Page 128 of Hurry Up And Wait

Game. Set. Match.

I had him where I wanted him. I could see it in his eyes. He knew if he wanted my support, he had to play ball. Now I just had to finish him off.

“I’ll be expecting the names of those involved with The Syndicate by tomorrow morning. Any later and I’m gone.”

31

ISLA

I laidon the couch popping Jujyfruits into my mouth as I watchedBridget Jones’s Diary.I felt so much like her right now. Alone and sad on New Year’s Eve. Except, it wasn’t New Year’s and my sister was in the other chair, trying not to cringe at my greasy hair and stained T-shirt. No, I had not showered all week. Or changed my clothes. Or brushed my teeth. I was a walking disaster.

One of my Jujyfruits fell to the floor and I brushed my fingers over the dusty wood, trying to find the missing candy. When I did, I wiped it off and popped it in my mouth.

“Okay, that’s it,” she said, slapping her hands on the arm of the chair. “I can’t take it anymore. This insanity has to stop.”

Curious, I looked over at her, flipping my matted hair out of the way so I could clearly see her. “What?”

“This!” she shouted, pointing at me. “I just watched you eat floor candy! Seriously, how much worse can this get?”

“Five-second rule,” I argued.

“And that would have been fine if you had eaten the candy you dropped.”

“I did!”

“No,” she said calmly. “You ate the candy you dropped last night that’s been sitting on the floor collecting dust!”

I would have grimaced at that, but…it tasted fine.

“Isles, seriously, girl, you have to stop this. Kavanaugh was a prick. He’s lower than a prick, okay? But you cannot sit around in your disgusting ten-day-old pajamas, watching television all day. You’re better than this.”

I didn’t feel better than this. I was sad and pathetic. And I wanted to be sad and pathetic while watchingBridget Jones.

“Christ,” Bowie muttered as he walked into the room. “Is she still in those pajamas?”

“Hey!” I chastised, feeling very judged.

He looked at Riley, shaking his head. “I can’t do this. I need a break from the smell. I’m calling IKE.”

“What?” I asked, sitting up suddenly.

“We’re getting out of here for the night. Let IKE deal with her.”

“You will do no such thing!” I demanded.

“Ooh, can we see a movie? Isla bailed on me last time.”

“Hey, I didn’t bail on you. I was five minutes late, and you still got popcorn!”

“Any movie you want. Hell, let’s make it a movie marathon. We’ll be gone until the theater closes. I don’t care if I have to sit through a fucking kids’ movie.”

“I am not that bad!” I insisted, lifting my arm to sniff. But I didn’t even have to raise my arm before the smell wafted toward my nose, completely grossing me out.

Riley rushed for the stairs. “I’ll get my stuff. You call IKE.”

“There’s no guarantee he’ll come over!” I stomped my foot. “He doesn’t even like me.”

“He’ll come when I tell him the state of…this,” he said, waving his arm down the length of my body.