“Get the fuck in the car before they change their minds and murder you,” Miranda snaps.
“Not until you tell me what the fuck’s going on. Did they threaten you, force you to bring them here?” Jones asks his sister while glaring at Ryan like he’s ready to murder him.
“No, Jones. I can’t believe this shit. You kidnapped Sully’s girlfriend? What the fuck were you thinking?” She raises her hand. “Don’t fucking answer that. I know what you were thinking. You have it all wrong, Jones. Now get in the fucking car!”
“Tell me what the fuck’s going on!” he shouts back. “Where have you been?”
She rubs her temples. “Not here.”
“Yes, the fuck here.” He takes a step toward her. “Tell me.”
“I didn’t want to taint Mom and Dad’s image for you, you idiot! I know how much you love them. They had higher expectations of me. I had to get away from them. I ran away! Ryan had nothing to do with it,” she says in a rush. “Now please, Jones, get in the car.”
“What?” he breathes, looking at his sister like he doesn’t recognize her. “They spoiled you with attention. They love you the most. They barely acknowledge me. I didn’t know you felt that way.”
“Jones, look at Sully,” Miranda barks.
I turn away from them to look up at Sully. His face is red, the veins in his neck are bulging, and it doesn’t look like he’s breathing. I lay my hand on his chest and lean into him.
“It’s okay,” I murmur. “Everything’s okay.”
When I turn back around, Jones and Miranda are peeling out in a sleek silver car.
I look up at Sully. “What the fuck just happened?”
***
Silex and Ryan are in the front, and I’m tucked under Sully’s arm in the back seat between him and Brent.
“I can’t believe Miranda’s parents tried to arrange her marriage,” I say. “I would have run away too. I wonder why they lied to Jones about the reason she attempted suicide?”
“Probably so they weren’t the ones who looked bad,” Brent says.
“I can’t believe the guy wanted to marry her after she spent all summer fucking us while engaged to him,” Ryan grunts.
Silex grins. “We got lucky even though her plan backfired.” He turns away from the road to face Ryan. “Think she’d be down to play some more now that she’s back in town?”
Ryan shrugs, but it looks like he likes the idea.
“You sure you’re okay?” Sully whispers near my ear.
I smile, turning my head to face him. “I’m fine. Hungry, but fine.”
“We’re grabbing food,” Ryan says.
“Good, I’m starving,” Brent says.
“If I see him again, he’s so fucking dead,” Sully mumbles for the fifth time since we got in Silex’s SUV.
“I know,” I say, rubbing his chest. “Even though he didn’t hurt me, I know you want to kill him.” I lean forward, looking out the window. “Why are we at the mall?”
“I’m hungover,” Silex says. “Need Chinese.”
I laugh and roll my head to the side to look up at Sully. He squeezes my thigh and winks.
“This place has the best egg rolls,” Silex says, and I laugh. “What? They do.”
We shuffle in, order our food, and then push two tables together and sit down to eat. I devour a plate of fried rice in under five minutes.
“Things have been crazy the past couple weeks,” Brent says.
“Right?” I say, dipping the last bite of my egg roll in soy sauce. “I think things will calm down now. I mean, what else can happen?”
Sully rolls his eyes. “Would you please stop jinxing things?”
With my mouth full of food, I laugh, but Ryan says, “Sully believes that shit for real.”
“Believes the fortune cookies are right too,” Silex adds with a snort.
I nudge Sully with my shoulder. “I think it’s cute.”
He smiles and leans down to kiss my temple.
“Cute that you’re so crazy,” I say with a smile, but I look around the table, remembering the fortune I read on the first day I met Sully. I can’t help but think maybe he’s on to something. I crack my cookie open.
Sully pulls the paper from his. “Good timber does not come with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.”
“I think we’re some pretty strong trees,” I murmur. “With family by your side, you can accomplish any task,” I say low enough for only Sully to hear me.
“See, baby?” Sully says. “The cookie doesn’t lie.”
Ryan scoots a plate toward me. “Have you tried sushi?”
I wrinkle my nose and shake my head.
He grins. “It’s good, I swear. You gotta try it.” He winks and then focuses back on Silex, who’s talking about a party he wants to go to tonight.
“If you’re not gonna eat it, I will,” Brent says, inching toward the plate.
I push it closer to him. “Go ahead, I’m full.”
After everyone finishes eating, Sully murmurs, “Ready to go home, baby?” against my ear.
“Yeah, home.” That single word has so much meaning behind it. People can spend years in a house without it ever being a home. When I was with Jones, all I could think about was getting home, and I wasn’t picturing Kansas. I was picturing Arden and his three crazy boys.
Sully wraps his arm around my shoulders, and I lean into him as we all get up from the table and head toward the doors.
We pile back into Silex’s SUV, and then we’re pulling up to Arden’s a few minutes later. We hop out and head inside while Silex heads home.
Arden’s in the kitchen eating lunch. I walk up to him and wrap him in a hug. He laughs and hugs me tightly against him.
When I pull away, he asks, “What was that for? Not that I’m complaining. I’m always down for spontaneous hugs.”
I shrug. “Just felt like it.”
Arden chuckles. “Your turn, boys.”
“Look what you’ve done, Emma,” Ryan says playfully, stepping into Arden’s embrace.
“Come on,” Sully says, pulling me toward the living room while Arden’s pulling Brent in for a hug.
“Sully,” Arden calls after him. “I didn’t get my hug.”
“Rain check, Dad,” Sully hollers over his shoulder before we slip down the basement steps. “I want you to myself for a while.” He pulls me into bed with him.
I lay my head against his chest, the steady pounding of his heart beneath my ear. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. It’s funny how things work out. Not long ago, it felt like my whole life was falling apart. Turns out, the pieces were falling together. I guess it was the chaos before the calm.
There is only up from here.
Note from the author:
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Bullies Love and Lies Page 25
