“Don’t ‘mother fuck’ me, asshole. You’re the one who left her in your dad’s house. I’m the one who found her out here looking for you.”
Manny releases me. The two men stare each other down while I break away from looking at Cain to snap a dirty look at Emerald. Her sly smile lets me know all too well that she knows something I don’t.
I flash my best bitch grin right back at her. I hate this woman. She has Cain and I don’t, and if I didn’t want to get out of here so badly, I could very well kill her right now with my bare hands.
Emerald sidles up against him, her claws coming out like a vicious cat.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go party with everyone else. Unless you want to go back to your place? We can create our own party.”
I would love to say something crude to her, but Cain beats me to it.
“Enough, Emerald. We talked about this. We’re done here; now go find someone else’s bed to crawl into.”
Ouch.
“You can’t be serious right now? After what we just did in there, you’re going to cast me aside a-fucking-gain? You can’t do this, Cain. She doesn’t belong here. She will never fit in here. I mean, look at her. She looks like a high class whore! She’s a killjoy, a dead lay. You said so yourself,” she hisses like the nasty snake she is.
“We didn’t do jack shit, you lying bitch,” he says, turning on her.
Whatever. He probably did fuck her. I keep telling myself I don’t care, but the truth is, it hurts. More than I care to admit. However, this bitch and her words are more than I can stand. She’s desperate, and I can’t say I really blame her. But a dead lay? I’m far from a dead lay. Maybe I should remind him of all the blow jobs I’ve given him, how he used to tell me I could suck a nail out of a board! Knowing him, that was a lie, too.
And that’s the second time I’ve been called a whore since I stepped foot in this place. He must prefer whores over someone who would have always been only his. I can’t believe he would say something like that about me. What did I ever do to him for him to degrade me so spitefully? Moisture begins to build behind my eyes, but I won’t cry. Not in front of these two. Not ever.
She speaks the truth. I don’t belong here, which is why I want to leave. I can get my own protection. Hell, I’ll move clean across the country.
“What the hell kind of game are you playing at, Emerald? I’ve been nothing but honest with you from the very beginning. You’ve been nothing but a convenient fuck. And I sure as fuck have never spoken to you even once about Calla,” Cain snaps.
He takes hold of her by her arm, jerking her so hard I flinch, feeling the pain he is inflicting on her. I’m not one for abuse on any woman, no matter if I despise them or not. I go to step forward and I’m halted dead in my tracks by Manny.
“Leave him be, woman,” he barks in my ear as Cain’s voice escalates.
“I’m fucking warning you, bitch, for the last time. Get the hell out of my club and stay the hell away from me. And if I ever hear you spewing lies and bullshit about Calla again, I swear to Christ I will gut you.”
My insides start to crumble into a giant heap of shards. I should not have to stand here and endure this lovers’ quarrel. My world feels like it’s crashing down again. He’s talking about screwing her right in front of me. I couldn’t care less if he is defending me or not. Fuck them both.
“No!” screeches the hussy. “She is not going to come in here and take what’s mine!”
I don’t even see her coming until her fist connects with the side of my head, causing me to stumble backwards, nearly knocking both Manny and me to the ground.
One of the heels of my shoes breaks off and that’s it; these shoes are ruined. They’re one of my favorite pairs and were a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Henry when I graduated from college. I love these shoes. Now I am pissed.
“What the hell?” Cain and Manny holler out at the same time.