Chapter 6

Let's hear from Edward!

Trigger warning check-in: underage drinking, mention of drug use, mentions of assault.

EDWARD POV

As we walk out the door and leave the girls to talk alone, I smack the back of Peter's neck ... hard.

I don't let go, either, using the leverage to drag his ass outside.

Lucky for him, he's not wearing a shirt or I would have yanked him up by his collar with the small hope that it would choke the shit out of him along the way.

Truth be told, I'm never sure what's going on with him and Angela, but I know how he gets when he's drinking.

As much as I try to stay out of it and let him do him, the shit they pulled today was lame. Adding to that, the way Angela looked when we walked in the room wasn't cool, either, and when I saw the look on Bella's face, it told me she was thinking the same thing I was thinking.

I want to say that it's none of my business what happens between Peter and his girl, but that hasn't worked so far in the past. Between him and Jared and my other boys, I'm fucking done turning the other way. 'Cause in the end, I still get dragged into their bullshit.

So, this time, if Peter put his hands on Angela, I'm definitely putting my hands on him.

And I know for a fact he doesn't know how to fight someone his own size.

"Start talking." I shove his shoulder.

He shakes his head. "I know what you're thinking, man, but it wasn't me. I swear!"

"Oh, yeah? Like the last few times."

He flinches at my words and all I could think is 'good.' I should have fucked him up before, but Angela is always so quick to forgive him that I let it go, too.

"It's not what you think. I gave Angela my word that would never happen to her again, and I meant it."

I guess.

"So, then, what happened?" I ask. "Why does she look like that?" The last time they got into a big fight, she came away with gnarly hand marks around her neck. This time, it was a bruise on the side of her face.

Poor girl.

"I honestly don't know because I wasn't there." He sighs, then steps closer to the parking lot.

I follow him, confused when he pulls out a cigarette and lighter from out of nowhere, lighting it and taking a long pull.

I want to ask him when he started smoking again. Or more how he manages to maintain a smoking habit, and run for practice and games like he does, but I don't.

"When she showed up at my house yesterday," he starts, making a weird face, before blowing out a puff of smoke. "She told me her dad hit her. But just now she told Bella her mom did it. So, I really don't know..."

"How'd she 'show up' at your house when ya'll both left the party together?"

He's shaking his head halfway through my sentence. "You were knocked out when I got back, but I did come back."

He did?

I scratch the back of my head, trying to remember. Not gonna lie, most of that party was a blur. I barely go to them anymore 'cause parties always breed too much drama for me these days. I was drunk off my ass by the time Bella and the girls got there—vaguely remembering that I'd lost a bet to Vicky which meant several rounds of shots of her choosing.

At one point, Bella appeared in the doorway and disappeared so quickly that I thought I'd imagined her being there. What with her also hating on parties now, too.

Understandably.

I'd almost convinced myself that maybe Vicky crushed something into my drink—I mean, that's how she takes her pills.

So, by the time Peter left his own party, and then Bella left too, I didn't know what to do with myself. Finding out she was going was half the reason I'd bothered showing up in the first place.

Resigned, I went back inside and had a few more drinks, for real this time, not just a beer, and waited until everyone left. I did fall asleep, but when I woke up, no one was there, so I took my ass home.

I don't remember seeing Pete's car in the driveway or Angela coming back at all, either. But really, I barely even remember how I made it home.

"Anyway, she said she got into a huge fight with her parents," Pete continues. "She told me that her dad called her all kinds of shit, then kicked her out."

He goes on to explain a long-convoluted story that I space out during, but the conclusion I come to in the end is that since he didn't hurt her and I do not have to fight my boy.

At least not today.

The same can't be said about Angela's dad, though. What a prick. No matter how much me and my dad bump heads, I can't imagine him ever kicking me out of the house.

"So, then what are you guys going to do now, stay here or?" I ask.

"I can't." Pete puts a hand to his chest, quickly. "And I mean, I guess she can't either, but..." He blows out a breath, his face turning up like he just smelled something sour. "This shouldn't even be my issue anymore. I'm not the one who got kicked out, and she broke up with me last week."

See what I mean about never knowing what's going on with those two?

I lose track of how long we stay outside. The conversation switching from this situation to school, then thanking God we didn't have practice today, and quickly focusing on what happened this weekend.

"You know Jessica hit me up last night?" He cracks a smile.

"Bullshit." I laugh even though it's not that funny. We all know those three girls are as thick as thieves, so whatever Jessica is up to, I'm not sure, but I want anything to do with it. And Peter is just plain old dumb for feeding into it, if you ask me. We have enough drama that just falls on our lap, I don't need to go looking for more.

He nods. "Yeah, Angela caught me texting her back and threw my shit against the wall." He slides his phone out of his pocket, showing me the smashed screen.

Shit, I doubt it can even turn on at this point. I know he's leaving something out. That thing is too banged up to have only been thrown against the wall once. But I'm not gonna push. This I can chalk up to really not being my business or my problem.

"Good luck with that, bro."

"I know, right," he laughs for a second, but then it dies out quickly when I notice him staring over my shoulder at something. "We should probably check on the girls," he starts.

I turn to check on his sudden shift and immediately realize why.

Shit.

We have no beef with anyone here, and in theory, neither should Angela or Bella. But with everything going on, I doubt she would want to run into Jared's brother.

"What up fellas." He nods to me and Peter. "It's been a while."

"That it has," Peter whispers from behind me, but in just those few words, the air becomes tense.

I almost forgot how massive this kid and his friends were, even being a couple of years younger than us. I really, really hope I'm right about there being no beef because ... shit, I might not have a problem fighting Peter, and I wouldn't back down here, either, but fuck. This wouldn't be a fair fight at all.

I don't know what to do or say, so I cross my arms over my chest, waiting. Something about this whole thing making me feel uneasy.

Still, I do the right thing and address him. "What's up, Jake?"