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."

to

still on the verge of tears as we leave

and already I feel guilty because

and I know all hell is about

A fucking scrunchie?

“You dropped

hair and says, "Good game, thanks for handing me my ass.

"Maybe winning first isn't where it's

my body as my nostrils flare. Ryan grabs me before I can run after Blake or just hop into my car,

"Look, maybe we should just

You could use it"

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

call out. She hesitates putting

looks away and clicks herself in while Sadie gives me the finger and burns out of the parking lot, like she's

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

he cracks his knuckles and says, "Tell me everything, like you're a girl

stare at my empty plate. "Other than,

the whole tree thing

that better

"Yes,"

love of God, can we not talk

in surrender. "Fine by me, again, it's my sister. If I

your mom feels

second—hand embarrassment and

have nightmares of her face for

my Coke and lean back in

didn't tell their parents she had a fucking boyfriend

credit, Ryan sits there and listens, though I can tell I'm stressing him out too because he's had five Cokes and

he wishes each of the Cokes had rum

a damn bottle at this point.

talk. I know why you kept it and I still support it, the picture that is, but she's so stressed out, man. Mom and Dad were not easy on her after...the

He clears his throat.

of that, she doesn't have her phone, she can't even communicate with you right now and seeing that on

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

to be