“I’m not interested in watching people beat each other up for sport, but thanks,” he said dryly. “Are you taking your girlfriend?”
I wanted to be annoyed with him for bringing up Luna, but I liked hearing her being referred to as my girlfriend. I’d never given a shit about a relationship before, but I wanted to shout it from the rooftops with her.
“She usually comes along, but it’s not really her thing either. It makes her nauseous to see so much violence and blood,” I answered as the ghost of a smile tugged at my lips. “I never force her to go though.”
“True love then?”
“Bite me, Lavaro. I’m leaving before I hit you with my bat,” I replied and waved it in his direction. “And thank you for not selling to my brother. I’ll talk to him.”
“Vouch for me if your parents ever come for me. Tell them about this day,” he joked, but I could hear the worry in his tone. I doubted they’d go after him since he stayed out of Ashburn Valley, but I understood his concern.
“Will do. If you call tonight, I won’t answer.”
“Understood.” He nodded before climbing behind the wheel of his Supra and starting the engine, peeling out like his ass was on fire.
I rolled my eyes, starting mine and moving towards the main road, only to curse as I entered Ashburn Valley to find Beckett’s Mustang flying towards me in the rearview. I considered putting my foot down and leaving her in the dust since I was a lot better at navigating the roads at high speed, but it wasn’t smart to show that skill to her after the latest accusations.
She stuck to my ass the whole way home, and I’d hardly stepped out of the car before her fist hit my face.
I stumbled, catching myself on the Corvette to avoid ending up on the ground. I glared at her, refusing to give her the satisfaction of clutching my face. It fucking hurt, she was trained way more than I was, but she didn’t need to know how badly it was burning.
“What the fuck was that for?” I spat, watching the fury in her eyes as she tried to tower over me with the tiny height advantage she had, a muscle ticking in her jaw.
“That was for leaving the track drunk as fuck last night and letting that asshole drive like a dickhead.” She scowled, her knuckles cracking as she balled her hands into fists. “I can’t believe you got in his car and left.”
“Why wouldn’t I? We’re friends!” I snapped, bending down to grab my bat that I’d dropped when she’d hit me. “If I hit you every time you put yourself in danger, you’d be unrecognizable. I get it, you’re scared of losing me, but I’m sick of you trying to control me. You’re not my mommy, Beck.”
“Are you trying guys? Is that it? Are you into Ander or something?” she demanded, and I lost it. She’d never said something rude about my sexuality before.
I swung my bat at her, narrowly missing her head as she ducked out of the way. “Fuck you! You think I’m in the closet about beingstraight? He’s just my fucking friend. Aren’t I allowed to have those?”
She pulled her knife from her pocket, and I hadn’t even heard the front door open, but Jensen was suddenly standing between us. “What the fuck, you two? Knock it off!” he barked, his back to me as he stared Beckett down. “Put that away.”
“She…”
“Beckett!” he shouted, making her pause. Jensen never yelled. He was always so calm compared to most of our dads. He cleared his throat, speaking more quietly. “If you two want to deal with an issue, you don’t use weapons.”
Beckett put her knife away, but I wasn’t going to let go of my bat. I could fight with my fists if I had to, but I wasn’t risking it.
“I think she’s fucking Ander,” Beckett said flatly, making Jensen chuckle.
“Excuse me? Your gay sister’s sleeping with a guy?”
She huffed, starting to calm down but sticking to her argument. “She has to be. She doesn’t give a fuck about anyone and she never sticks her nose in people’s business. She’s had his back a lot lately, and she spends a lot of time with him. Straight girls have a tendency to be curious by girls, so gay girls could get curious about guys, right?”
“Trust me…” I said flatly, giving her a blank expression. “I’m not interested in dicks. Not even a little bit. Do you know how arrogant you’re sounding right now? I’m friends with Turbo. That’s it. Why would I lie about that? If I did get curious by some guy, I’d just say so. I don’t give a fuck what people think of me and I have nothing to hide.”
“Shit,” she mumbled, scrubbing a hand over her face, the anger vanishing completely. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t assume shit, you just freaked me out last night and it's strange that you’d take his side over mine like you have been.”
Jensen moved to stand beside us, disapproval in his voice. “If you have questions about sexuality, you know Riley’s an open book. I don’t know what the hell is going on with you kids, but you’re all divided at the moment and I hate it. What’s going on?”
I sighed, pulling my hood over my head and crossing my arms. “Mikey moved out and married Poppy, Lloyd died, Angel moved out, Beckett and Maddox moved out, Marla’s never been close with any of us, and Ryder’s on some permanent drug-induced bender. We’re all on our own paths, Dad. Things happen, we disagree, but we’re still family.”
“You’re keeping secrets, Riley,” Beckett murmured, hurt in her gaze. “I want to know how bad it is since you can’t trust me with it.”
I didn’t deny it, but I started walking towards the house, speaking over my shoulder. “You were nailing our brother behind my back and didn’t tell me. Don’t get mad when I don’t want to tell you everything in my life, because it’s not like you’re always honest with me either.”
She cursed but she didn’t follow me.