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He stops in front of e "That stuff that I gave you the other night" His paranoid gaze darts around the parking lot, to theback on ave it to you to hold for uard it like it was your life until I needed it again And I want it back now"

Fucking shit God dammit Why? Why? Why? How do I always end up in these ers, feeling tense because I knohatever I say isn’t going to ht and I honestly can’t re that happened"

He blinks confusedly "So… Where are"Gone"

His eyelids lower as he narrows his eyes while his hand stops scratching and balls into a tight fist "Gone where?"

"Probably in the sewer syste if Nova and Quinton are ho this scene unfold If they are, they probably think I’s, like I used to do all the time

He inches toward me, and part of me wants to match his move, intimidate his scrawny crackhead ass Then I re disputes All thosemy ass beat and I wasn’t happy And while I’ht now, I feel decent after spending ti yet, so I decide to try to smooth the situation over, be smart for once

"I can pay you for it," I tell hih I have hardly any

His expression darkens "Five hundred"

I laugh in his face "No way in hell was there five hundred dollars worth of crystal in that bag"

"Call it interest for being a pain in my ass" He smirks, his teeth stained and cracked

Did I look and ss?

"You know, I’radually inch toward hi it’s ti this assle five hundred dollars Nor do I have that kind of cash

"I’ for the drugs back or the ?"

"Ever heard the na naive you three days to giveto tell Skulls and to collect froers back to his room

Part of me wants to chase him down and beat his ass, but I’m too sober to react so irrationally So I just watch hi how I get myself into these messes even when I’m blackout drunk

Chapter 20

When it storms, I want to curl up and cryafter I made the weird friendship pact with Tristan, I ride the bus ho out of my element I’ve spent so much time alone and now I’ve welcoer, I can handle Confused, sure Stressed, of course--I’m that every day But weird just baffles me because it isn’t even a real emotion It’s like a placeholder for how I really feel

"What do you do when you feel weird?" I ask Jax as I enter the house and tossonto the end table It’s just after ten o’clock and I reek of beer and hot wings There is grease in my hair and I have double vision froht at work Really, really long

Jax looks co the television When I shut the door behind me, he picks up the remote and turns down the volume

"That’s a random question," he says as he sets the remote down on the armrest

"Yeah, I know" I kick off my shoes in the foyer, pick up the small stack of mail from the coffee table, and sink into the ar weird now and I don’t want to feel weird"

"Weird over what?" He yawns as he stretches his aruy you want to help?"

"Maybe" I sort through the envelopes, frowning when I corind my teeth as I tear open the envelope I already knohat it is, but reading it still feels like a kick in the sto the last few months Conner and I were married, he took out a couple of credit cards in my name and maxed theone nowhere and by the ti off the debt, I was already behind Interest and fees had been tacked on and while I’ve been on top of paying them off, I missed a payment last month because the Jeep needed new tires I wince when I see that on top of tenty-five dollar monthly payments, I now have to pay a thirty-five dollar late fee and the interest has gone up

"Everything okay?" Jax asks with concern

I distractedly look up fro to be sick" He points at the papers in " I tuck the bill back into the envelope and move it to the bottom of the stack "Just a bill"

"What kind of bill?"

"Just a regular one"

Shaking his head, he sluht we talked about this I can’t help you unless you tell me what it is you need help with"

"Jax, I swear it’s nothing," I tell him because I don’t want to talk about bills with hih the water bill, electric, insurance, and only relax when I reach the last envelope, open it up, and find that it’s a birthday card for me My birthday’s not for a week, but this card is probably the only one I’ll get

"Oh, lookie" I wave the card around in the air to be silly "The dentist sent et up and cross the roo the birthday card on the shelf next to a portrait of Mason, Jax, and I hanging out at the beach

"Avery, you know they send those out to all their clients, right?" Jax reaches for a can of soda on the coffee table "It’s al a flier in theon my parade?" I fake frown "This is probably the only card I’ll get and I want to appreciate the fact that someone took the time to send it, even if it was part of their job description"