Page 53 of Careless

I told Kia what happened as I cried over a beer and she consoled me. I left out a few details, like the deal with Carmen and my new half sister, but she knows how badly Rian hurt me when I found Sophia in his bed.

That’s pretty damning proof that Rian is a lying scumbag, or somewhere close to that colorful term. Asshole? Jerk? Or maybe Colin’s favorite of them all. Asshat. Yup, Rian is a lying asshat.

“I’m not taking any sides, okay? I’m looking at everything as an unbiased party and that’s what you need right now. You’ve got enough Rian hate swirling in your head for the both of us, and I get that. You’re hurt, but I also think there’s a piece you might be missing here. I know Rian is a man whore, but texting Sophia doesn’t make sense. I saw the way that man looked at you and continues to look at you, and I just don’t see him doing that. I don’t know Rian very well, and he is a fuckboy. Everyone knows that. I’m just saying that you should think about hearing him out. He’s been texting you, right?”

Damn her. She knows he texts me every day, begging me to hear him out, but what could he possibly say to fix this? I don’t get why he hasn’t just cornered me at school if he’s so desperate for me to hear him out. Maybe he’s not desperate, he just likes getting under my skin. That’s always been our love language anyway.

“Hear what he has to say about what? How Sophia just magically appeared naked in his bed while he was in the shower. Oh, maybe she’s a crazy stalker, and she touched herself in his bed, which is why his room smelled like sex,” I nearly growl the words in frustration and slam the vanity drawer shut.

Kia can give me her pity all she wants, but I doubt she’ll ever fully understand how bad this hurts.

“I know this sucks, but you never know until you hear what he has to say.”

Yeah, whatever. Rian can try, but I’m never speaking to him again.

* * *

“CanI just say you look smoking hot?” Kia asks as we stop at my locker.

I do look hot. This costume is incredible. It’s long sleeved with lace on the arms and a hundred slits in the fabric.The skirt matches the top. It has nude cotton fabric beneath it, to give the illusion of revealing skin through all the slashes in the black fabric. I’m wearing black shorts and a tank top under it so Principal Jordan won’t bother me about how revealing it is.

For once, I actually feel sexy, and I’m not going to let anyone ruin it for me, especially not an opinionated troll who butts his nose in all of my business, like Rian.

“Happy Halloween.”

My heart skips a beat and I nearly hiss at the sound of his voice. I turn to try to escape him, but I bounce right into a hard chest which sends me back a step.

“Be careful, darling.”

Fuck you, I’m not your darling.My eyes slowly trail up his body leaving a fiery trail in their wake. Rian is in an all-black suit, his hair gelled back with a side part and fake mustache. It was no secret that I planned to dress as Morticia for Halloween and, of course, since I won’t give him my attention any other way, he steals it by dressing as Gomez Addams. Morticia and Gomez Addams have one of the most iconic love stories created by Hollywood. Ours is more like Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Brangelina.

God, he does fill out this suit like it was made just for him. He’s manipulating me again, and that pisses me off.

“You look beautiful,” he says as he sends me that sinful smirk of his, his icy blues glowing with appreciation.

I want to slap that smirk right off his face. Instead, I scowl and move around him, a renewed hatred for him burning in my chest.

“Well, that didn’t work out well for him,” Kia groans as she follows me. “You have to admit that’s a great idea. You two would’ve been such a cute couple dressed as Gomez and Morticia.”

I only respond to Kia with a glare. I already know she’s not taking my side in this, but she doesn’t have to piss me off more.

“Fine,” she concedes.

I only stop with my angry strut when I see Christian staring at the flyer pinned to the bulletin board. It’s his brother Dez’s yearbook picture with the wordsMissingin bold underneath.

Dez disappeared the night of our confrontation. All I know is his car was abandoned in his driveway, his keys on the ground next to the vehicle.

As soon as the news surfaced, I confronted Finn to make sure the Bastards weren’t involved. He swore Dez hadn’t broken the rules, so they weren’t allowed to touch him. I thought Rian didn’t have anything to do with it, but it seemed suspicious that Dez vanished so soon after Finn warned him away from me.

“Hey, Christian,” I say as I stand beside him, the sadness in his eyes burning in my chest. It may make me a horrible person, but I’m not upset that Dez is missing. What makes me sad is that Christian has to deal with the loss.

“Hey, Sor.” He frowns.

“Still nothing?”

“No.” He answers then puts his hands in his pockets and leans back on his heels. “I don’t get it. I was on the phone with him as he pulled into the driveway. He hung up and then poof. How can someone be there one second and gone the next? It makes no sense.” He squints away the tears. “I know he was shitty to you, but he was still my brother.”

“I know.” I put a sympathetic hand on his arm. “My brother has done bad things, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t miss him if he disappeared. Your family should be important to you, and Dez is lucky to have you as a brother.

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