One For The Road

37: Questionable

"I just don't get why you all are blaming me for this. It's not my fault that the poor girl is being raised by a little bitch," I said.

"We got kicked out of brunch place, Katie. That's the most embarrassing thing in the entire world," Drake said as he drove us back to the Sacrilege house. Annie and Josiah were in the back seat, and I was just waiting for Josiah to try to start some shit.

"I mean, Jesus. You had, what? Two mimosas?" Josiah said.

Shit started.

I turned around in my seat. "Alright, well, I didn't fucking ask you. I hadn't eaten anything, I weigh a staggering hundred and thirty pounds, and champagne works really fast." I shook my head. "Plus, I didn't like that lady's tone."

"Where's the manager?" Annie mocked in a high voice, then laughed at herself.

"You called a six-year-old a pussy," Drake added.

Was I on trial or something? Because if so, I was in Vegas at the time of this crime and therefore could not possibly be guilty.

"A hypothetical six-year-old. I never saw the kid, and there's no evidence to support that she even exists at all," I said.

"This is literally insane. I shouldn't have to explain to a grown woman that it's not acceptable to do that kind of shit, especially one in your situation." Drake shook his head. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I didn't answer that. There was no possible explanation I could ever give that would satisfy him.

"It's like you're stuck in high school or something, and I was just beginning to think that maybe this was all behind you," he continued.

"You're not my goddamn mother, so I really don't want to hear you say shit about me. I'm trying, and no one gives a fuck about it," I said. "This is your fault, anyway. You just take and take and take from me, and then you wonder what the hell happened when I finally snap."

"This isn't the first time that you've snapped, Katie, but it sure as hell is the last."

I rose my eyebrows. "What the fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a horrible person, and I can't handle you anymore. I'm done."

Done? Done with what? My driving? My attitude? Me?

"If you're kicking me off the team, be a fucking man and say it. But as soon as those words come out of your mouth, I'm taking everything that's rightfully mine with me," I said.

He hesitated for a moment. "I'm not kicking you off the team."

Of course he wasn't. He hated everything about me, but I had the keys to that tournament, and he sure as hell wasn't about to let the opportunity head back to Baton Rouge or Vegas or Akron or wherever the fuck I ended up.

It was the same reason he kept Josiah around. Drake didn't have any goddamn morals. It was all about the wins for him.

"It's hilarious how this always happens. Everyone wants the good parts of what I am and what I bring, but no one sticks around for when it all finally catches up to me," I said.

Whatever the hell was between us was gone. He could hate me all he wanted, but if he didn't have the balls to give up the positives to preserve the nonexistent sanctity of his robot team, he wasn't much of a man at all.

"Is it really a bad thing to want the best version of you? Because you seem happy to be like this even though it makes everyone else miserable," Drake continued.

"Because I am." I looked over my shoulder to Josiah, who had his hand on Annie's knee. They looked like a functional couple compared to us. "I sure as hell am not responsible for making you miserable. You do a damn good job at it by yourself by only caring about that robot."