Page 47 of The Tangle of Awful

“Go to your room, young lady,” Mom hisses. “Right now.”

Tears of shame flood my eyes as I scramble off Spencer’s lap. His full lips are swollen and red from our kiss. The lusty look in his eyes is shuttered away, an impassive expression contorting his features.

I want to tell him I’m sorry—that everything will be okay—but I can’t. I don’t know what’s going to happen now that Mom knows.

Will I be grounded for making out with my stepbrother?

Doesn’t seem like the end of the world.

“It’s not his fault,” I utter as I approach my mother. “It’s all mine.”

It’s not.

We’re both equally guilty.

But, while I can handle Mom’s grounding, I’m not sure what Hugo would do to Spencer. Hugo isn’t cruel, but I’ve never seen Spencer do anything like this before.

“Room. Now.” Mom’s nostrils flare and she regards me with obvious disgust. “I’ll deal with you shortly.”

I cast another look over my shoulder at Spencer. His spine is ramrod straight and the only tell he’s affected by this entire ordeal is the way his jaw muscle ticks.

Mom shoos me the rest of the way out of his room and slams the door. Hard. She’s about to lay into him like this was all his idea. I want to go back in there and argue more on his behalf, but I know it won’t do any good. It’s better to obey, listen to her pending lecture, and then accept my punishment.

As for me and Spencer, we’ll be fine.

We’ll go back to being friends or we’ll be more.

This isn’t the end of the world.

This isn’t the end of us.

A shiver has me blinking away the past and bringing me back to the present. I was naïve to think everything would be fine. Whatever Mom said to him changed him. He was no longer the fun, flirty guy I lived with and eventually fell for. No, he transformed into a cold, callous, cruel stepbrother who made it his sole mission to torment me until I was forced to run to my father.

“Mom walked in on us. It got ugly.” I sigh heavily. “After that, he hated me.”

“And now?”

I could tell her everything. How I let Spencer pin me down yesterday or how I let Hugo run his hand up my thigh. I could confess that I’m a broken girl who likes breaking those around her also.

Instead, I lie.

It’s what I’m good at, apparently.

“He’s just an ass sometimes,” I say, deflating. “Some days are harder than others.”

Gemma begrudgingly accepts this answer and changes the subject. Listening to her babble on about her newest crush is refreshing. It does wonders to make me forget about this terrible day. When she moves on to shopping and a pair of sandals she wants, I dutifully listen, nodding where appropriate, giving her my entire attention. Before long, an hour has passed and I do feel better.

“Thanks for cheering me up.” I hug her and then scoop up my purse. “Right now I just want to go home and get in my comfy clothes. Maybe next weekend we can go shopping together.”

Gemma nods rapidly. “Duh. Plus, Willa needs new jeans. Don’t tell anyone, but I think she’s pregnant.”

After that shocker of a statement, I follow her back downstairs. This time, when we pass her dad’s office, the door is open. Nathan’s eyes latch onto mine and narrow. I’ve never liked Nathan Park. Something about him is so…calculating. I suppress a shiver, hurrying past.

Thankfully, when I get back home, Hugo’s still not there. I rush upstairs, eager to have a moment alone. Spencer’s door is closed. Good. I can’t deal with him either.

“Hey, leech.”

My feeling of relief drains at my feet as cold dread seeps into my every pore. Why is he in my room? Butterflies flutter in my stomach as I think about the last time he was on my bed. He was such a dick yesterday, but there’s no denying it felt good.

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