Page 49 of Hold 'Em Tight

“She’s making it some big pool party bash here, and invited us all. Said it was a big deal, and we all had to be there,” Felicia adds, trying to defuse the situation.

“You're really going?” Serenity asks.

“Ah, no.” Felicia laughs. “What about you?”

“I’d rather drown,” I deadpan.

“I can arrange that. I was almost successful last time.” Ursula grins.

“How about you fuck off before I make your nose the same color of green and blue as your eyes,” Serenity threatens, butUrsula just rolls her eyes.

Felicia laughs. “Trust me, none of us want to go.”

“Of course,I’mgoing,” Ursula scoffs. “It’s going to be amazing.”

“Are you going to be swimming?” I ask her, and she looks at me oddly.

“Yeah,” she says slowly. “It's a pool party."

“You know what, maybe I should go.” I grin. “How long can you hold your breath under water?”

Ursula's eyes widen as she scrambles to her feet. “You're crazy, you know that?”

“What's wrong, Urs?” I call out as she takes off in a huff. “I thought you loved being besties with the crazies.”

“I hate it here!” she calls out, and we all burst into laughter.

“It’s not so bad.” I grin at my best friend. And now that Missi is gone, I know living here is going to be a lot better than it used to be. At least, there’s one plus side.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

It’s been a few days since the disaster that went down at the cheer house. Missi tricked me into packing up my shit and moving out on the day they came back from vacation. She told me that we had to wait until they had left.

I should have known she was scheming. That’s all she does these days. What I didn’t expect was for Donny to kick my fucking ass. I know I deserved it, but still. My ribs are bruised, and my face aches something fierce.

Missi has taken immense pleasure in my pain, and she’s hidden all the pain meds.

After we left the cheer house, I took her straight to the Emergency Room to make sure the baby was okay. She only tweaked her ankle, but you would have thought she was in a bad car wreck with the way she carried on.

Our baby is fine, and so is she. She has to wear a boot for a few weeks, and to say she’s pissed is an understatement. She’s spent all her time either milking it or bitching that she can’t wear heels to the party.

Not to mention making me wait on her hand and foot. My father moved in last night, and shit has gone from bad to worse.

Her friends, Delia and Iris, even decided to stay at a hotel to get away from her whining. Not that I mind. Iris is creepy as fuck.

Walking in on someone changing once is an accident, twice okay, but three times? Yeah, no, she’s just a fucking creeper.

Makes sense, since she’s Missi’s best friend from her childhood.

Leaving the bedroom, I kicked the door closed, waking Missi from her nap.

“You’re such a dick,” she shouts, pissed off.

I don’t care. We have to leave here soon anyways, and I don’t want to deal with her bitching that she didn’t have enough time to get ready.

I can hear my father in his old room as I pass by. I hate how my life has gone so topsy-turvey in such a short amount of time. I’d kill to be back at the cheer house and away from here.

Having him back is like being a little kid again, just waiting for his mood to change and the abuse to begin. These days, I get attacked enough by Missi, though the bigger her stomach gets, the easier it is to evade her.