Page 4 of A Hurt So Good

“Why are you looking at him like that? You better not let me find out some little shit’s been touching you, Sasha!” The kitchen grows silent as we all watch this unfold.

“Yeah, okay, Dad.”

“I mean it. I will fucking gut his ass, and you’ll never see him again,” he warns her. Her eyes widen because she knows we’d do it. Denz releases his hold, and Sasha steps back.

“I haven’t done anything, Denz,” she says softly.

“Keep it that way. Go and do your homework. I’m getting pizza for dinner.”

“Pizza again?” she whines. Denz smirks.

“What do you want then, Princess?”

“Don’t call me that, and I want burgers from Burger Town,” she tells him. He nods his head before we all pull her into a hug. She makes gagging sounds and pulls away, hurrying off to her room.

“That one is going to have us in so much trouble,” I mumble under my breath.

“She already does,” Harlon adds as we walk to the front door. “How’s your mom?” he looks toward Denz.

“About the same. She doesn’t eat much, but she can still down a fucking forty in seconds.” None of us laugh. We all know she’s dying. It’s just a matter of time now. And we don’t really know what will happen to Sasha after that. No one knows her real dad,and Denz has been arrested so many times we don’t know if he could gain custody of her. I know that weighs heavily on him.

“You working tonight?” I ask, changing the subject.

“You know I am. I have to at least keep a fucking job for more than a week to prove I can take care of her,” he says. I nod my head as we walk down the block. We all have cars, but around here, we choose to walk. We own these streets and have for a long time.

Our dad may be rich as fuck and live the fancy life, but our moms weren’t. Where he even picked them up is beyond me, and I don’t care enough to ask. Harlon and I spend most of our time at Denz’s house. I don’t get along well with my mom, and neither does Harlon. They’re both greedy money hungry bitches. They’re constantly trying to come up with a way to take what our dad has, and neither of us are interested in that shit.

“Dad called,” Denz announces the closer we get to Burger Town.

“What did he want?” I ask.

“In a week or two, we’re supposed to go for a family dinner. His new wife and daughter have moved in,” he says, not sounding too thrilled about the idea. We’ve all been there and done that before.

“What’s her name?” I ask, scrunching up my nose as I try to think.

“I think this one is Julie? Or Julia? I don’t know. I told him it wasn’t a good idea, but he demanded we be there.”

“Free food. I’m all for it. Besides, it’s summer, and I sure as hell could use some time in the pool,” Harlon adds.

“No shit. That’s about the only thing that house has going for it,” Denz says. We continue talking about random shit as we walk into Burger Town and order. We’re standing at the counter waiting for our food when the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A chill works its way down my spine as I glance over at my brothers, who no doubt feel it, too.

The three of us turn at the same time to face the door and see a rival gang member. He’s on the wrong side of town, and we won’t have that. A red bandana is tied around his head while blue hangs from our pockets. We eye each other before Denz tells the girl we’ll wait outside for our food.

As we step toward the door, the others move outside and wait for us.

“This is going to be fun,” Har mumbles under his breath.

“Looks that way,” I add. There are a few more of them than there are us, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t have people here in minutes. One phone call is all it would take, but we don’t need the help right now.

“What the hell are you doing around here?” I ask Robert.

“We heard some things and wanted to touch base.”

“A phone call would have done,” Denz tells him. He smirks at us.

“That’s the thing, I don’t do phone calls when it’s personal.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Denz snaps at him, tired of him being here in our space.

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