Page 38 of The Secrets We Bury

Two: she can’t stand being ignored or treated like she’s inconsequential.

Three: she lives and breathes drama and attention.

The first and second go pretty much hand in hand, and the third is so obvious it’s sad. I sniff and cross my arms over my chest.

“Okay?” I tilt my head to the side. “And?”

She blusters, her chest pumping up and down. I can smell the vodka on her breath. My nose wrinkles as she stumbles forward and shoves a finger against my collarbone.

“You. Are. Useless. A waste of fucking breath. You’re a whore and?—”

I roll my eyes and reach up, grabbing ahold of her finger and twisting it. A scream echoes out of her throat as I use the momentum to bend her arm behind her back the way Cory taught me in our self-defense lessons. I shove upward and push her right up against the wall. To the right there’s an opening into the next room and everyone that was not-so-subtly listening in on the verbal battle has turned to witness the outcome. All sense of discretion goes out the window when things get physical.

“Let go of me!” Meg shrieks, bucking back against my hold as she screams. It’s not hard to take her wrist in one hand and lift upwards, past the middle of her back, until her screams of anger and embarrassment turn into those of pain.

There’s no alcohol in my veins, nothing but pure, unadulterated anger—the unfairness of how I’ve been treated by these people, by this whole fucking town—as I lean in. Megan fights and struggles, trapped between the wall and my body. She goes still when my breasts touch her back and my breath drifts across her ear.

“The more you yell and try to humiliate me,” I tell her. “The more everyone here sees how pathetic you truly are.”

Her gasp of outrage is a perfect symphony in my ears, but I’m not done.

“You can keep spouting your bullshit. Keep telling people how disgusting I am. How I can’t be trusted. I don’t care if they believe you or not. Do you want to know why?”

She shakes her head, her chin turning enough that I can see she’s cut off her screams by clenching her teeth together. I grip the back of her neck. “Ask me why.”

Meg denies my command by fighting back against me, shoving me back a step before I catch her and press her face first into the wall once more. My grip goes from constricting to painful. I’m going to leave bruises and I don’t give a fuck.

“Ask. Me. Why. Megan.”

“Why?” She barks out the word as if the faster she follows my order, the faster I’ll let her go. Does she think I’m going to release her and let her come after me? Fat chance of that happening. No. I’m going to make her understand that I’m done with her pathetic attempts to get to me.

“Because,” I tell her, letting my voice drop down low so only the two of us can hear it. “I don’t give a shit about the opinion of an inconsequential little bitch like you.”

“Juliet.” Lex’s low growl has me pushing off the girl in my grip. I release her and take a step back and just as I expected, Megan launches herself at me.

She’s all fire and drunken brazenness as she throws the first punch—one that I dodge easily enough. Lex curses and stomps towards us. People part, shying away from the clear anger on his face, but I smile as Megan whips around and dives towards me again. This time, I let her get close before I duck my head and grab her arm.

Using my hold on her, I bend her slightly and bring my knee up. All of the air in her lungs rushes out and she chokes, coughing as I slam it into her abdomen. I release her and she crumples to the floor.

“Juliet!” Lex is at my side a moment later, grabbing my arm. He swings me around and checks me over. “Are you okay?”

I laugh. “Are you kidding?” I shake my head. “I’m fine. Where’s my drink?”

He blinks.

“Did you forget?”

“I…” He jerks his head up as someone comes barreling into the room. I half expect it to be Gio or Nolan, but it’s not. Of all people, it’s Brandon Pillard.

He looks a little thinner than he used to, the sharpness of his jawline even more pronounced. Interestingly enough, white bandages peek out from beneath his long-sleeved button-up.What had Lindsey said? That Bran got hurt at the charity game? Bran’s forehead pinches tight as he takes in the scene before him. A circle of people surrounding me and a girl who’s gagging out gasping breaths on her hands and knees on the ground. Then, he lifts his head and scowls at me.

“Are you seriously attacking people now?” Bran demands. “After all you’ve done?”

“AllI’vedone?” My brows shoot up. Lex is stiff at my side. He doesn’t say or do anything until I shake off his hands and take a step towards my ex.

“Baby.Don’t.”

Bran deliberately ignores Lex and returns my attention with a glare of his own. “Avery’s gone,” he snaps.