Page 26 of Torn
“Aren’t you supposed to be napping?”
“I couldn’t sleep. And I felt bad for making you drive around last night, so I wanted to make it up to you by cleaning.”
Shaking my head, I cross the kitchen to the sink and remove my sterling silver rings, revealing bloody knuckles underneath. I douse my hand with dish soap, wincing at the sting, and rinse with warm water.
“What happened?” She’s next to me now, peering into the sink at my hand, and then up at my face. “You’re bleeding. And you have a cut on your head.” She lightly touches my forehead.
“I hit the guy with the dogs.”
She pulls about two feet of paper towels off the roll and hands it to me. “The dogfighting guy?”
“Yeah. We got the dogs, though. That’s all that matters.”
She crosses her arms and leans her hip against the counter. “I thought you weren’t going to hit people anymore after your stint in the clink?”
I glare at her. “Drop it. He deserved it.”
Ignoring me, she grabs my hand and inspects it. “You should put some antibiotic cream on this.”
“I will.”
“Want me to kiss it better like you used to do for me?” she teases.
Fuck yes.
Pulling my hand out of hers, I bite my tongue to make sure my thoughts don’t escape out of my mouth.
“Did you text or call your dad?” I ask, changing the subject. “I’m sure he’s wondering how your night went.”
“Yes. I told him the prom was boring and that I was at your house cleaning and making you dinner. Jason had the nerve to text me, do you believe that?”
My old friend anger has returned. “What the hell did he say?”
She follows me down the hall to the bathroom and watches me put ointment on my hand.
“He said he was sorry for being a douche.”
“He fucking should be.”
She chews her lip. “Chloe told me that Julie told her that while Jason was still drunk last night, he was telling everyone at the party that my porn star body was wasted on a prude like me and I was a big tease. I’m afraid everyone is talking about me now. So his apology doesn’t mean much.”
Porn star body?That’s it. Jason is going to eat my fist.
“Kenzi, he’s an asshole punk who’s pissed because he didn’t get laid. I bet everyone at the party was equally wasted. No one will even remember this in a few days.”
Her blinking watery eyes crush my heart. “I hate that people might be saying bad things about me. I don’t bother anyone; I’m nice to everyone. I just stay in my own little bubble. And they always find something to start with me about. First Dad’s band,then my mom, then having money, being too quiet, and now this. I can’t wait to graduate and get away from all of them.”
I stick a bandage over my knuckle, wishing I could put one on what’s hurting her, too. “They’re immature and jealous, Kenzi. Unfortunately, it won’t change much as you get older. There’s always going to be people who will treat us badly because they’re jealous or just unhappy with their own damn lives. You have to rise above it and do your best to ignore them and focus on your own life and happiness.” She gives me a sad little nod. “You’re a beautiful girl, Angel. You’re smart and you have a great personality. You have an awesome family that loves you, you have Chloe, and you’re getting a huge inheritance when you turn twenty-five. You can do whatever you want with your life. You’re going to be just fine, trust me.”
“What about you?”
I frown at her. “What about me?”
She runs her finger along the edge of the sink, her eyes following it intently. “You said I have my family and Chloe, but you didn’t mention you.”
“Oh.” I rub the back of my neck, unsure of what to say. “I’ll always be here for you. But you’re getting older now. I’m sure you’ll have a boyfriend soon who isn’t a dickhead. You’ll be doing your modeling and calligraphy and chasing after all your dreams, making new friends… all that stuff. You’re not going to be wanting to be hanging around with an old boring guy like me.”
“You’re not boring, Tor.”