Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 113837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
“Um…”
“Holy shit, Bell,” Hendrix shouted.
I glanced across the cafeteria to where one of the cheerleaders was now sitting beside the idiot.
“Psycho Bitch got expelled for trying to shank Psycho Bitch Number Two!”
When I looked back at Bellamy, his jaw was tight. Eyes narrowed.
I flipped Hendrix off. “Shank makes it sound so overdramatic.”
“Seriously?” Bellamy reached for my arm, and I yanked it away. “You thought you’d just not mention that?”
Years of spoiled-brat syndrome kicked in, and I bristled at the idea that I had to tell him anything. “Did I need to?”
“Don’t know, Drew? Do you think you do?” He ripped off the Band-Aid, skimming a finger over the razor-thin cut.
“I handled it,” I said. Not well, but still.
“And Drewbers pepper-sprayed her?” Hendrix cackled. “Sprayed her like a cat, Bell! Ole’ Salami Tits got seasoned with mace.”
I groaned and pointed at Bellamy. “Don’t say a word.”
His gaze held mine prisoner for a beat before he opened his textbook. “Next time someone does shit like that, you better tell me.”
I fought the little spark of indignation that rose in me, and I should have kept my mouth shut. “Or what?”
All he did was smirk.
God, he was annoying. “Fuck you.”
32
Bellamy
That evening, Hendrix and I crept through the dark alleyways running between the trailers until we came to Nikki’s.
I dropped my backpack to the gravel, then rifled through it for the two glass bottles of gasoline and the tattered cloths.
Hendrix snatched one from my hand, immediately cramming the rag into the neck. “I’m doing this because I hate Nikki and I like burning shit, not because I like Drew.”
“Whatever, man.”
Was what we were about to do shit? Absolutely, just like half the crap we did. But Nikki had pulled a knife on Drew, and like hell was she getting away with that.
Hendrix took a lighter from his pocket. “Why are you doing it, Bell?”
Because I liked Drew. “Because we have a reputation to uphold, asswipe.”
Hendrix struck the flint, the flicker of the flame catching the cock of his brow. “She must suck good dick.”
Sometimes I hated him.
We lit the bombs, hurling them across the trailer park before we took off running. We made it over one chain-link fence before the flash of fire lit up the night sky.
Hendrix cackled as we booked it toward Wolf’s, quickly scaling the ladder that always rested against the side of his house, then rolling ourselves onto the roof.
“Burn, baby, burn.” Wolf laughed from his lawn chair, taking a puff from the joint permanently attached to his lips.
I collapsed into one of the other tattered chairs while Hendrix rummaged through the mini-fridge. “Aw, man. All you have is Natty Lite. That stuff tastes like piss.” He slammed the fridge door and sank to the seat beside me, cracking one open anyway.
We sat there for a moment, basking in the glow of Nikki’s burning car. I could hear her screaming at the top of her lungs from here.
“It’s gonna explode,” Wolf said with a wicked grin. “Any minute.”
Hendrix leaned back in his chair, inhaling a deep breath. “Nothing like the smell of a car bomb to make you feel alive.”
And there was no doubt—never had been—we were a little screwed up.
The red and yellow flames reached over the trailers' tops, sending a spiral of gray smoke up against the dark sky.
I didn’t do this for my reputation. I did it because I was pissed. Few things in life enraged me: my shithouse dad, someone screwing with my family, and evidently, now, someone messing with my girl.
Wolf sat up. His narrowed gaze stared out over the trailer park. “Oh, shit. Here she comes.”
About that time, I noticed a shadow moving down the dirt path.
“Bellamy!” Nikki shouted. “I know that was you!”
She stormed up to Wolf’s trailer and stopped, hands on her hips as she stared up at his roof. “I’m going to send your ass to jail. Just like she did.”
Hendrix cackled, then hurled his half-full beer can over the roof, right at her. “Shut up, Pepperoni Nips. We’ve been sitting here, drinking. All night.”
“Bullshit!”
Wolf sighed. “You got any video footage to prove it?”
A loud boom echoed through the night, the glow of fire flashing like a mini bomb.
Nikki spun around, hands on her head. “I cannot believe you, assholes!”
“Maybe it was that kid, Dickey,” I said. “You know, the one whose dick you sucked to start rumors about Drew.”
I glanced over the edge of the roof, and God, I wished there were more lighting because I’d love to see the look on Nikki’s face right now.
“Which, by the way, thanks for all that. Had you not tried to set her up, I would have missed out on the best blow jobs I’ve ever had. The girl has no gag reflex.”
“You are so…” An angry growl bounced off the trailers.
The electric-blue glow of a phone screen shined through the dark. This girl was really about to call the cops? Oh, no. That’s not how shit worked in Dayton, and she knew it.