Page 77 of The Way We Are

“Ryan,” Savannah whispers, dragging my focus from my door, which is splintering under the force of Axel’s fists, to her. Her voice is so low, I’m not even sure she said my name... until she mouths, “I love you.”

I don’t have the chance to reply to her declaration of love when my bedroom door suddenly flings open, the old lock no match for Axel’s stomping boots. With my heart in my throat, my eyes rocket back to my window. I inhale a grateful breath when Savannah is nowhere to be seen.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” I ask Axel, covering my crotch with one hand while using the other to remove the sleep from my eyes, pretending his abrupt entrance just woke me.

He ignores my question, his focus too fixated on seeking Savannah in my room. When he fails to find any sign of her in the main area, he sprints into my attached bathroom. While he yanks open the shower curtain to ensure Savannah isn’t hiding behind it, I take advantage of his distraction to put on some pants and kick the open condom box under my bed.

“Where is she, Ryan? I know she's here!” Axel says, pacing back into my room.

“You knowwhois here?” I ask, feigning ignorance.

“Don’t act fucking stupid. I know she's here...” The arrogance in his eyes triples, “... becauseyourfather told me she’s here.”

My eyes snap to the hallway when I hear my mom whisper, “You promised you wouldn’t say anything.”

The chance of my father ever gaining my respect is lost when I find him standing in the hallway next to my mom. His arms are crossed in front of his chest, and his lips are hard-lined, proving what Axel said is true. He let a madman storm into my room without any concern for my safety. That's fucking bullshit. He isn’t just risking my life. He's risking Savannah’s as well.

Incapable of ignoring the wrath of my scorn for a second longer, my father grumbles something about staying one step ahead of the pack before he pivots on his heels and leaves my doorway. My mom follows after him—like she always does.

I swallow to relieve the dryness of my throat before returning my focus to Axel. “How much did your stupidity cost you?”

When Axel remains quiet, confused by my question, I clarify, “Everyone in this town knows you’re obsessed with Savannah. Even the town drunk. So, how much did you pay him to find out where shesupposedlyis?”

While Axel takes a moment to process my question, I take stock of how dilated his eyes are. They are so large, I highly doubt they aren’t chemically induced. He isn’t just drunk; he's as high as a kite. That pisses me off even more.

“Did my dad give you a name? Or just an address? Which just happens to be theonlyaddress his drunk mind can remember.”

Axel’s fingers rake his messy hair as he murmurs a curse word under his breath. “Your dad owes me five hundred dollars,” he slurs, his temper growing as rapidly as mine.

I laugh, playing along that my dad just played him for a fool. “The last timeIsaw Savannah she was lying in the hospital bedyouput her in. Did you look there before you came storming into my room, waking me?”

Axel steps closer to me. “Don’t get smart with me, boy—”

“Boy?You’recallingmea boy. You were so concerned about yourself last night, you left Savannah to die! Your own girlfriend. You left!” Spit flies out of my mouth and lands on his face during my last sentence. “There's only one fucking boy in this room, Axel, and it sure as hell ain’t me.”

Although I had no intentions of bringing up last night until I had time to formulate a plan, my anger has gotten the better of me.

“You should be grateful if Savannaheverspeaks to you again, because I can sure as hell tell you I’m going to doeverythingin my power to ensure she sees you for the weasel of a man you are. By the time I’ve finished wiping you from her memory bank, she won’t even remember your name. Axel? Axel-fucking-who?”

Axel looks two seconds from decking me, but before he gets the chance, I cut him down in a way he never sees coming. “What’s your uncle going to say when he discovers what you’ve been hiding from him?”

A blaze of panic scorches Axel’s eyes for the quickest second before he feigns ignorance.

It's a pity I wasn’t born last week.

“I’ve seen your uncle in action. I’m fairly confident he won’t be impressed when he discovers you aided in the theft of three million ofhisdollars.”

“I didn’t steal anything,” Axel replies, his voice drenched with panic.

“No. But you helped hide it. To Col, that’s just as bad.”

I’m throwing darts blindly, hoping one will hit. I have no clue how Col Petretti will react to my discovery, but it's highly unlikely he will respond positively.

I hit the bullseye when Axel says, “We’ve nearly paid it all back. We don’t owe much more.”

His reply stumps me, but it doesn’t stop me from asking, “How much?”

Hearing the eagerness in my voice, Axel’s eyes snap to mine. “Way more than you’ll ever have.”

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