Page 58 of Lawton

From the floor, Brittney spoke. "Well, it sure as hell isn't me. I'm an awesome cock-sucker."

I turned to look at her. If I were sober, I might have a good response to that. But as it was, I turned back to Amber. She'd reached out for a pillow and was clutching it tight against her chest.

My voice was quiet. "Amber, it's not you."

Brittney leapt to her feet. "What?"

Through gritted teeth, I turned to Brittney and said, "And it's not you either."

My head was pounding, but I didn't think it was the booze. Not anymore.

It was everything else – the rattling of the windows, the girls in my room, the thought of Chloe with that douchebag, on just the other side of my fence.

Suddenly, I wanted to pack my stuff and leave for the night.

Who knows, maybe I would. Let the party play out without me. Tomorrow, I could figure things out.

On the bed, Amber gave another sniffle. "Then what is it?"

I let out a long breath. "I dunno."

"I know what it is," Brittney said. "It's dog girl." She smirked. "We saw her tonight, you know."

"What?" I shook my head. "Where?"

Brittney was still smirking. "At that diner place. She waited on us. And she was pretty rude, too, if you ask me."

Through the drunken haze, I recalled how Brittney had treated our waitress a few weeks earlier. "Rude?" I felt my blood pressure rise. "Her? Or you?"

"Not me." Brittney gave a mean little laugh. "Iwasn't the one who got fired tonight."

I stepped toward her. "What?"

Brittney shrank back. "Well, I'm just saying, she got in trouble." Her voice became sullen. "And she deserved it, too."

I turned to Amber. She was biting her lip again.

"Well?" I said.

Amber glanced away. "I don't know. We're notabsolutelysure she got fired."

"And besides," Brittney added, "it's not like she needs the money. I heard a couple of busboys talking. She's got this rich old guy who throws gobs of money at her."

I froze. An old guy? The douchebag? It had to be. I looked to Amber. "You hear that too?"

"Sort of." She gave another sniffle. "I guess he's a regular at the restaurant. They call him Bolger or something."

I let the name roll around in my brain. Bolger. It didn't match the guy at the fence. His name was Leo. Leo Bolger? Maybe.

In front of me, the girls exchanged a glance. Brittney looked triumphant. Amber looked worried. And that's when I knew, they'd beentryingto get Chloe fired.

What a couple of bitches. Even Amber. Yeah, she was nice enough at heart. But what did it matter if she let Brittney lead her along like a trained seal?

I strode toward the door. "You've got five minutes. Get dressed. And get out."

Amber's voice rang out behind me. "Wait!"

I turned to look. She was looking a little shell-shocked. "You're kickingbothof us out?"