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."

ready to chop his

miserable, I'm still on the verge of tears as we leave

and Ryan walk ahead of me, but she jerks out of his embrace and already I feel guilty because I

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

A fucking scrunchie?

say, “You dropped this

at her, tuffles her hair and says, "Good game, thanks for handing me my ass. It was actually

at me and smiles. "Maybe winning first isn't

my body as 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

You could use it"

yeah I could, but I want to talk to Harper. The minute my eyes search for her again, she's already hopping into Sadie's car and putting on her

She hesitates putting

get out. Instead, she looks away and clicks herself in while Sadie gives me the finger and burns out of the parking lot,

blindly crawl into my Jeep and follow him to the pizza

everything, like you're

stare at my empty plate. "Other than, you know...the

the whole tree thing called the incident

like that better

"Yes,"

interrupt him. "For the love of God, can we not talk about it

up his hands in surrender. "Fine by me, again, it's my sister. If

“I'm sure your mom

"I have constant second—hand embarrassment and horror, just

have nightmares of her

my Coke and lean back in the chair,

I explain how much it hurt that Harper didn't tell their parents she had a fucking boyfriend

And to his credit, Ryan sits there and listens, though I can tell I'm stressing him out too because he's

he wishes each of the

me a damn bottle at

it and I still support it, the picture that is, but she's so stressed out, man. Mom and Dad were not

He clears his throat.

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

Sadie isn't being helpful either because girls have this need to stick together like they do when one has to pee and seventeen of them get up

going to be