Scarred: A New Adult Romance (The Anderson Brothers Series Book 1) (15 page)

Larry
guffaws. “Again? Shame. Well, don’t bring that drama around me. I’ve got enough
shit to deal with.”

“Yeah,
yeah.” Smiling, I head for bay one. As I approach William, he stops tinkering
under the chassis and acknowledges me with a nod. Even that gesture looks fake,
creepy. I wanna give him a couple of black eyes and maybe even break some of
his fingers for the way he put his hand on Denise’s ass last night.

Why the hell should I be
mad, anyway? Denise is his girlfriend. And he seems to love her. That’s what
couples do.

But
the more I think about it, the angrier I get. No, jealous. No, angry.

Trinity
said I was jealous. Denise would probably think so, too.

Fuck
it, then. I’m jealous.

“So
what else needs to be done with the brakes?” I ask.

William
resumes his work, unscrewing a bolt from one of the front brake calipers.
“Needs a line replacement and rotor refacing in the front, and new pads and rotors
in the front and rear.”

“All
right, I’ll get started on the pads.” I grab a wrench from the toolbox. Since
William’s working in the front, I go to the rear of the car, as far from him as
possible.

We
work in silence, other than the sounds of the shop and Nate and Paul shooting
the shit with each other under some cars outside.

William,
in his usual asshole way, disturbs the peace. “Hey, Dom. About last night … ”

I
sigh. “Don’t start.”

“No,
really, man. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mess with you like that. It wasn’t
cool, and Denise didn’t have to see that. I should’ve handled it differently.”

I
halt mid-crank with the hex wrench.
That
motherfucker.
My hand grips the handle, and I slowly resume, pouring every
ounce of my anger—jealousy, whatever—into that damn bolt that’s being a bitch
to get free.

“You
know, my Xi Rho Nu brothers are having a party tomorrow night. You’re welcome
to come …
if
you bring a date.”
There’s a hint of a smirk when he says that.

My
mouth twitches. “Since when are you in Xi Rho Nu?”

“Since
my second semester as a freshman at Chicago State. I’ve been in touch with the
Seattle chapter for a while and got accepted when I transferred to UDub.”

“What
the hell is a fratboy like you doing working at a place like this?”

He
shrugs. “A little extra income. My trust fund pays for tuition fees and living
expenses, and the money I make here is for leisure.”

I
look at him, dumbfounded.
Trust fund?
Seriously?
So, he’s not only an asshole, but he’s a
rich
asshole. “Damn, didn’t know you were banking like that.”

His
face hardens. “I don’t go around telling people how much money I have. I have
what I have because I had two hardworking parents who taught me the value of a
dollar.”

“Hey,
I’m not mad, man. Just … surprised. You never struck me as the rich type.”

“Why?
’Cause I don’t dress in polo shirts and business suits or sip with my pinky
finger out? Seriously, Dom. Don’t judge me like that.”

I
blink. This asshole thinks he knows me? I’ll knock his ass out so hard, he’ll
have dollar signs for eyes like a cartoon character. “What the fuck, man? I’m
not judging you. Do whatever the hell you want.”

“Yeah,
I will. Anyway. About the party. The invitation still stands, if you want to
go.”

“I
probably won’t go. No date, and all that.” I roll my tongue around in my cheek.

“Shame.
Tomorrow night’s going to be memorable.”

“Andrew’s
turning twenty-one. I know.”

“That’s
not the only memorable thing happening.” His phone suddenly goes off. He pulls
it out of his pocket, stares at it a moment, then looks back at me. “Shit. I
gotta take this.”

With
an arched eyebrow, I watch him stride off rather quickly to the bathroom, the
phone to his ear. “’Sup, Nick … ”

I don’t think I wanna know
what that was all about.
But I somehow have this weird feeling in my stomach.

As
I’m continuing my work, I hear the office door open. “Dominick, can you check
the part number on those new air filters that came in today?” Frank bellows.

I
exhale through my lips and toss my wrench in the toolbox. “Yup.” I head to the
rear of the shop where boxed-up parts are stacked on metal shelves on the wall.
Beneath the shelves, next to the bathroom, are opened mail packages, their
contents not yet sorted. As I’m searching for the air filters, I hear William’s
muffled voice.

“ … whatcha
got?”

I
locate the air filters and pick out a small box but pretend to go on searching
so I can remain within earshot of the bathroom.

“ … I
need some of the hard shit. Got any more G’s left?”

G’s. Drugs?
I blink and stare at the
closed bathroom door.

“Dominick!
What the fuck’s taking so long?” Frank yells from the office.

I’m
about to let Frank know I got it, but I stay silent. I don’t want William to
know how close I am.

“ … yeah,
man,” William says. “D’s a fucking tease, making me wait so damned long. I’m
tired of waiting. I’m poppin’ that … ”

It
takes me a moment to fully register that. “D”—Denise.
Holy shit.
I blink several times, and then stand there, dumbfounded.
Virgin.
I can’t wrap my head around
it. I’ve never known a twenty-one-year-old virgin. Is she really a diamond in
the rough?

“
… what’re you talking about? I’m your best fucking customer. You better give
me the hookup.”

The
office door swings open and slams against the wall. “Just bring me one of those
damned boxes,” Frank says.

My
mouth going dry, I finally head to the office, box in hand, and deliver it to
Frank. William leaves the bathroom at the same time I leave the office, and he
stops a few steps from the car and looks around nervously, probably for me.

I
return to the rear of the car, giving him one of my poker faces. When he sees
me, the nervousness in his eyes fades, and he resumes his work.

“Everything
okay?” I ask, picking up the wrench from the toolbox.

“Yeah,
man. Everything’s fine,” he replies, not looking up from his work.

My
stomach turns.
Bullshit.
The red
flags in my mind are way up. Does he intend to take advantage of
Denise? But I can’t prove anything
based on bits and pieces of a bathroom conversation, unfortunately.

“Sweet
Lady”—Denise’s ringtone—suddenly plays in my back pocket. I hastily take it out.
“Hey, hold on a sec,” I say into the phone. Covering the screen with my hand, I
look over to William. “Be right back.”

“Yup.”
William continues working.

I
slip around behind the shop, where my bike is parked. Leaning on the seat, I
return to the call.
I hope she’s still
there.
“Hey, Denise. Sorry about that.”

“Hi,”
she says, and I sigh in relief. “Do you have time to talk?”

Hearing
her makes me want to smile, but the concern in her voice keeps me from doing
so. “Of course I do. What’s up?”

“I’m
really sorry again about last night. I feel so terrible that William treated
you like that.”

I
clench my jaw. “I told you, it’s fine. No need to dwell on the past.”

“I
know, but last night got me thinking. I’ve been … feeling hesitant in letting
William back in my life after he left for Chicago. It’s like he’s changed. I
really want to love him, but I feel like I can’t love him the same way I did
back then.”

“People
change.”
Sometimes for the worse, it
seems.

“Yeah,
I guess.”

“How
do you feel like he’s changed?”

“Well,
like last night, he got all upset about me talking to you outside of
Chauncey’s. He said he didn’t like me talking to you.”

I
suddenly think about the way Pops isolated Mama from certain people. That was
before I realized he was physically abusing her. Before he did what he did to
me. My heart races for a moment. “You’re a grown woman. You can do whatever the
hell you want.”

“I
know. I told him that. And we got into an argument about it. He also didn’t
like that Trinity and I are so close, either. I know the two of them don’t see
eye to eye, but I’m definitely not going to stop talking to my best friend.”

“Sounds
like he’s way too overprotective, if you ask me.”

She
sighs. “Yeah. He never used to be this way before. I mean, sure, back in high
school he’d get upset when boys looked at me wrong, but he never dictated who I
could and couldn’t talk to. Anyway, I set things straight with him last night.”

I
want to ask her, to verify that what William said is true about her being a
virgin, but it’d be kinda weird asking her something like that outright. So I
try a more neutral approach. “So you guys are really close?”

“Yeah,
pretty close. I think he’s trying to impress me more than anything. He was like
that in high school, too. I just wish he’d be himself.”

Seems like he’s acting like
himself to me.
A small part of me doesn’t like her answer. Because that means what I
heard in the bathroom is probably true. “You’re an amazing girl, Denise. What
guy
wouldn’t
want to impress you?”

She
chuckles, and I feel all warm inside that I managed to make her laugh. “As much
as Trinity can’t stand him, she puts on a front around me. I know how
uncomfortable he makes her. But she never talked to me about it or anything.”

“Have
you tried talking to her about it?”

“Yeah,
a few times, but she’d always rather talk about something else.”

“Maybe
she doesn’t want to interfere. You know, if you’re happy with William and all,
then that’s all that matters, right?”

“Yeah,
you’re right.”

“Are
you happy?”

There’s
a brief silence. “I don’t know. I want to give him another chance. He’s really
excited about taking me to the Xi party tomorrow, so maybe things will be
better then.”

My
mouth twitches. “Yeah, maybe. Just be careful, okay? Guys like to get stupid at
frat parties.”

“Yeah,
I know how it goes. I probably won’t stay too long, anyway. I just want to
spend some time with William.”

“All
right. Just … don’t do anything you might regret.”

“I
won’t. What about you? Are you going to the party, too? Bringing your
girlfriend?”

Has she thought all this
time I had a girlfriend?
“Are you talking about the girl from last night? That wasn’t
my girlfriend. She’s my roommate’s girlfriend. All I did was set the two of
them up. You know. Play cupid?”

“Look,
you don’t need to explain anything. I get it. What you do is your own
business.”

My
teeth pinch my bottom lip.
She sounds
frustrated. I bet she’s angry, too. Maybe jealous.
“I may or may not be
there. We’ll see.”

“Okay.
Well, I should let you get back to work. Bye, Dominick, and thanks for
listening.”

I
say softly, “Anytime, Denise. See you later.”

I
wait for her to hang up first, and the line goes dead.
She’s gone.

I
shut off the phone and stare at the screen until it dims.

Chapter 16

Friday morning, I lie in bed, stare at the fan, and listen
to the steady downpour outside.
Tonight’s
the party.
And tonight, William may do something terrible.

I’m
still not certain if what I heard is true, but I’m not taking any chances.

Date
or not, I’m gonna go.

* * *

Later
that day at work, while William goes off to talk on the phone in private again,
I suddenly feel the urge to call Denise. It wouldn’t be too weird to check up
on her, right? Searching my contacts, I find her number.

She
answers on the second ring.

“Hey,
Denise. I hope I’m not calling at a bad time.”

“Oh,
no. Just having lunch before I head out. What’s up?”

What I wouldn’t give to try
some of her cooking.
“I just wanted to see how you were doing today, after the
talk yesterday.”

“I
feel better. Thanks for listening.”

“Never
be afraid to talk to me, okay? I don’t care if I’m at work or sleeping or
whatever. Call me whenever there’s something on your mind.”

There’s
a brief pause. “I will. Thank you, Dominick. That means a lot.”

“You
still going to the party tonight?”

“Yeah,
I promised William I would.”

I
sigh. “You know, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“Oh,
but I do want to go. I really want things to work between us. It’s been so
long. I’m hoping we can pick up where we left off.”

My
stomach clenches. “All right. By the way, I think I might be going to the
party, too.”

“You
are? That’s great!” Her voice sounds a little too enthusiastic, and I wonder if
she really
is
hoping to see me there.
“So you have a date tonight, then? You know they won’t let you in the party
without one.”

I
roll my tongue around in my cheek while I think. I’ll find a way in if I have
to. “Yeah, I know,” I say, evading her first question. “So what time are you
two going to be there?”

“William’s
picking me up around nine thirty or so. I guess we’ll be there sometime after
that?”

“Okay,
I’ll see you then. You take care, okay?”

“I
will. Bye, Dominick.”

The
back of my throat tightens. I hate saying goodbye to her. “Bye, Denise.” I
listen for the click on her end before I hang up, too. Sighing, I stare at her
name and number on the screen until it dims.

* * *

At seven o’clock that night, I’m sprawled out on the
living room couch eating a B.L.T. with the TV on, but rather than paying
attention to the show, I’m figuring out a way to get into that party without a
date. I bet the party will be awesome, but Denise is my biggest concern. If
William or anyone else takes advantage of her, I swear I will kill them.