Page 126 of Ecstasy
I lift my hands, knocking hers off me as I turn to face Alex. “You let him in here. You don’t even know him! You let him—”
“Shut up, Zara. You sound like a fucking child,” Alex snaps.
Kylie turns to glare at him, and a laugh bubbles up from my throat.
“Oh, you think that’s bad?” I snort.
Alex takes a step toward me.
“Oh, Kylie. You have no fucking idea what Alex is like. You warned me about him yourself!”
“He said he wanted to help—”
Alex gets up in my face. “Iamhelping her,” he cuts Kylie off. “You’re not leaving here until I know you’re fucking done with those pills, Zara. Until you get your shit together. Until I stop hearing how you’re slipping out of your chair in class and you’re walking around in a fucking fog and even yourdealeris worried about you.”
I laugh again, on the verge of hysterics. I wipe the back of my hand over my eyes and stand on my tiptoes. “And you think you’re actually going to keep me here in my own fucking apartment? You’re as dumb as you fucking look.”
He looks like he wants to punch me in the face and I kind of want him to.
“Zara,” says Kylie.
I turn to glare at her, pointing my finger in her face. “You fucking did this. You set me up. You backstabbing—”
Alex grabs my finger and yanks it down, twisting it as he does. Then he backs me up against the counter, dropping my hand and caging his hands on either side of me. “You’re filthy, Zara. I’m fucking done with you. But I refuse to let you destroy yourself. I won’t have that on my conscience.”
I push against his chest. “What fucking conscience?”
He scrubs his hand over his jaw, places his hand back on the counter beside me. “Funny, Zara, considering last time I saw you, you were getting pumped full of my best friend’s—”
“Enough!” Kylie snaps, coming to stand beside us and pushing Alex away from me. His jaw ticks but he doesn’t break my gaze even as he drops his hands. “Just leave her alone, okay? Give me some time with her.”
“I’m right fucking here. You don’t need to talk about me like I’m—”
“Shut. The fuck.Up!”
I flinch, startled as I look up into Alex’s eyes, his face a mask of fury.
“I’m not leaving you alone with anyone.” He shoots a glare at Kylie whose eyes harden. I underestimated my roommate. She’s tougher than I thought, which right now, is not good for me.
But it’s Alex that keeps talking. “I’m not fucking leaving you until you’ve got your shit straightened out.”
I laugh, rolling my eyes, trying to recover from momentary fear. “You gonna skip all your classes? Miss out on all your fucking football parties and your practice and your—”
“You might’ve forgotten, because you’re too busy using your cunt as a Hoover, but fall break starts Monday, princess.”
Kylie’s face turns an alarming shade of red, but she doesn’t hesitate to jump to my defense. “If you’re going to be staying in our apartment, you cannot talk to her like that!”
Alex smiles. It sends a chill down my spine. “You got it, Ms. Jones. I’ll be sure to speak to her exactly how she deserves.”
Kylie’s voice shakes with fury when she says, “Alex, I’m leaving tomorrow. If you can’t watch out for her like you claimed to want to, I’ll take her with me, and you can—”
“I’m done with both of you.” I turn to go, headed straight for the front door. I’m not a child. I’m not an addict. I’m fucking fine and these two assholes just want to blow my high.
Maybe I’ve got a small problem. But it’s nothing I can’t deal with myself. Fuck them both. Surely Alex has better things to do than babysit. I am not his problem. And he’s pissed I fucked his roommate, but he has no right.
He has no fucking right to be mad.
Fuck him.
