Page 111 of Dirty Saint

“None of your business. Listen, I’m fine. I’m not doing anything wrong. Go back over to your boyfriend and let me live my life.”

I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me, getting angry. “You’re seventeen, and I’m your legal guardian. When I say you’re not allowed at The Strip, I mean it.”

It was a different approach that I hoped would work.

It didn’t.

Instead, she yanked her arm from my grasp and hissed at me.

“Don’t pull that legal guardian shit on me. You’re here just like I’m here. And I’ll have you know I plan to move out soon.”

My heart dropped, and I felt all the blood leave my face. My head spun, the area around me and her becoming blurry. She wasn’t serious. Gracie couldn’t leave me. She was the reason I was still alive—the reason I continued to struggle every day for a better life.

“What?” I gasped. “And stay where? You can’t live with your friends forever.”

“For your information, I haven’t been staying with a friend. I’ve been staying with my boyfriend.”

Again, the area around me spun, making me feel unsteady.

“Since when have you had a boyfriend?”

How could I know so little about my sister’s life? She lived with me. I was with her when I wasn’t with Koah or at work. There was no way so much had slipped past me.

“For a while now. If you had paid any attention at all, you would’ve noticed. He’s older, he takes care of me, and we’re in love.” Her eyes widened, and she smirked. “There he is now. I want you to meet him.”

She smiled at someone behind me, took my wrist, and shook my life. “Donny, come and meet my sister.”

I turned to face him, and my world flipped on its side. The earth quaked beneath my feet, and my oxygen was sucked out of my lungs as I came face-to-face with Donald once again.

His smile dropped, and his face paled. “You’re Gracie’s sister?”

I stared back at him, sure I was seeing things. This wasn’t happening. God couldn’t be this cruel.

Gracie looked back and forth between Donald and me, confused and aggravated that neither of us was speaking.

“Wait. Do you guys know each other?” she asked.

I stood there, my mouth hanging open, unable to speak. Words swarmed my brain, but the only one that seemed to stick slipped from my lips.

“No,” I whispered. “No, no, no.”

I spun around, taking in Gracie’s baby face before pulling her close. “He hasn’t touched you, has he?”

Please say no. Please tell me this demon hadn’t defiled my sister, as well.

She pulled back, her expression angry. “Of course, he’s touched me.” She laughed. “We’re dating. I’m not a baby anymore, Tori.”

I turned back to Donald, and when I saw his face, I lost it.

I rushed him, smacking him in the chest and face while pushing him away. He snatched me by the arms, then released me like he was afraid of me. “You bastard!” I screamed as tears started welling up in my eyes. “You stay away from my sister!”

Gracie tried to get between us, grabbing my hands to keep me from hitting Donald. “Stop it, Tori. You’re acting crazy.”

I pushed him one final time before I turned and grabbed Gracie’s wrists, squeezing them tightly. “I want you to stay away from him. Do you hear me? Do not go near him again!”

Fury filled her eyes, and she growled. “You can’t tell me what to do, Tori. I’m seventeen. You can’t tell me who I can and can’t love.”

I drew back as if she had slapped me. My lungs deflated once again. “Love? You can’t be serious!”

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