Sinners & Saints (Sinners & Saints #1) (40 page)

28

HUGO

We carry the last of our luggage to the
cars. I hurry back upstairs to my room. I take notice of Jordana’s mood.
Probably trouble in paradise with Margaret.

           
“Hey
Jordana, can I borrow your Gemini bracelet?” Poppy asks her once we get
outside. Jordana looks at Poppy’s wrist and glares. “Why bother asking? You
already have it on.”

           
“I
just wanted to see what it looked like. Why do they call it a Gemini bracelet
anyway?”

           
“For
Christ sakes, Poppy!” We all pause and Juliet and I eye each other in
confusion. “Must I always help your pubescent and hollow mind? Fuck! You can be
so stupid!”

           
Jordana
hurries back in and Juliet rubs Poppy’s shoulder. “Hey, Hugo, why don’t you
take Poppy back with you and Cody and Jordana and I will ride back in the limo
with the bags?”

           
I
give her a look. My newfound way does not want me to be apart from Juliet. She
moves closely as Poppy masks a happy smile over her hurt feelings. “Maybe you
could talk to Poppy?”

           
“Are
you serious? Me? I wanted us to ride back together… alone.”

           
She
moans out a laugh and presses her hands against my chest. “That sounds very
wonderful, but…” I sigh. “When a girl’s in need, you have to intervene. Girls
got to stick together.”

           
“I’m
not a girl.”

           
“But
you know them so well, don’t you?” She winks at me then quickly kisses me on
the cheek. She hurries back in before I protest and I shake my head.

           
“Come
on, Poppy,” I say to her and she follows, but there is no way that I am going
to become Poppy’s therapist.

JULIET

I find Jordana roughly stuffing the
rest of her stuff in her duffel bag.

           
“What
did Saint Laurent ever do to you?”

           
She
faces me and forces a smile. “I don’t have time for this shit, Juliet.”

           
“Do
you want to talk about it?”

           
“No.”
I sit on her bed and watch as she zips it up and throws it on the floor. She
runs her fingers through her hair. “Not everyone can take chances like you,
Juliet.”

           
“You
know… just because I have learned to easily take chances does not make me
invincible. Last night… Hugo and I did something… magical. It’s just sex to
most, but when it’s with someone you care for… it’s always more and the more
you dive deep into someone you care for, the more scared you get and the more
risk you are in of getting hurt. I could be doomed… I could be not.”

           
“Well
I took a chance and it was the wrong one.”

           
“Taking
a chance with love is never a wrong one. It’s sometimes the right type of
gamble. Either way you learn from it.”

           
Jordana
starts to choke up and tears fall. “I don’t do this. I don’t cry.” She sits on
the bed next to me and sinks her head into her hands. I wrap my arm around her
and bring her head to my shoulder.

           
“Those
who don’t cry are those who will eventually.”

CHAD

I like to see women cry. I like to see
them cry and beg. I’m a fucked up person.

           
“Chad!”
Scarlett has a key to my apartment. She just strolls in whenever she wants to.
I must admit I like that. I love and hate her. She is my thorn that I love to
press my thumb on every time no matter how much I bleed. She knows all my dark
secrets. She knows everyone’s. None of us know hers really. Well, sweet Gabriel
did… and he’s dead.

           
“What
do you want?” I ask her still staring at the television. She doesn’t answer. I
look up and see her staring at the wall. She looks pissed, but in a calm way.
Pissed and calm is the one thing you do not want to see Scarlett as. “Yo
Scarlett.” I snap my fingers.

           
“Do
you know what animal I have always been fond of, Chad?”

           
“Let
me guess… a female dog.”

           
She
laughs a little and looks at me. “A black heron.”

           
“I
have no idea what that is.”

           
“Of
course you don’t. It’s rarely spoken of. It’s an African water bird. It has
this way of catching its prey. It’s called canopy feeding. You see they have
the ability to bring night during the day. They hunch over and form wings into
a form of an umbrella, you can call it. It blocks out the sunlight and allows
them to seek out their prey. The fish are given a somewhat false sense of
security and comfort. They think it’s probably night or they have discovered an
area of shade where they can hide from those nasty black herons. Fish just come
into their view and when they think it’s safe they are stabbed by the beak of
the black heron.”

           
“Brutal.”

           
“Yes,”
she slowly smiles. “Brutal it is. I love it when there is a false sense of
hope, where they think it’s going to be alright and then in an instant that
hope is taken away.”

           
“This
must have something to do with Hugo and that Rebecca girl.”

           
“Yes,
it does.”

           
“I
was hoping she wasn’t a waste.”

           
“No,
she wasn’t. Hugo is… happy. I intend to destroy that.”

           
“Scarlett,
did your psychiatrist ever diagnose you?”

           
“It
was a mixture of the usual. Narcissistic personality disorder. Borderline
sociopath. He wrote it off as anxiety after our little rendezvous… and the
pictures of the young girls in his desk drawer,” she smirks.

           
“God,
you are insanely a goddess.”

           
“And
I intend to keep it that way. So are you with me? Or do I have to pay a visit
to the police department, telling them you were actually the one that raped
poor Rebecca?”

           
“I
could easily say that you were in charge, you bitch.”

           
“Yes,
you could. God forbid they believe me, a poor little rich girl, over a drug
addict,” she says, dryly. “Either way, Chad… you go down. Your life becomes
worse than it is now. Your father will only spit on you and say that he was
right the whole time. He was right that you were shit. But if you help me… I’ll
get you help. I’ll have Patrick even get you a job. I’ll make sure that you get
clean and inherit the fortune that is yours.”

           
I
shrug, “Okay. What do you need me to do?”

           
She
smiles broadly. “Did you know I still had a key to Ms. Eleanor’s place?”

HUGO

When Poppy and I get back she runs
straight to her room. I know Poppy is going to probably snort her pain away but
a voice in my head tells me to stop her. It is Juliet’s. I walk into Poppy’s
pink room and head for the bathroom. She is cutting up the white powder with
her gold card. Poetic.

           
“Poppy,”
I say and she looks up at me from the floor, tears streaming down her face.
“What are you doing?”

           
“I
just want to be happy.” She speaks in her childish tone and it is genuine. Most
people think Poppy’s childlike mind is all an act. “It will all be okay once I
just relax a little.”

           
I
walk over and grab her hand that holds the rolled up paper. I remove it from
her delicate fingers and place it on top of the mirror with the coke and the
gold card. I sit down next to her leaning against the tub. “I know everyone
thinks I’m dumb… I guess am, but… I hurt too. I hurt all the time actually. I
sometimes wish I was ugly because my mom would like me more if I was. She might
even would love me.”

           
“Poppy…
your mother is a washed up gold digger who is unhappy all because her sole
purpose in life was to do the impossible. Be young and beautiful forever.”

           
She
sighs. “I know… but she’s still my mom. No matter what they do, they’re still
the people who brought us into this world and it’s just natural for us to love
them and want to be loved by them.”

           
“Speak
for yourself.”

           
She
giggles. “I may not know a lot of things, Hugo… but sometimes I do know people.
At the end of the day, people are people.”

           
“Thank
you for that riveting revelation.”

           
She
smiles to herself and lays her head on my shoulder. I almost smile at that.

           
“Thank
you for saving me again from being a stereotypical rich girl.”

           
“I
think we have more to do until we save you from that.”

           
She
laughs and I do too. She rubs my forearm. “I’m so glad you’re not an asshole
anymore… well half of one anyway.”
           
“Don’t
ever repeat this… but me too.”

           
“Aw,
well isn’t this cozy.” We look up to see Jordana, Cody, and Juliet staring at
us smiling.

           
“Never
thought to see the day,” Cody says. “Hugo, the savior.”

           
Poppy
and I stand up and Jordana approaches her. “Sorry, I was a bitch.”

           
Poppy
shrugs. “Bitches be trippin.”

           
We
all stare at her for a moment before laughing.

           
“What
goes on in that head of yours?” Jordana asks.

           
“Her
wisdom,” I say and Poppy smiles at me, proud of her newfound sense of respect,
I suppose.

           
“So,”
Jordana claps her hands. “I decided that we should do something fun today in
honor of Poppy. Music Festival today and we should attend.”

           
Poppy
screams in joy and Cody insists on bringing Anika.

           
“No,”
I say flatly and shake my head.

           
“Why
not?” Juliet asks me.

           
“I
hate festivals. It’s filled with sweaty overcrowded people. It’s fully
congested.”

           
“You’re
going,” Juliet says, crossing her arms.

           
“No,
I’m not.”

           
“Yes,
you are.”

           
“Aw,
lovers’ quarrel,” Jordana says.

           
I
flip her off and Juliet grabs my wrist and I follow her to her room.

           
She
grabs me by my face and kisses me hard. I return and it is as if we have been
apart for years. We come up for air and I can’t help but to smile at her.

           
“I
missed you,” she whispers.

           
“I
miss you too, which is why we should just stay here while everyone goes to the
festival.”

           
She
tilts her head to the side smiling in thought of the very vulgar things we
could be doing. “As rewarding as that would be, I think we should go to the
festival.” She wraps her arms around my shoulder. “And then if you pretend very
well that you are having a very, very fantastic time… I will reward you for
your behavior.”

           
“Reward
me?” I smile mischievously. “I must say, Ms. Spears, you truly have become a
master at persuasion.”

           
“Thank
you.” I lean in for a kiss, but she presses her fingertips against my lips,
stopping me. “You have something you need to do first.”

           
I
know what she means. I am ready for what she means.

I enter my brother’s room. He is
working on another maze.

           
“August.”
I snap my fingers to get him out of his daze. He drops the chalk and faces me.
“I need to tell you something.”

           
He
stares down at his feet, scratching the top of his head.