You’re Mine by Penny Brooks

Chapter 124

Easton

I'm a fucking mess through last period and can't even fucking text Harper to apologize or discuss the whole thing with her mom.

The sick feeling I get in my chest when I think about her not claiming me and of course on top of that the picture.

Fuckkkk, the damn picture. I see Sadie the minute I get out of class and think, oh good, someone I can convince to be on my side, when she smacks me on the ass with her backpack.

"The hell, Sadie!”

“How could you hurt her like that! I thought you trusted her! She was bawling."

Her own eyes tear up. "Really, Easton?

I mean, fucking, really?"

"Keep your voice down."

I grab her by the elbow and bring her toward my locker when Ryan walks up. "Is there a reason you're hitting him?"

"Yes,"

she seethes and looks around us. "He has a picture of Leigh on his phone with her tits just dangling out there and Harper saw it and it was the same day...it was..."

She shakes her head. "That same fucking day you guys decided to get serious, you lied, Easton. AGAIN!”

"Keep your voice down!"

Ryan repeats and shares a look with me. "Sadie, you don't know the whole story.”

Her eyes widen. "You knew?"

"Shit."

Ryan lowers his head. "Look, can we do this in the parking lot at least?

People are starting to stare."

appears ready to chop

so miserable, I'm still on the verge of

out of his embrace and already I feel guilty because I know she's taking sides and is

Sadie's car, and I know all hell is about to break loose as Blake follows behind

A fucking scrunchie?

say, “You dropped this after

and says, "Good game, thanks for

"Maybe winning first isn't where it's at these

my nostrils flare. Ryan grabs me before I can run after Blake or just hop into my car, start the engine,

quickly. "Look, maybe we should just head out and talk

You could use it"

talk to Harper. The minute my eyes search for her again, she's already hopping into Sadie's car

She

looks away and clicks herself in while Sadie gives me the finger and

until Ryan again informs me that people are watching, then I blindly crawl into my Jeep and follow him to the pizza place by his

me everything, like you're a girl on

my teeth and stare at my empty

tree thing called the

like that

"Yes,"

love of God,

by me, again, it's my sister. If I could

“I'm sure your mom feels the same

"I have constant second—hand embarrassment

nightmares of her face for

sip of my Coke and lean back in the chair, explaining how everything went

tell their parents she had a fucking boyfriend who also happens to be her brother's best

I rage about the chaos that is Leigh. And to his credit, Ryan sits there and listens, though

wishes each of the Cokes

a damn bottle at

and I still support it, the picture that is, but she's so stressed out, man. Mom and

He clears his throat.

her phone, she can't even communicate with you right now and seeing that on your screen couldn't have been easy after

because girls have this need to stick together like they do when one has to pee and seventeen of them get up and go. The point

going to be