"Why are you such a fucking prick? What's wrong with you?"
Ashtyn still held onto my arm and her small hand moved up to my face and turned me back to her. "It's okay. Don't do this right now, okay? Let's just get to school." She kept her hand on my cheek, trying her best to calm me and help me avoid doing something I might end up regretting.
"What's all the yelling about?" Bronx asked as he walked into the kitchen. His eyes darted to Ashtyn, to me, to Dad, and back to Ashtyn. The confusion on his face would've been comical in a different situation.
"Your brother’s biker trash was just leaving. They’ve been fucking all morning after I specifically told him not to have her around here. He never fucking listens," Dad said, acting as if we weren't standing five feet away from him.
"You don't get to tell me who I can be friends with, who I can spend time with, or who I can fuck. You're not around enough to have an opinion on anything in my life. You come home when it's convenient or when you’re forced to, and then you throw your judgments around like I'm some huge fuck-up. But I'm the one holding this shit together, Dad. Not you," I said as I stormed to the front door.
"Fine, then the deal for the gym is off! If you can't follow simple instructions which would keep you from fucking up your entire life, you don't deserve to have that place handed to you."
I halted in my tracks and slowly turned back to him. "That gym's been nothing but a carrot you dangle in front of my face to make me do what you want. The deal we made was that I'd go to college and get a business degree before you signed it over. There was never anything mentioned about my personal life. If that's how you're going to play this, then keep the fucking place!" I shouted before leaving with Ashtyn in tow.
She hadn't said anything, but I could tell she was upset. The last thing I wanted to do was add more stress to her life. I didn't know Dad would be home. I needed to pay better attention to his schedule to avoid him. Maybe we could stay at Axel's when I knew he'd be around.
"That was...intense," Ashtyn said as we stopped at her porch. "Are you okay?"
"AmIokay? I should be asking you that. I'm sorry you had to deal with him.Again. He's such an asshole. He hates to see me happy. Hates it when I do what I want to do."
"Biker trash?I've only ridden bitch on a bike a few times," she laughed as she wiggled her house key in the lock before shoving the door in. "I'd ask you to come in but..."
"It's okay. I'll wait right here."
She smiled back at me and closed the door behind her.
Dad would have to be dealt with. I wasn't going to keep putting Ashtyn in uncomfortable situations like that. She'd been nothing but good to me and Bronx. Even when she hated my guts, the worst thing she did was ignore me. She did cock block me a few times with Kendra but I was thankful for that. Dad was trying to make me get rid of Ashtyn by using the gym–my favorite place in the world. He knew how much I loved it. How my dream was to own and operate a gym of my own someday. He loved having a leg up on me. Loved controlling my life even though he couldn’t be bothered to be part of it. He had another thing coming if he thought I would bow down to him just to get the gym free and clear. I'd agreed–reluctantly–to attend GPU to get a degree in business before getting the keys to Brass Knuckles. I didn’t agree with it, but I understood it. He wanted me to have an education in business before owning one. But to use it to control who I spent my time with was ridiculous.
Ashtyn slammed the door behind her and jolted me from my thoughts. She looked beautiful, of course, in a black pleated skirt and my gray Brass Knuckles t-shirt that was tied in a knot.
"I kept the shirt but added a skirt and panties. Don't go getting any ideas," she smiled at me before quickly walking ahead to my car. My gut clenched when I saw her red-rimmed eyes. She'd been crying. Dad made her fucking cry.Bastard.
I ran ahead and opened the passenger door, and she playfully rolled her eyes at my chivalry. Bronx came out of our house just as I was about to honk my horn. He hopped in the backseat, a grim shadow replacing his usually light-hearted demeanor. "Don't listen to him, Ash. He's been a surly fuck lately," Bronx said as he patted Ashtyn's shoulder.
"It's fine, B. Tell us all about your weekend," she smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. She was hurting. I hurt her again.
As we drove to school, Bronx told us about theLAN partyhe attended Friday night and how one of the guys invited him to aLARP eventon Saturday. I was bored to tears by the time we arrived at school, but Ashtyn soaked up every word of his recap and his eyes lit up as he recollected the weekend.
"So, what'd you guys get up to?" Bronx waggled his eyebrows. "You can tell me but please god, spare the details." His body shuddered as he spoke.
I laughed at his reflection in the rearview mirror and Ashtyn bit her lower lip. That pouty fucking adorable lip. "I'll tell you, but I'd need at least a few hours to get through everything," Ashtyn replied. “It’s been a doozy.”
"Sounds like we need another coffee gossip date. Without the coffee, of course," Bronx said as we all got out of my car.
"Don't be a pussy, B," I said, adopting Ashtyn's nickname for my little brother.
He punched me in the shoulder and I was about to punch him back when I noticed the staring.Fuck, I'd forgotten about the picture of me and Ashtyn that made its rounds yesterday. People in the parking lot stopped what they were doing to look at the three of us, and then the whispering and laughter started.
"Uh guys, what else did I miss?" Bronx asked as his eyes darted around the lot.
Ashtyn stood frozen next to us, her eyes narrowing at the idiots talking about us. Without wasting another moment, I grabbed her neck with both of my hands. Her eyes were wide with shock and intrigue as I pulled her close.
"If they're going to talk shit, we might as well give them something to talk about," I said before I slammed my lips against hers, claiming her as mine in front of everyone.
“So,uh,whatexactlyare you two doing?” Bronx asked as he set his lunch tray down on our table. Cade was picking at a sandwich looking like his dog ran away and Axel was engrossed in a video on his phone.
“Who?” I asked as I pushed what could possibly be mashed potatoes around with a fork.
Bronx eyed me. “You. And Ash. Don’t play dumb.”