Page 6 of Dirty Love

He killed her right here in this very room, but you wouldn’t think it just by looking at him. He’s a master at manipulating people, probably enjoys the fact that no one knows he’s a cold blooded murderer who hits his own kids. He hasn’t hit me since I was little and he’s backed off of Kade over the last couple of years, too, probably because he’s gotten bigger since he started fighting in the woods when he was sixteen, but he’s got no problem hurting us in other ways. Like the time he locked our twelve year old dog outside in the snow, shot her in the back when she barked all day and then forced us to bury her dead body in the back yard.

He has no reasons for the shit he does to us, he’s just a sick fuck who gets off on watching people suffer.

“Did you boys see this yet?” he asks us, pulling me from my thoughts. “It’s disgusting.”

“What is?” Kade mutters, passing me a water before taking a sip of his own.

“This,” he says, flipping his phone towards us so we can see. “Last month, a high school teacher was fired not far from here for being gay, remember?”

My brows jump and I look up at him, a tiny, pathetic glimmer of hope rushing through me at the thought of him defending the gay guy, but he soon squashes that like he squashes everything else he touches.

“His story went viral the other day and there are thousands of comments on it, almost half of them backing the fucking teacher and comparing his dismissal to a hate crime,” he sneers, shaking his head with a scoff. “It’s almost as if these people are willing to let this faggot corrupt our children with his lifestyle.”

I flinch slightly and Kade notices, making a show of shoving his water bottle into the trash to get the attention off me. “We’re gonna be late,” he points out, tipping his chin at the clock on the wall. “Nicky’s riding with me.”

“Wait, I thought we could all ride together,” Elle calls after us, sighing when we make no move to stop.

“We’re going out with the boys right after,” Kade lies, neither of us looking back to check our dad’s reaction, too afraid he’ll find something he won’t like. “It’ll be easier if we take two cars.”

We grab our coats and Kade follows me outside, pulling his keys from his pocket to unlock the shitty black truck that used to belong to our mom’s younger brother. He’s been in jail for the last few years, because our dad put him there for selling cocaine to teenagers.

Kade could afford something a lot nicer than this if he really wanted to, but I know he’s dead set on saving as much money as he can before graduation to get us the fuck out of here.

To get me away from him.

Him and every other homophobic fucker in this town.

He jumps into the driver’s seat and I climb up to sit beside him, turning my head away to wipe the stray tear slipping over my cheek. Keeping my eyes on the heavy downpour outside, I wrap my arms around myself and lift my shoulders up to my ears, shivering at the cold racking through my bones. Kade flicks the heat on for me and drives off towards the church, only grabbing my thigh to yank me over to the middle seat once the house is out of sight. I suck in a breath and let it out slowly, secretly enjoying the way his body feels pressed up against mine. I shiver again and take my cigarettes out to hide it, lighting one up before doing the same for him. He doesn’t bother to ask me if I’m okay. He just takes my free hand and links our fingers together, shoving them down between my legs to keep us both warm. Another tear slips out but I let it fall this time, knowing he’ll notice if I move to wipe it away.

“You need to stop doing that.”

“Doing what?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“Wearing your thoughts all over your face.”

I chew the inside of my cheek and he slows the truck down, turning my chin towards him once we get to the stop light at the end of the street.

“Don’t let em’ see you, baby brother,” he whispers, slowly trailing his cold thumb over the skin beneath my eye. “No one but me, remember?”

I nod once and face forward again, struggling to keep my emotions at bay like he wants me to. It’s not as easy as he makes it look, but I’ve had a lot of practice over the years and I can make it happen when I put my mind to it.

We get to the church a few minutes later and Kade pulls up on the side of the road, releasing my hand to jump out into the rain. Several people are huddled up beneath their umbrellas on the street, most rushing to the entrance with their heads down to get inside. I hop down from the passenger side and shove my hands into my pockets, forcing my features even when I spot my dad and Elle pulling up behind us. He doesn’t give a shit about the fucking church—or anyone but himself—but he seems to enjoy this shitty town in the middle of nowhere, and showing up here every Sunday is mandatory for his image.

He greets a few people in passing and then falls in line beside me, smiling at a large pregnant woman whose name I’ve forgotten. “What were you and your brother fighting about earlier?” he asks quietly, shaking her husband’s hand before guiding me up the front steps.

I smirk and turn my head to look at him, not missing Kade’s intense stare on the side of my face. “He made Arianna cry,” I say simply, feigning a cockiness I don’t feel. “I told him I could make her scream.”

A light laugh leaves him and he claps me on the back of my neck, shaking me like we’re boys as he walks me through the main doors. “That mouth’s gonna get you in big trouble one of these days, kid.”

I shrug and he walks away with Elle to say hello to her parents, leaving me alone with Kade and a few of the boys from school. As soon as they’re done kissing his ass, I take my seat beside my brother and he pinches my outer thigh, making me jump.

“Ow.”

“Fucking please, you little shit,” he whispers, but I don’t miss the slight grin on his face.

I grin back and turn my attention to the altar at the front, just thrilled to learn about all the ways I’m about to burn in hell when I’m done here.

CHAPTER 3

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