Page 71 of Bad for You

My heart hurt looking at the disdain in her eyes. “And what exactly did Jarod tell you?”

“That you’re spending time with a biker. A thug. That he saw you kissing on the street like a common whore.”

I jerked back like she’d struck me. Another shot to the heart. Though, why was I surprised? It wasn’t the first time she’d called me that.

Why was I letting her do this? I couldn’t let this go on anymore. In the past, I would have shrunk under her rage, I would have apologized and made excuses. No more. I had nothing to apologize for.

Pain and anger fired through me so fiercely my hands shook. I curled my fingers into fists to hide it from her. “The information your spy gathered is correct. Yes, my boyfriend, Jesse, is a biker. He’s also a tattoo artist, an extremely talented one. He’s one of the best men I’ve ever known, and he cares a great deal about me. We care about each other.”

“He’s using you, you stupid girl.”

“No, he’s not.”

“He only wants one thing from you, and I bet you’ve given it to him, haven’t you?” The abhorrence on her face made me feel about two feet tall.

I didn’t answer.

Her face darkened. “You’re just like your sister.”

The vehement way she said it made me flinch.

“I tried, I really tried, but you defied me at every turn, wanted to be like her…a damned slut.”

“Her name is Kate.”

“We don’t speak her name, and if you carry on as you are, we won’t speak yours, either.”

Anger crashed down on me, and I locked gazes with her, something I rarely did. “When Jarod was telling tales on me, did he happen to mention that he tried to force me to sleep with him?”

She froze. “You’re lying. He would never do that.”

I crossed my arms, needing a barrier between us before I grabbed her shoulders and shook the hell out of her. “Do you think we only held hands when we were dating?”

She flushed and opened her mouth to fire more poison at me, but I talked right over her.

“Let me guess, that’s my fault as well?” I laughed humorlessly. “Your wonderful Jarod took my virginity, then blamed me for tempting him.”

“He would never do that, not unless you…”

“Stop,” I yelled.

Her eyes widened, shocked into silence for the first time in her life.

I took a step toward her. “Don’t you dare put that on me. Don’t you dare. There were two of us there. And if I’m like Kate, I’m thankful. She’s an awesome mom, a loving wife, and a supportive sister. She loves her daughter unconditionally, unlike you. The fact that you care more about what other people think than your own children, that you would rather believe Jarod than me, says more about you than me or Kate.” I held her gaze even as my heart split wide open. “If you can’t see that, we’re both better off without you.”

It was her turn to flinch, but there was no backing down, it was there in the hard lines of her face.

I was done. So done. There was nothing else to say. She wasn’t going to listen anyway. I turned my back on her and walked to my car.

“You’re not welcome at the ranch,” she said. “Don’t contact me or your father until you can show us you’ve changed.”

I turned back to her. “I have changed, for the better. And you won’t be seeing or hearing from me again.”

Then I climbed in my car and drove away.

I didn’t remember driving the thirty minutes home. One minute I was getting back in my car, the next I was outside Rocktown Ink.

I pushed the door open and walked into the shop.