Big And Bad (Book Two)

Chapter Eleven

The whole ride to my house was silent. There was no way I could look for the shooter without that photo. My investigation would have to be put on hold until I get a new phone. And it was 100% Beverly's fault.

Ash parked in front of my house. Beverly's phone vibrated three times in my pocket. I took it out. Candy called me twice and sent me a message.

We need to talk. Pick up the phone.

I put the phone back in my pocket. We can talk later. The last thing I wanted to do was argue. This morning was bad enough.

"Trouble in paradise?" Ash asked.

I chuckled. "Yeah. Long story short, it was her brother's fault."

"That sounds messy. What did he do?"

"He played my sister for a fool. I'll see you later."

"Good luck with that. Bye."

I got out of the car. The front door was unlocked. It was quiet. I poured myself a bowl of cheerios. As soon as I turned around, Beverly was standing there.

She frowned at me and crossed her arms. I ignored her, and poured the milk in my cereal. She followed me to the living room. I turned on the tv. A home invasion movie came on.

I watched three people die onscreen while I ate my cereal. The drama can wait until tomorrow. Today, I just want to chill.

"Why are you calm about this?" Beverly asked.

I licked milk off my lips. "I'm actually pissed. But luckily for you, I'll wait until tomorrow to address that shit."

"We need to talk about your dumbass behavior now."

"No. You can go off on me about the broken pieces of your relationship tomorrow."

"Do you hear yourself?"

"Perfectly."

She sucked her teeth and left the room. I finished eating as the protagonist ran away from the masked killers. The fight scene gave me a rush of adrenaline. I smiled.

I eagerly watched one of the masked killers get beaten by the protagonist. Something fell down the hall. Beverly screamed. I stayed on the couch. The movie had me tuned in.

A yogurt commercial came on. Damn it. I left the living room. More screaming came from my bedroom.

When I walked in there, Beverly was throwing clothes all over the floor. She frantically paced in front of me. I watched in confusion. This was weird as fuck.

"Where the fuck is my phone?!" she yelled.

I crossed my arms. "I'm not telling you, since you smashed mine."

"You had that coming, motherfucker. Nobody told you to poke your nose in my business."

"I was showing Candy what the shooter looked like."

"In the bathroom? That makes no damn sense."

"To you. I would never be so bored with my life, that I'd listen to you fool around with someone that popped up from out of nowhere."

Beverly frowned at me, breathing heavily. I don't understand why she trusted Merlot so quickly. They only knew each other for a month. Why was everyone siding with Merlot instead of me?

I needed to find out everything about him. It was a little suspicious that he just showed up. No one ever mentioned him either. There's no way anyone could just keep a whole member of their family a secret.

While Beverly paced in the room, I walked out. I grabbed her phone off the kitchen counter. A message from Merlot appeared on the screen. That son of a bitch.

Hey, baby. You've been quiet for hours. Are you okay?

He cheated on my sister, and had the audacity to pretend everything was fine? Their relationship was doomed, and it barely started. Then, I got an idea. I sent him a reply.

No. You cheated on me with that bitch Tyra. Lose my number.

I filled the sink with water, and dropped the phone in there. Problem solved. Beverly will thank me later.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.

I smiled. "I just did you a favor. You're welcome."

"What did you do?"

"I ended your relationship for you."

She slapped me in the face. I stared at her in shock. This escalated quickly.

I took her phone out of the sink and threw it across the room. It shattered on the floor. Beverly's eyes filled with tears. At least, we were even.

The tears spilled down her face. I smiled, ignoring the stinging pain in my cheek. She was the one who fucked up, not me. I refuse to give her the satisfaction of seeing me upset.

"You don't get to ruin my relationship and smile about it!" she yelled, slapping me again.

My smile disappeared. "Why are you so mad about that? Merlot never gave a fuck about you anyway."

"I like him the same way you like Candy. But after seeing this childish, ugly side of you, I don't think you deserve her."

"What?"

"You heard me. And since want to be petty, I think I'll do you some favors."

She stormed out of the house. What she just said was a sick joke, right? I love Candy. I didn't want to lose her.

Unlike Beverly and Merlot, Candy and I had a real relationship. I couldn't lose all that, because of some petty bullshit. But how was I going to leave the house? My car was gone.