Book 0.5 by S. P. Macomber (e novels to read online txt) 📕

our house was located. We walk back to find Stella waiting on our decaying porch.

"Hi," she nervously waves.

"Hi Stella," Max quietly greets her before heading inside to give us privacy.

I stand on the first stair, hands tucked in my pockets, waiting.

Walking down to stand on the step right above me, she tells me the reason she was currently bothering me so early in the morning. "I wanted to check on you guys after what happened last night."

I arch a brow. "Oh? What happened last night?"

Sending a disbelieving look my way, she crosses her arms. "You know. That rich bitch that threw a huge fit last night at us being at her party."

"Oh, last I checked I didn't see you anywhere near her little fit as you call it."

"I was in the bathroom. Evelyn told me what happened," she huffs in exasperation.

"Really?"

Rolling her eyes, she straightens into a defensive position. "What the hell's your problem, Ian? You've been a real asshole to me lately."

"You want to know what my problem is?" Snarling, I crowd into her face, causing her to almost fall back. "It's you. You and your crazy imagination. I'm not yours. I never will be and you need to get that through your thick skull."

"What does that have to do with anything!" She shouts in anger, taking a step back to put space between us. "All I did was come here to check on you guys and you start treating me horribly."

I leer at her. "Don't act like you give two shits about my brothers. You only use them to get close to me."

Visibly shaken by my accusation, Stella shakes her head in denial. "That's not true," she whispers.

Snorting not for one moment believing her lies, I brush past her.

"Ian!" She yells in disbelief at my utter dismissal of her. "We are not done talking. Don't you walk away from me!"

Cold rage fills me.

Swiftly turning back to her, I take hold of her arm before she could run away. Bringing her closer, I shake her. "Who do you think you're talking to? Don't start a war with me, Stella, because you won't win," I seethe.

Placing a hand over mine, she tries to soothe me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Of course, I don't want to start a war with you; I'm just trying to understand why you are so angry with me."

Disgusted, I shake her off. "Why?" I ridicule. "I don't know maybe because you went and drew foul shit all over that girl's face last night causing her to lose her shit."

Shocked. I had called her out on her lie, she steps back. "That's a lie. Who told you that?"

"No one needed to tell me your face says it all. Why? Why would you fuckin do that? She never did shit to you."

Livid Stella stomps her foot, shoving her pointer finger on my chest. "She never did anything to me?" She scoffs. "Maybe if that little whore learned to keep her legs closed that wouldn't have happened!"

"And the truth comes out."

"I didn't confirm anything," she crosses her arms once again in defiance.

"You don't need to." Walking close, I look her dead in the eye. "You got jealous. It's that simple."

She grinds her teeth, making a tic appear, giving herself away.

"You got jealous that I chose that girl to have sex with and I'll never choose you," I smirk, enjoying how easy her buttons were to push. "It's quite sad and pathetic how low you stoop just because in your imaginary mind were together."

Stella's face turns red in humiliation and anger. "You belong to me, I won't allow anyone else to have you'" she grinds out.

"I belong to no one."

Sending her a blank stare, I turn my back walking into the house without looking back.

 

Money Maker

 9

 

After finishing my confrontation with Stella, I gather the guys and drive to Eli's to get in a quick workout before I needed to head to work. Eli lived a couple of blocks down from where our house was located. Pulling up to the tiny house that was just as bad in condition as ours was, I parked in the empty driveway.

Making our way to the entrance, I don't bother knocking. After all, Eli had only his mother raising him and she was constantly working shifts at the hospital as a nurse.

"Yo! Eli?" I called out walking past the entrance.

"In here!" A shout comes from the back room, where all his dad's old gym equipment was located.

Walking in, I see Eli starting his morning workout. Going over, we slap hands. "Sup man, running late today," he points out as I set my things up.

Axel cackles as he goes to the dumbbell rack. "That's because he was getting bitched out by Stella,"

Looking surprised, Eli wipes his sweaty face with a worn towel. "Stella? Little early for a dose of her huh?"

I send a bland stare his way. "Tell me about it."

Laughing, he walks around the room, noticing Max. "Well, what do we have here? You joining our morning routines now Max?" Eli asks.

Max smiles shyly, "Yeah I hope that's okay."

Smiling, Eli ruffles his hair in affection. "It's more than okay. You are welcome to stop by anytime you want to get in a session."

"Let's get started. I've got to be at work soon." I started working out, showing Max the ropes, which he caught onto quickly. We all finish up by eight, allowing me time for a quick shower.

I have my brothers drop me off at Bobbie's Garage at nine so that they could use the Hummer while I was working.

Jumping out, I walk around to the driver's side, slapping hands with Heath. Axel climbs into my vacant seat on the passenger side. "Stay out of trouble, you hear," I warn all three, before turning to Heath. "Keep an eye on things, let me know if anything happens."

"I will," Heath acknowledges. Slapping the Hummer in farewell, I watch them drive off before making my way into the garage.

In the garage, I'm met with Bobbie, a tall, bald-headed, fairly muscular white man. Working on a Pontiac G6 by himself. Bobbie was the only adult I could say I truly respected. He didn't put up with any bullshit and he's always been there for me and my brothers when we were in a jam.

"Bobbie!" I call out, announcing my presence. His head slams up on the car hood in surprise as he was working on the engine.

"Goddammit!" He shouts, coming out from the hood, rubbing the top of his head, glaring in my direction. "What the hell is wrong with you, boy? You trying to give me a heart attack?"

Chuckling, I make my way over to him. "Sorry I didn't think you would get scared so easily."

"Shut up, I wasn't scared," he growls, head going back under. Bobbie came off as a mean, old, grumpy man, but the truth was, he was the most decent adult I had the chance to meet. "So? Anything fun happened this weekend?" He asks.

I debated whether or not to tell him the truth, but decided I would. He was the one person I could release all the pressure, put on me, and just feel like a kid. "Frank broke into the house last night."

His head immediately comes back up, staring at me, anger quickly taking shape on his face. "You good? You guys need somewhere else to crash for a few days?"

"Nah," I make my way under the hood to the engine he was working on to help. "I handled it, he won't be back for a while."

"Why's that?"

I knew he would ask the question he always did, but like before, I never gave him an answer, choosing to keep the fact I gave Frank money to myself. "So, what are you working on?" I changed the subject.

Bobbie shakes his head in irritation but knows better than to push me.

He had given me a job at a young age, taught me everything about working on vehicles, got me side jobs when I needed to make more cash, and made sure we always had food on our table if I wasn't able to buy anything.

When we first met, he wanted to adopt me and my brothers after finding out our living situation, but he was very aware that if the authorities got involved, there was no guarantee that I and my brothers would have been able to all be with him. I asked him not to tell anyone and he kept his word. Now till this day, I came to work for him every day.

Focusing back on the car, he points to the engine. "Dismantling some pieces of the engine to repair a minor malfunction. You can finish up this one, I'll start working on Sedan."

Nodding in acceptance, I get right to it while he walks off, leaving me to it.

Time seemed to pass by quickly when I felt a tap on my back. Looking over, I'm met with Bobbie nodding to the clock on the wall. "It's time for a break, go get lunch somewhere," Taking out a couple of bills from his pocket, he hands it to me. "On me."

"I don't need this man, I got some cash on me." I go to push the money back, but Bobbie runs away before I can.

"Well, too damn bad it's yours now! You might as well use it!" He calls back to me as he makes his way to his office, shutting the door.

Shaking my head in amusement and appreciation, I shut the hood of the van I was currently working on.

I made my way out of the garage and down a few buildings where I had seen what looked like a bakery when we drove by this morning. A bell chimed over the door as I entered the shop. The merry yellow shop interior clashed with the tension in the room.

I glanced around the little bakery shop and saw every detail, yet I couldn't find it in me to appreciate its small uniqueness. I show no hint of emotion on my face, not even when my gaze settled on the man grabbing onto the girl's arm. Absolutely nothing. I had heard them arguing before entering the shop, so I wasn't surprised to see a confrontation occurring.

Both turn their heads toward the sound of the doorbell, shrinking away from my form.

I wasn't naive. I knew how people viewed me. I might be young, but still, I radiated danger. Terrifyingly so. I'm tall, rugged, and built like a fighter, with sharp piercing grey eyes. I looked invincible, but it wasn't only due to my looks. It was also how I carried myself. The way I moved- the control, and smooth glide I made across the room. I did it in complete silence as if my feet barely touch the ground.

My icy gaze remained on the guy whose fingers were digging into the girl's wrist before my eyes shifted to her. She looked around my age—maybe I even attended school with her. But I doubt we ran in the same social circle.

"A piece of your apple pie, please."

I watch her shiver at the sound of my deep, low voice. Eyes completely focused on me, having forgotten the man still attached to her arm. She nodded, shaking