Page 4

Chapter

Four

PIPER

If someone asked me about my ex-crush, I’d say, “Tarin who?”

Honestly, what was I thinking? She’s not even that cute. I hadn’t given her another thought after waking up from my haze. It’s good she blocked me. I’m over her.

In fact, most of the weekend, I thought more about that daddy’s dick than anything. And I’m not much of one to consider men. Especially not growly, alphaholes who think I should get on my knees for them just for having a cock. He can’t control me.

Applying a smooth layer of purple lipstick, I tug on a long, orange cardigan over my painted, wide, flared jeans. Freckles curls on his back in his sunny spot on the windowsill, ignoring my morning routine in favor of sleeping in. After filling his dishes, I smirk and say goodbye, but he just ignores me. Spotting my collection of hats on the rack, I decide at the last minute to throw on a checkered beret and head out the door.

With the crisp fall air, everything seems new. College kids are walking downtown toward campus for their early classes and the stores are opening their doors. The smells of warm sunshine and wet leaves give the aroma of a fresh start. I love this time of year.

Bopping into the Rainy Day bookstore, I can’t help but smile at the new autumn coffee menu, including pumpkin spice lattes. Maggie’s long brown ponytail whips around as she makes espressos and steams up milk for the customers in line. Her gaze lifts to catch me, and she holds up an empty paper cup, pointing to the chalk drawing of a pumpkin on the sign. I nod and give her a broad smile, which she doesn’t return.

Fine. So I burned her Steve Maddens after the last time she left them at my place, saying we were over. But then she let me finger her in the back of The Warehouse. I thought we were back on by now.

When I get to the counter, I let my lashes flutter a bit and lean over to get a pretend peek at the pastries. “Mm, these look good.”

Her lips are firm as she snaps out, “I’m making you a latte, and that’s all I can do for you today, Piper.”

A little laugh bubbles up from my chest. “Come on! Are you still mad about those platform sneakers? They were ugly as fuck anyway. Don’t be that way.”

She rolls her eyes and turns around to make my drink.

“Maggie.”

Ignoring me, she continues to steam the milk and even turns up the steam.

But I just increase my volume. “Maggie!”

“Come on, lady. You’re holding up the line.”

“Hurry up!”

A couple of people behind me grumble complaints. Turning around, I open my mouth to tell them all to shut up, but the absolute tower of a man standing behind me makes me lose my breath. His face is contorted with so much anger that I trip backwards into the cash register. With a snarl on his lip, his cavernous brown eyes stare me down with disgust. I can’t form words to snap back at him, but I want to. The curse about it is…he’s insanely attractive.

He wasn’t the one to say something, but he looks like he’s about to. “Hold your fucking horses,” I say, but instead of making it sound cute, it’s like a hesitating whisper of anxiety.

“Here. I’ll put it on your tab, but Bob wants you to pay it by the end of this month or no more free coffees, Piper.” Maggie gets my attention back to her, and I flash her a flush-cheeked smile.

When I’m about to ask her out again, Bob pops his head through the metal swinging door to the kitchen and yells, “I mean it, Piper!”

Swallowing my annoyance, I walk away with my coffee, but not without keeping someone’s attention. The giant continues to give me the evil eye as I skirt away from the crowd, who look relieved that I’m leaving. My stomach twists in a knot when I see my mother and sister sitting in a booth by the door. Practically squatting behind the planters that divide the ordering line from the dining area, I try to duck and walk by without them seeing.

“Piper, darling? What in the world are you doing?” My mother’s high-pitched, irritated voice calls me out.

Everyone at the back of the line turns around to gape at me. Shaking my shoulders back, I straighten up and divert my steps toward them. “Oh, I didn’t see you there. Hi.”

With a heavy sigh, my sister rolls her eyes while sipping her coffee mug. She’s always careful not to damage her perfect makeup, a mannerism she learned from our mother. Both look like news anchors in their ridiculous navy pant suits, with nearly identical blonde hair styled into perfect waves around their faces.

I slide into a seat across from their booth as they both give me looks of utter disappointment. Maeve squints her eyes at my mouth, then sneers. “Purple lipstick? Ugh…” I give her a nasty look back. She ignores me and turns to our mother. “Anyway, like I was saying, Omega are voting on bids this weekend, so I can’t make it. And Sean and I are celebrating our three-month anniversary, if all goes well.” My sister taps her pink-polished fingernails on the table.

“How is boring Sean?”

She tosses her shiny locks over a shoulder and sits up straighter, keeping her unamused expression intact. “He’s just fine. How’s your prostitution going?”

My jaw drops at her insinuation, and the heat rises in my gut as my fist curls, ready for a punch. “Even if I were making money that way?—”

Slapping her long fingers between our cups of coffee, my mother narrows her eyes and lowers her voice. “You two need to stop . We are in public . Act like you have some manners .” She grits out the last word of every sentence for emphasis. It’s like we’re children again any time we’re together.

Being the pink sheep of the family has its disadvantages. For one, the only thing these two care about is how things appear , not how they actually are. Second, they still try to force me to get along with them and attend family functions. I’d rather set their houses on fire.

Maeve’s greatest achievement in life after becoming Omega Nu Epsilon’s president (where you find “ The One” ) is landing Sean Harrison. Not only is he that boring type of dimpled conventionally attractive specimen and a proud virgin, practically teaching incels on campus to cage their dicks. He’s also the son of the prominently tenured Poli-Sci professor, Mr. Harrison. And Maeve is determined to be President Sean Harrison’s first lady someday.

Worse than all that, my mother encourages this behavior. Except one thing: Maeve has recently had a weird itch to get my parents back together, claiming that divorce is a stain on our family’s legacy. I’m sure that’s coming from Sean’s warped brain and Maeve’s need to please her closeted gay boyfriend.

Maybe she doesn’t remember the horrific battles they fought while together, but I sure as hell haven’t forgotten. All the affairs. The times he swore he would kill her. And those nights I’d lie in bed planning to Lizzie Borden my entire family.

No one has ever believed me. No one has ever believed in me. If I brought up what life was like there in our perfect suburban home, it didn’t make sense to their little brains. Not with how presentable everyone thought the Hendricks were. So well-mannered and polite.

It’s always been Piper’s attitude that’s the problem. My inability to sit still or to throw a tantrum when they’d try to fit me into outfits like my sister’s. Hiding when it was time to curl my hair. So violent when they’d accuse me of making things up…

I grow my lack of conformity to be a thorn in their side.

Changing the topic, Maeve smiles sweetly and asks, “So, have you given more thought to inviting Dad out for coffee? I think he enjoys this place. He told me he’d like to come here.”

I scoff, and she snaps her green eyes to mine.

My mother ignores us both and sips her coffee delicately. And like a true gossip, she says so nonchalantly, “I’m sure your father is busy with other interests. Like brunettes with bad boob jobs.”

Maeve’s jaw clenches, and through her perfectly veneered white teeth, she tries to maintain a polite tone. “That’s why I’m saying, Mother , that maybe it’s time to get him away from those distractions.”

Unfortunately, Cora Hendricks sees every other woman my dad has fucked as some type of direct competition to getting everything she wants. Instead of immediately realizing what a bad idea this is, she looks as if she’s considering it. My stomach rolls from not just the latte ( Did Maggie poison this? ), but from the look on my mother’s face. One of conniving determination.

“I have to go to work. I don’t want to be late.” Pushing my chair back, neither bids me a goodbye, nestling their heads together to devise some type of scheme I want no part of.

Just as I pull out my phone to text my father a warning, I run smack into the titan that was standing behind me in line. He huffs and stands back, a grumpy scowl coating his face. With a wave of his hand, he flicks it toward the door. “Please. After you .”

There’s something oddly familiar about him, and it makes my belly ache worse than being around my family. Looking straight ahead, I rush past him and out the door, my phone buzzing from a text.

Dad

Your mother just can’t handle that I’m happy now.

Hurrying toward the library, I try not to trip on some wayward cracks in the pavement and make it to the back door to open it just in time for my shift. Another text pops up when I check the time on my phone.

Dad

She’s a complete fucking bitch like that.

Once I’ve clocked in and settled behind the desk to go through the returns, I punch Essa’s number and put it on speaker. “Hey, pretty lady! So when am I meeting this handsome porn cock boyfriend of yours?”

My best friend’s giggly laugh takes the stresses of the morning away immediately. “How about you come over for dinner tonight? You can meet him then.”

“Perfect. I’ll bring some cookies for dessert!”