Page 12 of Stay Dangerous

“It’s rude to stare, Wyn.”

“You’re always getting beat up.”

Casey lifted his head and grinned, his eyes finally sliding to mine. He shifted until his arms circled his knees on the floor.

“You really think that?”

“Well, no… but you’re too cute to be having cuts on your face. And how are you gonna be Set It Off if it looks like they’re setting it off on you? Unless that’s what your new nickname means.”

That pulled a chuckle out of him. “On baby, you just be sayin’ shit.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, knowing that getting Casey to laugh isn’t why I came over here. “Where’s Auty?”

His smile left before he gestured toward the bathroom. “She just stopped crying.”

I sighed, dreading every step that led me to the bathroom.

The door was cracked, and when I opened it more, my heart leapt into my throat.

There was hair everywhere. Bouncy black curls covered the floor. The culprit, large scissors, lay on the sink, next to more curls.

Turkey was huddled by the toilet, rocking Auty. Her hair was unevenly cut, the longest pieces reaching her chin, but some short pieces at her ears.

“Auty,” I whispered, taking a step into the bathroom.

Her eyes shot to me. “Get out!” she screams, snatching herself out of Turkey’s arms.

“Get out! You don’t belong here! Get away from me, Ihateyou, Wynter Snow!”

She got to her feet and lunged at me, but Turkey was quicker. He pulled her into the wall, but the look on her face…

Auty and I had never been in a physical fight. I knew she could, since I’d seen her tag on multiple girls trying her in school, but her anger was never toward me.

And we damn sure never told each other we hated each other.

“You don’t mean that–”

“I do,” she intoned. “I mean it with everything in me; I hate you! I wish you died instead of Summy! Youruinedmy life! Get out, and stay away from myrealfriends!”

My nose began to run, which meant tears were coming right after, so I turned away from them.

“She ain’t mean it,” Casey mumbled, but we both knew it was a lie.

Everyone knew Turkey belonged to Auty, and Auty belonged to Turkey. Most of the time, I did leave them alone.

But girls were so annoying. Always saying mean things nicely. Always talking about which boys in our class were cute and which didn’t shower.

My best friend, Porscha, wasn’t too bad. But she wasn’t far off either.

I wanted to hang with Auty. More than being my twin, she was funny, and knew a lot about a little of everything, and could dance.

She was always dancing. She could dance to any song, just like I could listen to any song. Even when she was down, I could put on a CD, and we could vibe out in our own world, a world created by whoever sang to us.

Mom was still on the couch when I came back. My eyes were dry, and I wiped my nose as I tried to walk past her.

“Come take a shot with me, pretty girl.”

Air blew out of my mouth. She was slurring, which meant she’d started already.