Reckless Karma (Sinners & Saints #2) (2 page)

           
I
look at my sister
—
right in the eye
—
and I lie. “I
promise.”

2

GABRIEL

           
“I
promise, you won’t get hurt,” I lie to a nervous Noel, who is holding a shiny
green apple on top of his head. I stand there, revolver in hand, ready to aim
and fire.

           
“I-I’m
not so sure about this, guys,” Noel says, sweat on his forehead, eyes closed, face
pale as a ghost.

           
“Well,
you should’ve thought about that before you lost the bet,” Chad mouths off next
to me.

           
We
bet Noel that he would be the last of us to sleep with Tracy Newman. He’s
always last. I point the colt .45 caliber revolver my grandfather gave me for
Christmas. It has been in our family for years. It’s black with gold engraved
decorations on it, including the family name Mandrake. I pride myself on
receiving this gun from my grandfather because he saw fit for me to have it,
not my father, and I remember when receiving it the jealous stare my own father
had for me. Pissing him off is almost as good as sex. We’re on the patio of our
own private boarding house owned by Ms. Eleanor, a crazed widow of many
husbands who’s made up of old money. I close one eye, the other focused on the
apple, and I can feel an anxious Chad waiting.

           
“Don’t.
Move.” I pull the trigger. The apple blows off of Noel’s head and falls to the
ground in pieces. My jaw drops and so does Chad’s. Noel is shaking and searching
for the air in his lungs.

           
“Holy
shit!” Chad says and tugs on my shoulder. “I thought you were gonna fucking
kill him.”

           
“So
did I.”

           
Noel
finally opens his eyes in shock. “What?!”

           
“I’m
just kidding.” Sort of.

           
I
like to play with death. It’s always fascinated me and when I was younger I
used to suffocate myself by tying one of my father’s ties around my neck. I
would tug so hard to see how long I could take it. To see if I could do it. If
I could go all the way. I always gave up once at a loss of breath.

           
“I
heard gun shots!” Ms. Eleanor yells from somewhere.

           
“It
was only the wind!” I yell back and, as predicted, she goes back to her Bloody
Mary and Latin lover of the month.

           
We
sit down and I throw a napkin at Noel to wipe off his sweat and juice from the
apple.

           
“Didn’t
think you had it in you, Noel,” Chad says lighting up a cigarette.

           
Noel
just gives him a look while wiping his face.

           
We
hear the door open and close, and it’s like magic as all three of us light up
and turn our head at the click of her heels coming our way.

           
“Hello
boys.”

           
“Good
day, Scarlett,” I say back. She grabs me by my chin, tilting my head back to
face her, and plants a sweet kiss on my lips.

           
“Where
have you been all night long?” Chad asks as she sits down between him and Noel.
She kisses them both on the cheek and I see the disappointment on their faces.
She only kisses me on the lips. Wherever we are, it is I who gets the privilege
of her display of affection. They hate that I’m her favorite.
 

           
“Out.”
I’m sure she was with one of her many lovers but she refuses to disclose. “What
have you idiots been up to?”

           
“The
usual male bonding,” I answer and glance at Noel, who is masking his true weak
self with a man of confidence, just enough for Scarlett. But she sees right through
it. I really don’t understand why she puts so much effort in him. Maybe because
he was the first to arrive before Chad and me? She had no choice but to embrace
him.

           
“Pour
me a drink, Chad.” Chad keeps his cigarette in his mouth and pours her vodka
and orange juice at the table. She huffs and notices the frustration in her
alluring grey eyes.

           
“What’s
got you wound up?” I ask.

           
“What
makes you think I’m wound up?” She and I both know that no one knows her better
than me. I grin and narrow my eyes, waiting for her to cave. She rolls her
eyes, smacking her lips.

           
“Fine.
If you must know, I still haven’t gotten over a certain incident.”

           
“What
incident?” Noel asks.

           
“She’s
still pissed that Karlie Dale was voted most likely to succeed and most beautiful.
Smartest. The most likable,” Chad lists on grinning. “I still can’t believe you
thought you would be voted for.”

           
“I
didn’t,” Scarlett sneers at him. “But… I don’t approve of her. Also she came to
a certain delicate flower’s rescue right after I informed everyone of her
recent Winona episode.”

           
“That
damn Sophie. She’s a virgin yet a klepto.” Chad was right. Sophie Lake was a
virgin and a girl who wouldn’t even curse, but when it came to make up and
clothes, she was as dirty as a pick pocket on the street. Obviously things were
not going well for her at home. Scarlett made it well known to everyone at
school, and just when Sophie was beginning to crack in the middle of American
History, Karlie Dale came to her rescue. She didn’t do much; she just gently
placed her hand over Sophie’s because their desks were right next to each
other. She gave her this bright smile, and personally I didn’t get it. What is
so special about Karlie Dale’s smile? Yeah, she’s hot, but I just don’t get it.

           
“I
don’t like her,” Scarlett announces.

           
“You
just don’t like her because everyone loves her and hates you,” I tell her and
her jaw twitches.

           
“Everyone
does love me… through fear, and personally I believe Karlie should hop on that
bandwagon.” There’s the sinister and gorgeous smile I love.

           
“You
thinking the usual?” Chad asks, the same smile plastered on his face.

           
“Is
there any other way?”

           
“I
will gladly do it for you,” Chad says. “Besides, I’ve never tasted chocolate.”

           
“As
much as I would want you to completely intrude your unethical bedroom
activities on her, Chad, you are not the right person for this. She needs
someone less sexist, less obvious coked-up bad boy, and less anti-Semitic.”

           
Chad
shrugged and Noel leaned in. “She needs someone kind.”

           
“Sorry,
Noel, but you’re out too.” She shuts him down quick. “She needs someone
charming. So charming. The perfect combination of passion and man. Someone not
weak. The guy every girl knows is trouble, but damn it if suicide isn’t
tempting.” She looks at me and grins. “Someone who can tame the virgin.”

           
“Well,”
I sigh placing my hands behind my head, “you do know how I love the demise of
the virtuous.”

           
“I
do… and this is going to be so fun for you.”

HUGO

I
knock on Juliet’s door and there isn’t a response. I open it and see she’s
sitting in her bed with her legs crossed, headphones plugged in her ears, eyes
closed, listening to whatever song on one of her playlists. Probably one for
when she’s upset.

           
“Juliet,”
I say a little louder, in case the music is too loud. She opens her eyes.

           
“Hey.”
She pulls out her headphones. “How are you?”

           
“I’m
sorry about earlier, but I just needed to calm my mind. It was just rambling
with all this new information.”

           
“I
gathered that.”

           
I
sit down on the edge of her bed. “It’s nothing personal.”

           
“Yeah.”

           
“What
I said earlier… agreeing with Karlie?”

           
“Yeah,”
she slurs. “That sort of felt personal.”

           
“I
didn’t mean it in a negative way.”

           
“I’ve
weakened you? I don’t see the positive.”

           
I
sigh and rub my temple and sit on the edge of the bed. “This is my first time
being empathetic towards one’s feelings. So just give me a break here.”

           
“Oh
excuse my girlish whining.” She stands up from the bed, moving towards her
window just to get away from me.

           
“I
just found out that most of my life has been a lie. Scarlett played me and I
let her because I was too busy
—
”

           
“Do
you regret us?” I sense the hurt in her voice.

“At
first I did… but then I realized that the way you make me feel is worth it.
Then I came to regret ever meeting Scarlett… I’m still trying to figure out the
answer to that, and the only possible one is that maybe if I hadn’t met her and
lived here and went through all this bullshit… I would never have met you.
Juliet, before I met you
—
before anything
—
my life was planned
out by my father. I would’ve been some poor sap in a suit doing what he’s told.
Instead I became the poor sap who never did what he was told unless it came to
her. She played me. Always.”

 
“You didn’t know how monstrous she could
be… but you knew she was manipulative. You knew that from the moment you met
her, Hugo. She didn’t fool you because you were naïve. She fooled you because
you wanted her to.”

           
“You’re
right.” I stand up and walk over to her. “You’re exactly right. I just want
Scarlett to pay… and I want answers. I want answers to everything. I want
answers from her. From Karlie. My dad. I’m angry. Angrier than I have ever
been, and I am really trying hard to not let that impact the pure connection I
have with you.”

           
“It’s
not that pure,” she smirks and I laugh a little. “I’m sorry. I understand and I
don’t know… maybe I’m really scared because I don’t want to lose you.”

           
“You’re
not gonna lose me.” I shake my head. “Why did you get Noel to confess to you?
Why did you drag my father from his tyranny desk and spew off demands at him?”

           
“Is
that a trick question?”

           
“Yeah.”
I move closer and place my hands on her waist. “It’s because no matter who I
am… you love me. And I love you. You’re not gonna lose me because I need you.”

           
But I might lose you.

           
“You won’t lose me,” she says and I just smile and
shake my head.

           
“How
did you know I was thinking that?”

           
“I’m
psychic, remember?”

           
“You
mean telepathic.”

           
“That’s
a psychic ability too, you twat.”

           
“If
I had a flower for every time I thought of you… I could walk through my garden
forever.”

           
Her
grin grows wide. “Quoting Tennyson, are we?”

           
“I’ve
kind of been missing our personal language.”

           
“I’m
not playing another quote game with you.”

           
“Why,
because you lost?”

           
“I
still can’t believe I couldn’t guess Dr. Seuss,” she murmurs remembering.

           
I
laugh. “See… I don’t laugh. But you bring it out.”

           
“I
can’t believe you don’t want to celebrate your bloody birthday.”

           
“I’ve
never been into my birthday. Neither has August. He hates them.”

           
“Why?”

           
“Because
they remind him of how old he will get and that he will die. That’s simple as
that for him.”

           
“Well
he is pretty simple and complex at the same time, and if all this wasn’t going
on I would certainly force you both into blowing out candles on a wonderful
cake. I love birthdays.”