Page 132 of Barron's Second Chance
"Don't touch me, you lying, cheating bastard!" Her face was red and tears were streaming down her cheeks.
"Ooof!" He grunted as her hand connected with his cheek. "Whoa, whoa!" He dodged Maria's fists as they tried to pound on his chest. "Stop! What the fuck are you doing? Maria, damn it, stop!"
He twisted his torso away just as her knee went up to try and connect with his goods.
What the hell was going on?
"Get your stuff and get out!" She screamed. She rushed into the bathroom, snatching up the small wicker basket and upending it against the wall.
"Stop this!" He moved forward and grabbed her from behind around the shoulders and held her in her place as she continued to kick and screech.
"I don't know what the fuck has gotten into you but you need to calm down!"
Maria went still before her entire body tensed up and she tore through his arms. She whirled around to face him, flames of fury spitting from her eyes. "Calm down?" She growled. "Calm down?"
She stormed forward and he jumped out of her path, not wanting to take another pounding to the chest. Yeah, he definitely regretted inviting her now.
He watched as Maria snatched up his phone that had been thrown on the floor. Guess that answered his question about what hit the door.
She jammed on his home button before quickly entering his code. He definitely did not give that to her. Exhibit B on why he needed to end their arrangement. Bitch was crazy.
A flash of panic raced through him as he watched her pull up his texts. "Uh, listen, Maria -"
"What the fuck is this?!" She held the text thread up and scrolled up...up...and up.
"My best friend!" She cried. "You've been fucking my best friend!"
He winced as the unfamiliar pang of guilt settled into his stomach. "It's not what you think, Maria," he tried to placate her. He held his hands up as he inched forward, treating her like she was a rabid animal he was scared to set off again.
"'I got off last night to the dirty things you did to me. When can we do it again?'" Maria quoted as she read through the message thread.
Okay, that sounded bad.
But if Maria looked through the messages, she would see that the majority of texts came from Lissa and weren't reciprocated by him. Much.
"'I can't stop thinking about your big dick.'" Maria sneered as she continued to thumb through his phone.
Simon winced. Okay, so he did sleep with Lissa. Once. Simon ran an irritated hand through his hair. God, he just wanted to leave now.
"What were you doing going through my phone anyway?"
Yeah, he was deflecting but he was also annoyed that she felt like she had the right to go through his personal things.
"Your phone kept going off while you were showering," she spat out, "and when I glanced at it I saw the number. Iknowthat slut's number by heart. She was supposed to be my best friend!" She cried. "Imagine my surprise when I saw that she sent youthis!"He jerked back as she shoved an image he had never seen before, one Lissa obviously sent him just now. It was a pouting selfie. Atoplesspouting selfie.
He went to grab his phone but Maria jerked it out of reach.
"Look," he tightened his towel as it started to slip. "It was one time. We were both drunk." Well, he was. Lissa was sober as the bright sun and had zeroed in on him one night at The Homestead. Maria had been out of town and he was only in New Haven for his Aunt Kelly's birthday.
But he was already feeling guilty for sleeping with Lissa - Maria's best friend and his cousin, Barron's,...whatever she was. He didn't want the two women falling out over something trivial.
"You and I aren't serious or exclusive anyway so I don't know what the big deal is."
Maria's eyes rounded in unconcealed rage. Shit, he should've stopped after 'we were both drunk.'
"Not exclusive?! Not serious?! Why the fuck have you been sleeping with me all these years? Since I was fucking seventeen! Why have you been coming to New Haven nearly every month lately? Why do you stay with me when you have family here? Why have I wasted all these years on you?!"
Simon stopped there, mouth flapping like a fish gasping in the fresh air. When she put it like that, he sounded like an asshole. His gaze caught the topless selfie on his phone, still tightly clasped in Maria's hand.
