Toxic Bad Boy (12 page)

Norah went to answer the
ringing phone. “See you Wednesday, Caleb!”

My mom wore a frown as we
walked to her car. “Have you talked to Gianna?”

“
Not discussing my
ex-girlfriend with my mom.” I put on my sunglasses. The sunny
weather was a direct contrast to my stormy mood. A glance at my
phone told me Gianna was still ignoring me.

My mom huffed in
frustration, but let it go.

I had her drop me off at
my car so I could go over to Hailey’s, texting that I was on my
way. Since Hailey’s parents were home, I’d be picking her up.
Hailey’s dad hated me and wasn’t afraid to let it be known. He
considered me one of her wild friends she partied with and a bad
influence on his daughter. It was a good thing he had no idea of
our past relationship as fuck buddies.

I could easily talk Hailey
into hooking up to relieve my need for sex. After puking my guts
out Friday night, I’d laid in bed all day yesterday, sick from
drinking and hurting over Gianna. If I was honest with myself, I
didn’t want any girl but her.

I wanted
my
girl.

It didn’t feel right she
now belonged to another guy.

And that was why I needed
a favor from Hailey.

She waited on the
sidewalk, smoking a cigarette and wearing a tank top and shorts.
Her hair was blond now instead of red and a lot longer. Pulling
open the passenger door to my Camaro, she hopped in. “How’s it
going, inmate 666?”

I started driving when a
car honked behind mine. “I’m a free man now.”

“
You on probation?” she
asked, flicking her ashes out the open window.

“
Until next year when I
turn eighteen.” That part sucked, but I’d do my best not to get
into trouble before then. “How about you?”

Her grin was smug. “I’m
too sneaky to get caught.”

“
Right
.” Her ass was always in
trouble.

“
So what are you doing
hitting me up when you could be with your perfect
Gianna?”

I clenched the clutch,
taking a turn too fast. “Maybe I missed you.”

Her bugged out and she
chuckled. “You got dumped!” The laughter got louder and more
obnoxious. “This is great! That prissy bitch dumped your ass the
moment you were sprung!”

I pulled into a gas
station, parking in front of the convenience store. “Shut up,
Hailey.”

“
I freaking told you!
Didn’t I tell you that bitch wouldn’t stick with you?” Her
cigarette flew out the window and she automatically reached into
her bag for the next one. Lighting two, she handed one to
me.

I took a drag, turning off
the car. “You’re the one acting like a bitch right now.”

She pouted, pretending at
commiseration. “Oh, I’m sorry, Caleb.”

“
Jesus Christ. Don’t
fucking say you’re sorry. I’m tired of hearing that shit from
people. Everyone is fucking sorry, even Gianna.”

“
So what happened?” Her
concern was almost genuine, but the lingering glee in her eyes
couldn’t be hidden.

Moving my gaze to the
windshield, I muttered, “She supposedly fell in love with her
friend, Gage.”

“
The one you were paying
to watch out for her?” Her expression was finally genuine as she
looked puzzled for a moment. The laughter renewed to the point of
tears. “You paid him to steal your girlfriend!”

“
I didn’t pay him,” I
clarified. “Ian did.”

“
Same thing!”

“
Do you want to quit?” I
asked as she wiped at her tears.

“
Fine, fine, I’m done. Now
what favor did you want, Caleb?” She leaned against me, her breasts
brushing my arm in invitation.

Not a twitch down below.
“I need you to have sex with someone.”

She pushed her body harder
against mine. “Feeling horny after months locked up?”

I pulled away, leaning
against the door. “Not me. Gage.”

Hailey reared back. “What
the hell?”

“
I’ll pay you,” I
offered.

Punching me on the arm,
she yelled. “Do I look like a hooker to you?”

“
Then will you do it for
free?”

She faced forward in her
seat, glaring through the windshield. “You’re such a jerk, Caleb.
No wonder Gianna broke up with you.”

“
I’m going to get her
back.” My determination grew stronger. I couldn’t live without her
and after months of hell I refused to accept it.

“
And that’s why you want
me to screw her new boyfriend? So she’ll come running back to you?
How pathetic can you get? She doesn’t want you anymore.”

“
I can make her love me
again.”

She pushed open the car
door. “I need Twinkies to deal with this.”

Following her into the
store, I got a soda. When my phone beeped, I yanked it out of my
jeans hoping it was Gianna. Dante had sent the text,
Cece is acting weird
.

Pulling out my wallet to
pay for our snacks, I texted back,
Did she
dump you for another dude?

Hell no, but she won’t
talk to me
.

Join the club. I’m with
Hailey. Call you later.

Later.

“
Who was that?” Hailey
asked as she tore open her Twinkies.

“
Dante.” I took a swig of
my soda and ate some cashews.

“
Haven’t seen him in
awhile. Is he still with that Mexican chick?”

“
Yeah.” Driving off, I
turned up the radio when a song I liked came on. “So, are you going
to do it?”

“
Dammit, Caleb! Let me
digest my Twinkies before you start trying to pimp me out. Is Gage
even hot?”

“
How would I know?” I
randomly cruised around, sticking to one way streets downtown. My
car was reflected in the mirrored windows of the skyscrapers we
passed. I drove by the building my dad worked in, thinking I should
meet him for lunch one day next week.

Her head swung my way.
“You wouldn’t cheat on Gianna. What makes you think this guy will?
Isn’t her twat made of twenty-four karat gold?”

I gripped the wheel,
trying to push down my rage at the thought of Gage touching what
belonged to me. “Will you do it or not, Hailey? If not, I need to
find someone else.”

She slouched in her seat,
her shorts riding up. “How much are you willing to pay?”

“
That’s my girl. Will two
hundred dollars be enough?”

Her arms crossed under her
chest, shoving up her breasts. “I’m clearly worth five
hundred.”

“
Three hundred. Final
offer.” I could probably find another girl to do it for less, but I
trusted Hailey to get the job done.

“
Deal.” She held out a
hand, wiggling her fingers. “I want a hundred up front whether
he’ll cheat on her or not.”

“
Hustler,” I mumbled,
pulling over to get out my wallet.

As I handed her the cash,
she surprised me by grabbing my wrist and sucking my index finger
into her mouth. “Are you sure you don’t want some? I’ll let you do
me however you want.”

Despite her protests, I’d
definitely come to the right slut. “Tempting,” I teased. “But I’m
saving myself for twenty-four karat pussy.”

“
Jerk.” She snatched the
money out of my hand, shoving it into her bag. “You’re lucky I’m
broke.”

“
We’ll have to figure out
a way for you to meet him when Gianna isn’t around.”

Hailey waved a hand at her
body. “What? You don’t think he’ll want this if the princess is
there for comparison?”

Well,
no
, but I wouldn’t say it aloud.
“It’ll have to be soon. I need my girl back.”

“
I need my girl back
,” Hailey
mimicked snidely. “Pathetic. Take me home before it rubs off on
me.”

I also wouldn’t say aloud
that nothing was more pathetic than turning tricks. “Sure
thing.”

After I got rid of Hailey,
I’d drive to Dante’s. If Cece was acting strange, it might have
something to do with Gianna.

GIANNA

I knocked on my bathroom
door from the outside. “You almost done?”

“
Almost!” Cece called from
inside.

Gathering the empty
bottles of Gatorade from my dresser, I tossed them into the
trashcan by my desk. One hand shook as I ran it through my hair. I
tried to appear calm as the bathroom door opened, but my mind was
freaking out for my best friend.

“
Well?” I
prompted.

Cece looked ready to burst
into tears. Rushing to her, I drew her into my arms. Her shorter
frame trembled against me. “It’s positive!”

“
Do you want me to go buy
another one?” I asked, knowing it was no use.

She sniffled. “No. I’m two
weeks late, Gianna. I don’t need another test to tell me I’m
pregnant.”

“
What do you want to
do?”

She shrugged, moving to
sit on my bed. “I don’t know. This is such a mess. I accepted the
invitation from the academy yesterday and now I’m knocked up. My
career will be over before it’s begun.”

“
So you’re going to have
the baby?” I asked, silently relieved she wasn’t thinking of an
abortion.

Her head dropped into her
hands. “I don’t know! I’m not ready to be a mom!”

“
Maybe you should talk to
Dante.”

Her head snapped up. “Not
yet! I have to decide what I want first.”

As much as I wanted my
friend to have her shot at becoming a professional ballerina, I
didn’t like the idea of her getting rid of the baby. She and Dante
would have the most adorable baby.

Sitting on the bed next to
her, I put an arm around her shoulders. Her glassy brown eyes
pleaded with me for advice. As if I were in any position to give
it. My own life was a different brand of disaster.

“
How about you take a few
days to think about it? Do some research about your options. I’ll
even go with you to Planned Parenthood, if you want.”

“
Am I a bad person if I
get an abortion? We’re Catholic. My parents would kill me.” Tears
streamed down her face, making her mascara run.

I brushed her unruly hair
away from her face. “You don’t have to tell your parents, Cece. But
Dante has a right to know, no matter what you choose.”

“
I suppose, but I’m afraid
to tell him, Gianna. We’ve been together for almost a year, but
we’ve never talked about this type of stuff.”

“
He loves you,” I assured her.
“He’ll do the right thing.”

“
Don’t change on me. Don’t
extort me unless you intend to do it forever.”

-Tupac Shakur

CALEB

The football player stood
menacingly over the cheerleader in her matching blue and gold
uniform. Her eyes were closed, her face covered in blood. She
resembled a broken doll, sprawled out on the hard floor. The
football player’s eyes were wild, his face twisted in
uncontrollable anger, his fists clenched as if to inflict more
pain.

I squeezed my eyes shut
against the image. I hadn’t been there at that exact moment, when
Josh had hurt the girl I loved, but it was etched in my mind
nonetheless.

Setting down my
paintbrush, I stepped away from the painting.

I hated it.

I hadn’t realized how much
I’d despise it until it was finished. Jim was expecting me to
deliver it to him next week. After working on it furiously over the
past two days, I’d completed it sooner than he’d
anticipated.

I had to get out of here
before I burned the thing.

Grabbing my keys and
tugging a t-shirt over my head as I pushed my feet into a pair of
unlaced Converse, I locked the apartment door behind me. It was
Tuesday evening and the summer sun was just beginning to lower in
the sky.

I slipped on the
sunglasses I kept in my car as I pulled out of the parking garage.
I needed food. My mom had been at work all day and I hadn’t eaten
since lunch when I had a sandwich and chips. I was tempted to go to
my favorite diner, but the last time I’d been there had been with
Gianna. I swung by a drive-thru instead, getting a hamburger and
fries.

I’d resisted for four days
since getting out of juvie, but I couldn’t any longer. Entering the
address I’d memorized while locked up into my phone’s GPS, I got
directions to Gianna’s dad’s house.

It was only twenty minutes
from downtown, in an area of Englewood I was vaguely familiar with.
Swallowing my food without really tasting it, I washed it down with
soda and got onto the freeway.

Their house wasn’t far
from the Denver Tech Center and Fiddler’s Green, where I’d been to
a few concerts. Normally in the summer, I’d have tickets for
concerts at Red Rocks, Pepsi Center and Fiddler’s Green. Sometimes
even at the seedier venues downtown.