Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Oh Jesus.
“Tierra,” I groan. “Why are you here?”
“Grandma sent me,” she sasses.
Of course Rhetta did.
I squint against the sun streaming into my room and take in my best friend’s little cousin. She’s little, but fierce as fuck. At seventeen, she’s already a force to be reckoned with.
“Don’t you have school?”
“It’s Sunday and it’s summer, asshole. Get out of bed and let’s go grab lunch before we see T.”
“Oh, fuck,” I groan. “I promised Dad I’d go check the campground out.”
“Yeah, he’s already done it and come back. I’d avoid his office if I were you. I love your dad, but he’s in a super pissy mood.” She walks over to my dresser mirror and smooths out her black, shiny ponytail. “How are you holding up?”
I cringe. Tierra and I don’t do this. We give each other shit. I try to mess up her hair. She tries to whip my ass in basketball. Or, sometimes, we gang up on her cousin for shits and giggles. We don’t…care. Feelings aren’t our thing.
“Go away,” I mutter.
“I’ll go away as soon as that offensive boner does.” She turns around, cocking her hip out. “Seriously. Did you think I was one of your janky-ass hoes?”
“At least my janky-ass hoes are quiet in the morning.”
“Sick, asshole. I’m not sucking your dick.”
I cringe. She’s like a fucking sister to me. “You’re nasty, princess.”
“Queen,” she reminds me, flashing me a mouth full of pearly whites.
“Is Rockford missing their queen? Maybe you should run along. Who gave you a driver’s license anyway?”
She rolls her eyes and starts rummaging around in my drawers. I make no moves to get up, but thankfully after a few minutes with Tierra, my dick softens. It’s not that Tierra isn’t beautiful, because she fucking is, but she’s practically family. A cousin through T’s and my friendship, not blood. This is Oregon, not Alabama. I’m not a cousin fucker.
“Wear something respectable. Shower. Brush your stanky breath. Grandma says you need to find a job. Momma Kate agrees.”
“You and Mom already been conspiring over me this morning?” I roll out of bed, snagging my clothes up.
“Afternoon, now, lazy. And yes. You’re our favorite subject over coffee and bagels.” She smiles sweetly at me. “You have twenty minutes. Don’t make me come back up here and dress you myself because I will. If your penis starts acting up, I’ll smack him around.”
I gape at her in horror. “You’re such a mean ass.”
“I get the job done.” Her black ponytail swooshes as she turns on her heel and bounds out of my room.
Eighteen minutes later—because I know to trust Tierra’s threats—I’m headed downstairs, wisely avoiding Dad’s office where he bitches someone out on the phone. I find Mom and Tierra cozied up at the bar in the kitchen.
“Rough night?” Mom asks, her green eyes twinkling.
“Something like that.”
Mom gets up and sets to making me a coffee. I need to look for apartments too, but until I secure a job, staying with my parents is my only option. Not that I ever complain about Mom fussing over her only son like it’s her job in life.
“Spoiled,” Tierra mouths to me.
I smirk at her as I accept my coffee from Mom.
“Tierra says you two are going to visit Terrence and then go job hunting.” Mom smiles, relief washing over her. “You’ve got that fancy degree now. I’m excited for you to get to use it.”
“Yeah,” I grumble, already over this conversation.
“So, are you excited?” Mom asks Tierra. “I know this is a big change for you.”
Tierra stiffens. “I think it’s a good change.”
“What?” I demand, feeling left out.
“She’s moving in with Rhetta and doing her senior year at Hood River,” Mom explains. “We’ll get to see more of our baby girl.”
Tierra’s grin is too toothy. Too bright. Fucking fake. I level her with a glare that says we’ll be discussing this further later.
“Won’t that mess up college?” I ask. “Aren’t you like the best one on your basketball team over there?”
She shrugs, her brown eyes darting down to her coffee. “I’ll be the best here too. We always kill Hood River whenever we play them.”
Mom chatters her ear off, giving me a moment to drink my coffee and stew over this. Terrence has been living with his grandma since he was five. His mom, Precious, was no better than Roan’s, getting her ass thrown in prison for prostitution and selling drugs. No one knows who his dad is as he’s never been in the picture. Tierra’s dad, Precious’s brother Deric, has always seemed to have his shit together, so I don’t know what’s going on there, but I intend to find out.
“We better get going,” I interrupt. “I need to see T.”
They both give me sympathetic looks that make my hackles rise. It’s like everyone has just given up on Terrence. He’s not dead. He’ll pull through. Together, we’ll make everyone feel like shit for abandoning him, too.