Chapter 10

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Allen was sober enough to drive home when we went to leave the diner. It was closing in on midnight when we left the diner with its sticky floors and stickier tables. Allen's mouth stretched in a yawn as he stopped at a red light. His eyes landed on me, and the curve of his lips that followed made my heart race. He turned forward as the light turned. Our favorite radio station was on, and the only sound that filled the air was the hum of the engine and music. That and my phone going off.

A picture Danny had taken in school showed on the screen.

"What's up?" I asked as I answered.

"Are you home safe?" he asked me abruptly.

"We're on our way. Why?" I asked him unsure of what his sudden concern is for.

"Where have you been then?" he asked ignoring my question.

"We grabbed coffee. We're heading home now. What's with all the concern?" I asked him more demandingly.

"I don't trust him out this late with you. Not after you two have been drinking," he said firmly.

I scoffed. "One: I didn't even drink. Two: it's not your business who I'm with and until when. And why should I be given the third degree for spending time with someone I've known my entire life? You aren't my boyfriend, so calm your tits, Danny."

"I don't trust him, Is. He was eyeing you up like meat. It is my business if you get hurt. I promised I'd get you home safe," Danny said, but Allen was waving at me.

"Give me the phone," he said as we drove the empty streets. I passed it over to him without an extra word to Danny. "Hey. If you don't trust me so much, then why did you let her leave with me. You can't keep thinking with your dick. Tell me, did you sleep with that girl Issy sent your way? You were too busy thinking about getting laid that you weren't even thinking of her safety."

It shouldn't have bothered me that much, but the thought of Danny with another girl made me sick to my stomach. I could hear Danny shouting through the phone, but I wasn't paying attention. Even if I hadn't sent that girl to him, he still would have slept with someone at that party after I left. He's jealous of me and Allen, but he waited hours to even ask if I was safe.

"You handle this mess," Allen said angrily as he passed back my phone. I took the phone from his hand, and it dropped down to rest on my thigh. Allen just stared ahead with a heavy set jaw.

I put my phone to my ear to listen to what Danny was shouting to Allen. "You've been tearing her apart all week. You think I'm the one talking from my dick? At least I'm checking in with her. Yeah, I fucked that girl tonight, but it doesn't mean I'm some scumbag. You're a scumbag Allen. You spent so much time drugged out that you threw your chances with Is away. It's someone else's turn."

I hung up on him without another word.

"You really know how to pick em, Is," Allen said as we hit red light after red light. "He can say all the shit about me being a scumbag, but he'll never starve a day of his life. He never had to wonder if he'd be eating tonight or not. That boy has more money than I'll make in my entire life. He took my mom too when I left. You know that? I asked my dad if he knew about Danny. My mom and dad were split for a year when I was two. She had Daniel then. My dad thought he died on the goddamn hospital room floor. She told him about it while I was in rehab."

He was bitterly spitting words out now. "He replaced me. I was too much of an embarrassment that my own mom left me be to go spend time with this little perfect life she had on the side. She would have had money and a son if she just went to stay with them, so she did. My dad and mom weren't on speaking terms for a month after she started seeing Daniel. He had everything that was out of reach for me. He can't have you too."

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