"Have you heard from Rem lately?" I asked, ignoring the fact that she was treating me like her personal waitress.
She jerked her head up off the couch. "Why? What did that little asshole do now?"
"Nothing. I just haven't heard from him in a while and I'm worried." I omitted the part about him using again. Mom would throw a party if she knew that.
"You know I only hear from the cocksucker when he wants something. Only comes around when he needs money. Just like your father. A user, money-hungry prick."
That was rich coming from the greediest bitch this side of Gilchrist Point.
"Where's my drink?" She asked as she fanned her face with a magazine from the coffee table.
"Here," I shoved a half gallon of bottom-shelf vodka in her face. "Go nuts."
"Lazy bitch," she murmured and took the top off the bottle and guzzled a few swigs.
"If anyone's lazy around here, Eve, it's you. Would it kill you to pick up after yourself? This place is a dump," I said as I collected a handful of bottles and dropped them in the trash can.
"I've been busy. And don't you fucking speak to me that way, you little cunt."
"Fine, clean it up yourself. I have work to do. As always, it's been a pleasure chatting with you." I skipped back to my room and decided to get a head start on my calculus homework for the week. The further ahead I got, the less I had to worry about on the weekend when I would be working at Aces.
I tried texting Remingtonagain,but he didn’t respond.
Me: I’m worried about you. Please call me. Whatever’s going on, we can work through it together. I love you.
If I didn’t get a response from him soon, I was going to have to track his ass down. I didn’t like that he read my texts and didn’t respond. It left a yucky feeling in my soul. My brother was lost and I didn’t know how to help him. I didn’t want to go through the lowest parts of Gilchrist Point to search for him, but I would if I had to.
8
West
“Issheokay?”Bronxasked, propped on the doorway into my room.
I sat on my windowsill, window cracked and a joint on my lips. Keeping my eyes fixed on the TV mounted to the wall, I mindlessly flipped through channels, not leaving it on one long enough to even register what was playing. "I don't fucking know, bro. Remington's using again. That's what set her off."
After I dropped Ashtyn off, I went to Brass Knuckles for a bit. It helped release a little tension, but I still felt high-strung and irritable. I wasn’t sure why, but it bothered me that Ashtyn was dealing with her brother’s drug bullshit. The self-centered fuck never cared about the hell he put her through.
Bronx sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Damn. I can't say I'm surprised. I do feel for her though. It can't be easy taking care of her drunk of a mother and now this shit with Remington. Where the hell is her dad anyway?"
"Last I heard he was running his motorcycle gang over in Castle Grove. But you know, she lets it happen. I tried to tell her on the way home that she shouldn't worry about him so much. He makes his own fucking choices."
Harsh, but true.
I stubbed the joint out in an ashtray and squeezed my hand into a fist, reveling in the dried blood and reddened flesh. I went a little crazy, taking my rage out on an innocent heavy bag. Unwrapped. I wanted to hit a human, but I knew my limits and the only one deserving of my rage was Remington Hawthorne.
"She didn't choose her family. She's stuck with them, and you know she won't stop worrying or caring about him. You wouldn't stop caring about me if I pulled that shit."
"You did pull that shit, remember? Last year when I scraped you off the floor of Marcy Playa's bathroom. All thanks to that dumbass."
"It wasn't his fault, West. That was my choice. My mistake. You can't hold it against Remington forever."
"Don't fucking defend him. He sold coke to a kid! He was supposed to be our friend, Bronx. He could've fucking killed you!" I screamed as I jumped up from the windowsill. My body tingled with rage and adrenaline, both from Bronx's words and from the two hours spent at the gym.
"I know that. Look, I've had a lot of time to think about it. I went to him for it. I found him and begged him for it. He didn’t want to at first, but I wouldn’t let up…It's not all his fault. Is this why you act like you hate Ashtyn so much?"
"I don't hate Ashtyn. I hate her brother. She drives me insane, but I don't hate the girl." That was the truth. I didn’t hate her, she just annoyed me in a way no one else ever had. And I loved ruffling her feathers and making her snap because I knew how much she tried to control every situation–or avoid every situation, in my case. She was the cold shoulder queen, but I wasn’t going to be ignored anymore.
"It's why you don't want to admit you like her, then."