Sinners & Saints (Sinners & Saints #1) (29 page)

           
“Hello?”
It comes out as a sob.

           
“Hello,
rabbit.” My whole world comes back in place. Relief and tears explode out of me
at the sound of my father’s voice. He sounds ill, but happy.

           
“Papa!”
Oh, God, I haven’t called him Papa since I was a baby. “Are you okay?”

           
“Of
course. It was only due to stress, the doctors say. They say I have to eat
healthy and possibly take a holiday.”

           
“And
what did you say to that?”

           
“I
told them to piss off.” I laugh at his stubbornness. “But I’m sure your mother
will make sure I do exactly what they say. I feel her getting a dog collar
ready for me.”

           
“I
can come home,” I quickly say. “I’ll pack a bag and come home right now.”

           
“No…
Stay there. Don’t worry. I don’t need two women here hovering over me.”

           
“You
stubborn old fool.”

           
“Those
who are the most stubborn are the ones that can rise the highest.”

           
“Dad,
you seriously need to stop making up bullshit wisdom.”

           
“So
do you.”

           
I
laugh. “Rabbit sees, rabbit does.”

20

HUGO

“Hugo!” August yells at me as I come
downstairs. “Rabbit’s dad is alive!”

           
“Who
the fuck is rabbit?” I ask, but he continues running back downstairs.

           
Someone
hops right next to me and of course it is Juliet. Or should I say Rabbit.

           
She
smiles at me and folds her arms across her chest. “My dad’s okay.”

           
“I
heard. Congratulations.”

           
“Congratulations
on not being a one parent child?” She gives a crooked grin. “You are so not
good at giving compliments or just anything remotely human.”

           
“Don’t
push it. I’ve already crossed my boundaries.”

           
“Yes,”
she softly says to me. “You have.”

           
She
leans up unexpectedly and gently presses her lips against mine. I don’t know
what to do with myself when she does this. She steps back and so do I. Our eyes
lock and she looks at me like I’m amazing or something and I’m not. I can’t
even be arrogant about it. I start walking away.

           
“If
I had to go back to London… would you have missed me?”

           
I
stop, but I don’t turn around. I do unfortunately answer… in my own way.

           
“We
always miss the ones we hate the most.”

           
She
hooks her arm through mine and smiles up at me. “I’ll take that as a ‘Yes,
Juliet, I would deeply and madly miss you like crazy.’”

           
She
pulls me along with her and we head downstairs to the living room where Poppy,
Cody, Jordana, and August are.

           
“Hey
Hugo,” Cody says. “You ready to go?”

           
“Go
where?” I ask, confused.

           
“Remember?”
He gives me a look. “That thing you were going to help me with?”

           
“Oh,”
I snap my fingers. “The waitress you want to fuck.”

           
“What?!”
The girls freak in unison.

           
“That’s
not true!” Cody defends himself.

           
“So,
you don’t want to shag her?” Juliet mischievously asks with her arms still
hooked into mine and I find it both cute and comforting.

           
“No,
well…” Cody rolls his eyes. “Yeah, but not so graphic as the way Hugo puts it.”

           
“You
are such a virgin,” I say.

           
“She
works at the Le Amor,” Cody informs us.

           
“So
that’s why you always pick that restaurant when your parents visit,” Jordana
says.

           
“I
just need Hugo’s help in approaching her.”

           
“Awwww,”
Poppy melts.

           
“Well,
shall we make it a field trip?” Juliet suggests.

           
“Hell
yeah, I have to witness this.” Jordana stands up along with Poppy.

           
“No,
no way,” Cody protests, but clearly he’s no match for the women of this house.
Tell you the truth, I don’t know if I am anymore.

SCARLETT

I can’t help it sometimes. I loathe the
pretty and pure things. I feel the need to defile them and if it is done right,
the pure will create itself into beauty. Pure as in Patrick’s sister, Rebecca.
To add, nothing will satisfy me more than to get revenge on Patrick’s mother by
not only marrying her son but also destroying her sweet girl who is far from
innocent. Besides, Hugo hurt my feelings and when my feelings are hurt
something must be destroyed.

           
“Hey,
Rebecca,” I speak politely while she lies on her bed, focusing on her phone.

           
“What
do you want?” she rudely asks, still staring at her phone.

           
“I
just wanted to know if you would like some things from my closet. Things I
don’t have a need for anymore.”

           
“Hammy
downs?” She looks at me. How dare I offer sloppy seconds of fashion. What I’ve
learned though is when it comes to fashion and men, sloppy seconds is
forgivable. “Are you serious?”

           
“Yeah,
you’re right. I guess personal tailored Zac Posen, Coco Chanel, Gucci, and Dior
wouldn’t interest you. Your mother really never lets you wear certain things
anyway. She wants more of a Jaqueline Kennedy fashion ideal for her daughter
than a Marilyn.” Monroe is a trend for girls from pop art to the signature
white dress. Every young girl would choose to be Marilyn if they had to pick.
“She views them as improper for a sweet girl like you.”

           
She
sits up and sets her phone down for the first time since I met her. I leave and
hear her feet following me. I lead the way to my room and walk in closet.
Sitting on the white cushion stool, I watch as her mouth drops in awe at the
last year outfits I grew tired of. I only ever wear something twice.

           
“Oh
my God.” She pulls out a green halter top. Gucci, summer line. “Mom would freak
if I wore this.”

           
Of
course she would. A woman like that is too conservative and the problem with
being too strict and conservative as a parent is that there is a higher chance
of your kid being really stupid and letting me manipulate them. Some parents
unfortunately focus too much on making their children scholars that they miss
out on avoiding turning them into people with common sense on life.

           
“That’s
why we don’t tell our mothers everything,” I say to her amused.

           
“Not
me.” She rolls her eyes. “My mother has to know everything. My brothers were so
happy when they finally moved out and I can’t wait.” She looks at me and her
eyes are no longer looking at me with disapproval, more like she needs someone
to talk to. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my mother
—
she’s a good mom. She can just be a bit too… overbearing,
controlling. It’s like she doesn’t think I can think for myself sometimes.”

           
I
nod my head in understanding. “Rebecca, I know you aren’t fond of me because of
your mother’s disapproval, but I can relate to you when it comes to mothers. I
like to think that you and I could be great friends. Maybe even sisters. I
always wanted a sister.” I make sure not to use the word little. A girl like
her is tired of being treated like a little kid. Truth is… I never wanted a
little sister. Why would I want to share the attention?

           
“Mom
just wants what is best for Patrick and…” She looks at me with warning and
sympathy. “Your reputation is not of her standards.”

           
“I
know. I rebelled in my teen years because I was just tired of everyone telling
me what to do and how to do it. I wanted to just be a kid, have fun. Obviously,
you can understand that, right?”

           
She
shrugs and crosses her arms over her chest.

           
“Rebecca,
you don’t have to be alone with your feelings and I would never take Patrick
away from you. I know how close you are. I only want to be there for you like
he’s there for the both of us.”

           
She
studies me for a moment. Trying to see if she should take candy from a
stranger. And like clockwork, her smile strikes with trust and adoration for
me.

CODY

The girls just had to come. At least
August didn’t come, not because of how he is, of course. It’s because he likes
to tease me and one way he does that is by calling me a virgin out loud. We
pick a bigger table but still sit at her section. Juliet and Jordana sit next
to me while Poppy and Hugo sit across. I’ve come to notice a shift in Satan. He
likes Juliet
—
that is
obvious. Why she likes him? The hell if I know, but maybe he’s not as bad as I
thought. I’ve always seen Hugo as a sadistic ass, but maybe Juliet being here
has changed more than we expected.

           
“Is
that her?” Juliet asks me and I follow her gaze to Anika who is smiling at
customers, taking their orders. Her smile is as magnetic as usual.

           
“She’s
gorgeous,” Jordana comments while Juliet nods in agreement.

           
“Yeah
she is,” I agree.

           
“So
what’s your angle here?” Hugo asks me. Am I missing something here?

           
“I
thought that was your job to help me figure that out.”

           
“What
I don’t get is why you’re so scared,” Juliet says.

           
“I
don’t know,” I shrug. “I just kind of overthink things. I look at the bigger
picture.”

           
“Like
what?”

           
“Well,
for instance, my parents will never approve.”

           
“Why?”
Poppy asks before answering it herself. “Oh… it’s because she’s black, isn’t
it?”

           
“What
the hell, Poppy?” Jordana looks at her annoyed. “Cody is black.”

           
“That’s
questionable,” Hugo jokes.

           
“Ha-ha,
very funny,” I snarl. “But no, Poppy, not because she’s black. My parents both
come from well-established black families. They want me to marry someone of my
class; they make it very known the older I get. They already want me to marry
some girl from the richest black family in Charleston.”

           
“Oh
you mean the Halls,” Jordana answers.

           
“You
know them?”

           
“I
had a fling with one of the daughters in Aspen… hopefully not the one you’re
betrothed too. That would be awkward.”

           
We
all laugh. Leave it to Jordana to bed every debutant in the closet in the
world.

“Speaking of my gaydar, it is not
ringing for your girl there so you should definitely make your move fast
because she is hot,” Jordana says.

           
“Here
she comes!” Poppy
thinks
she is
whispering.

           
“Hello,
my name is Anika and I will be your waitress this afternoon. May I start you
with something to drink?”

           
“Hello,
Anika,” Hugo speaks smoothly. “My what a beautiful smile you have. Cody your
description doesn’t do her justice.”

           
I
almost fall on the floor. I glare at him while he still stares at Anika
—
no, scratch that
—
he is eye fucking the shit out of her.
I slowly turn my head up in her direction and to my surprise, she isn’t staring
at him. One word from Hugo, girls always stare at him even if it’s stupid.
She’s staring at me and smiling.

           
“Hello,”
I manage to get out.

           
“Hi…
Usually, I see you with your parents.”

           
“Yeah,”
I shrug nervously.

           
An
awkward silence and Anika’s smile turns into confusion, which leads to sweat
appearing on my forehead.

           
“Um…”
Juliet places her hand on my forearm. “If you don’t mind, Anika, could you give
us a moment to figure out what we want?”

           
“Um,”
She wonders why we’re freaking weird. “Sure.” She walks away from the table.

           
“She’s
going to take one last look, Cody, watch,” Juliet informs me and holy shit
she’s right. She looks at me. She is probably looking back because we are
idiots. I sink my head on the table closing my eyes shut.

           
“What
are you doing?” Hugo asks me as Juliet rubs my back.

           
“Dying,”
I mumble.

           
“Cody,
she looked back,” Juliet says and I sit back up scoffing.

           
“So
what? She did that because I am an idiot and Hugo didn’t help with his comment.
What was that?”

           
“That,
my young and deplorable soul, is called getting right to the point. What do you
think I do?”