Sticks and Stones

Twelve: That Time the Hot Dogs Fought Back

So, I know I said I'd only be posting one chapter a week, but since the last chapter didn't have any Tatum/Brady interactions, I wanted to post another.

And some fun news: I fully finished writing this book! There are thirty-three chapters plus the prologue and epilogue. Total word count is 92.5k words, so we're in this for a bit! Can't wait to post the rest. Hope you all enjoy!

This chapter was so fun to write— please remember to comment and vote, it means a lot to me!

WARNING: This chapter does contain two characters throwing up. I do not go into detail at all but if this triggers you, you can just skim to where they start talking again.

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Tatum couldn't wrap her head around it.

She was sure she stood at the window gaping like an idiot for at least an hour.

What the hell was Kinsley doing with Theo?

Tatum was well aware that her friend wasn't exactly a fan of her brother's, but to buddy up with someone who despised him? Who actively went out of his way to torment him? She didn't expect that. Tatum knew that she didn't have the full story. But still, it didn't add up. That wasn't Kinsley.

Even with how close she and Kinsley had been since the day they had met, she could always feel this wall between them. Tatum wrote it off for a while— everyone had their secrets. Everyone had things they would take to the grave. But it was starting to feel different. Like the wall was moving, pushing Tatum further and further away.

Tatum remembered everything about the first time she met Kinsley. They met on their college Facebook page, both searching for roommates. She planned to reach out to a few other girls, but there was just something about Kinsley. She was the only person Tatum had talked to. It was her or no one. They had met in person for the first time on move-in day. Both were disgusting from the move. Carrying everything they owned up six flights of stairs had been more difficult than expected. Tatum had overpacked in a way that she didn't even know was possible. She was dripping with sweat by the time she finally walked into their small room.

Kinsley was decorating her side on her own. Tatum figured that her family had just left by that point. Turned out, Kinsley had moved herself in. She didn't find that out for a few months, actually. Tatum's Mom was with her for the entire day— thank god. Eliza was a machine. She saw how overwhelmed Tatum was and she took over. Before Tatum knew it, her Mom had her entire room set up.

And when her Mom left, Tatum was a bit of a mess. But Kinsley took it in stride. She could tell with ease that Tatum was a bit embarrassed about how emotional she was. So, Kinsley put her to work— kept her busy. The first thing they did together was put up their twenty dollar mirror that they would soon both grow to despise because of how it morphed their bodies with the cheap materials. Tatum could still hear the way the mirror shattered when they pulled it down on move-out day.

God, she could at least admit it to herself. She wanted to know what happened. All of it. What happened between Kinsley and her family, what really happened to Brady, and how Theo played into it all. None of it made sense. Whenever she thought she was in the right direction, something came and threw a curveball.

And one distant question in her mind was creeping to the forefront of her thoughts. She didn't want to think this. Tatum didn't want to even consider this. But how couldn't she? With how strange Kinsley acted when she found out that Tatum was doing Brady's plan. With how cryptic Theo had been with every interaction they had. With this nauseous feeling in her gut.