice barks through the phone. “Star. You’re upsetting your mother. You need to grow up and stop fabricating tales about Milo. He’s never done anything to you. Nothing at all. Now stop this.”
Star bristles at his words. She glances over her shoulder at me. Her jaw is clenched tight. “No, Raymond. Stop being blind to the fact that your progeny has mental issues. He’s dangerous.”
“I thought I told you to call me Dad.”
One breath after another heaves from Star. Finally, she blurts, “If you were ever anywhere near a father to me, you would have protected me from him!”
There’s a harsh gasp on the other end of the phone. The call ends.
None of us dare say a word for several seconds, and Star’s visibly shaking now, though whether it’s because she’s upset, angry, or a bit of both, I’m unsure.
It’s Raven who finally speaks up, softly whispering, “Are you okay?”
Star turns around, shaking her head. “They’ve never believed me. Not once. Not even when I told my mom—” She cuts herself off, an embarrassed cry ripping from her throat. “I’m sorry. I need to…” Blinking rapidly, she heads back into my room.
Lux grimaces. “I feel so bad for her.”
Rubbing my hand over my jaw, I groan. “I don’t know what she meant by that.” A couple of confused looks come my way, and I clear my throat, my voice low. “I’m worried there’s more at play here than a crazy stepbrother pulling a bunch of asshole stunts.”
Maddox grits his teeth, glancing at the pile of matchbooks. “I hate to say it, but that whack job is fixated on her—maybe he has been for a long time.”
“I’m nervous for her.” Raven looks like she’s going to keel over. My jaw clenches. She literally just went through so much shit herself, so I can understand her upset.
