30. Charli
CHARLI
Mac’s antics helped sober me up some, and now my brother’s idiotic behavior has fired another adrenaline shot through me.
Now I’m feeling close to coherent. A little buzz is still making my brain kind of heavy…
or is it light? Either way, I was steady enough to pull Nix away from Darian before she pummeled him with her tiny fists.
They may be small, but I’m guessing they can do some damage.
Her knee certainly made its power known.
Although, I have to admit that my brother kind of deserved that one.
Who the hell jumps on a woman with tweezers?
“Monobrow!” Nix is fuming. “He said I had a fucking monobrow in front of everyone!”
We’re standing in a downstairs bedroom, and she’s pacing from one side to the other.
I perch on the edge of the bed, letting her get this rage out of her system.
Storming to the mirror, she slaps her palms on either side of the dresser underneath it and studies her reflection. Running a petite finger over her eyebrows, she then spins to face me. “Do I seriously have a monobrow?”
“Of course not.” I jump up and walk to stand next to her. “My brother is an ass. He never should have said that.” I try to smile but I can’t hold it, because I’m kind of totally confused over why my brother would behave that way.
I mean, he’s obviously drunk off his ass, but still—too far, dude!
It’s unlike him to be that stupid. And after what Mac just pulled, I’m thinking this party needs to wrap the hell up. Things are getting out of control, and everyone needs to go to bed and sleep this off.
We can wake up in the morning with a fresh start and clear heads and—okay, so maybe not all heads will be clear, but things are always better in the morning, right?
“I’m so gonna get him back for this,” Nix seethes, glaring into the mirror like she’s making a promise to herself.
Yikes. That’s concerning. She looks like she wants to throttle him in his sleep.
“I really don’t get why he did that to you.” I run a hand through my hair, trying to keep my voice light and playful. Maybe that will soften her mood. “He must be so drunk.”
“That’s no excuse.” Nix spins to bark at me.
It’s more like a chihuahua yap, but it’s still intimidating.
I take a small step away from her.
“He had no right to treat me like that. Manhandle me, insult me.”
“I agree.” I start nodding, then stop because my head hurts. I really need to down like three gallons of water.
“Do you have any idea how infuriating it is to be small!”
“I think you made yourself pretty damn big out there. Darian’s gonna need to ice his balls.”
She lets out a hard, scoffing laugh. “It’s not enough. He humiliated me.” Her cheeks are turning from pink to red, and I feel like there’s more to this that she’s not saying.
“Is something going on between you two? Like, did something happen before that—”
“No, of course not!” She crosses her arms. “There is zero between me and your stupid brother. No feelings other than rage and contempt.”
She’s so lying right now. It was impossible to miss the spark buzzing between them on the car ride here.
“And he’s going to pay a high price for it!”
“Okay.” I raise my hands, trying to calm her down. She looks about ready to turn him into a eunuch. I might need to just get myself involved to protect both parties.
Forcing a smile, I rest my hands on her shoulders and give them a little squeeze.
“He deserves a little payback, and we’ll have a blast trying to come up with something good.
Let’s make it creative and epic and…” My slow brain is trying to churn with ideas but it’s too tired, so I settle for “I’m gonna sleep on it, and in the morning, we’ll have a brainstorming sesh. It’s going to be awesome.”
Nix lets out a half-hearted laugh, like I’m kind of appeasing her by getting on board with this thing.
And it will be fun.
Sawyer and I prank each other all the time, and it’s a blast.
Darian? Yeah, he’s not so much a fan of the whole pranking thing, but Nix does deserve a little payback, and I’ll help her come up with something that’s safe and funny and not too damaging.
I love both these people, and if I want her to move into the house with me, then we need to make sure this prank clears the air between them and doesn’t turn it into a raging battle.
“It’s got to make a point.” She clenches her jaw, which does nothing to ease my concerns.
“Exactly.” My mouth hurts from holding this smile. “It needs careful thought and consideration, and I’m a little too buzzed to be helpful right now, so let’s just have some water, take a chill pill, and come at this thing in the morning.”
Ugh, I’m sounding like my mother right now.
But it’s what I’ve got to do—keep Nix and Darian away from each other until everyone’s emotions are in check and the alcohol is out of our systems.
I can do that, right?
Nix bobs her head, starting to smile, then laugh.
I join her until that sweet giggle of hers turns into a maniacal cackle.
And I thought my villain laugh was bad.
“Okay. Sleep time.” I wrap my arm around her and lead her back toward the kitchen.
We’re gonna have some water, then go to bed.
And I’m going to make it my mission to stop any kind of nuclear meltdown from happening.