Loser II || WlW

Six

I stand. "Is everything okay?" I ask as she wraps her arms around my neck.

She nods, breathes me in. "So, are we a thing now? Am I allowed to like casually kiss you and make you go shopping with me? Because I have to buy clothes for the trip."

Right. The trip. Anxiety buzzes in my chest.

I answer her with a kiss. Gentle and slow. "You're always allowed to casually kiss me."

Her eyebrows pull together. She bites her lip. "Stop doing that," she orders.

"Doing what?" I laugh.

"Flirting with me." She flips her hair over her shoulder and pulls away from me. "I told you, I'm hard to get now." With a smile, she nods for me to follow her.

As I follow her downstairs I ask, "Where did you hear about this winter resort thing?"

"I got an email with a coupon," she answers. "Why?"

"You don't think it's a little weird that the trip starts the day after Zachary gets out of jail?"

She hands a slip of paper to the valet and looks at me. "Do you think it's connected?

I shrug. "I guess not." I think back to the morning. Did I remember to take my meds before my mom jumped down my throat?

"We can go somewhere else if you want," she offers. "If you think Zachary set this up."

I meet her eyes. She's serious. She's actually taking my concerns seriously. I shake my head. "I'm just overthinking it."

Brittany lets me drive the rental to the mall where we eat and she shops for winter clothes. I could follow her around all day, listening to her talk about what looks good with her body type. Watching her blush when I tell her that everything looks good on her.

I'm standing outside the dressing room when her phone dings. I check the message without thinking about it.

You know I'll find you.

I slide the phone back into her purse. The message was from a restricted number. I wonder if it's the same person from earlier. The one Brittany yelled at on the phone. I wish she'd tell me what's going on. I'm sure she doesn't want to add anything to my plate but I can't stop thinking about it. I want to be there for her but maybe we're not there yet. Maybe she doesn't trust me like that.

I turn in time to catch someone peaking around the corner. The woman ducks out of view when she sees me turn. I take a step to follow her when Brittany's door swings open. She asks me a question but I don't answer. Instead, I hand her the purse and jog after the woman.

I turn the corner to find the woman from the other day speed walking out of the store. The one with the chubby face and glasses.

"Hey," I say, chasing after her.

She speeds up, obviously avoiding me.

I grab her shoulder. "Why are you following me?"

She's breathing heavy, her eyes narrowed at me. "You're a monster," she snarls and rips her shoulder from my grip.

"Do I know you?" I ask.

"I'm your brother's girlfriend," she snaps, pushing her glasses up on her nose.

"My brother's what?"

"Yeah." She nods, licks the lipstick from her teeth and with shaky hands brushes her hair behind her ears. "I know you haven't spoken to him since they put him away. I know all about how you pushed him out of your life after his relapse."

I stare at her. I don't know what to say. Is this a joke?

"You know he tried to murder her, right?" Brittany's voice comes from behind me.

"Famous Brittany." The woman grins. "Alive only by the Grace of Zachary."

I shake my head. "You're mental. You don't know the first thing about my brother. Do yourself a favor and stay away from him."

She steps closer, like she's ready to fight. "I would never abandon him like you did. His tribe would never leave his side."

We stare at each other a moment before Brittany moves between us and nudges me back toward the store. "If I see you around either of us again, I'll call the police," she tells the woman before we walk away.

Brittany buys the winter coat that she had been looking at, long and black, and we drive back to her hotel room discussing the recent discovery of Zachary's 'tribe'.

"So, he's leading a cult now?" I rest my head in my hands, while Brittany pours us drinks.

"I think there needs to be a minimum of five people involved for it to be considered a cult." Brittany sits next to me and hands me a glass. "One crazy bitch who claims to be his girlfriend does not count as an entire cult following."

I'm about to respond when her phone rings. She rolls her eyes, sets her glass on the coffee table, and answers it, moving to the other room as she talks. The conversation is just as heated as before.

I decide to run a google search on Zachary's name to see if I can pull any information about this 'tribe' that his 'girlfriend' mentioned but when I pat my pockets for my phone, I realize I must have left it in the rental.

Brittany's purse is on the kitchen counter and as I dig through it for her keys, I come across a small cardboard box. My eyebrows pull together as I twist the box over and reveal a pregnancy test. My heart is stuck in my throat. I'm frozen as Brittany comes back, her eyes flicking from the box to me.

"Brittany." I try to force words out but I can't think with my heart hammering in my chest at one million miles an hour.

***

Would anyone prefer if I didn't upload two different books at the same time? As in, would anyone prefer if I simply uploaded to this one or Red Zoned three times a week instead of uploadnig to both? 

I typically don't read two different books at once so I'm curious if anyone would be happier with me just finishing Loser II or Red Zoned and then moving on to the other one. 

Or do you guys like this method better? 

Let me know what you guys like better so I can make adjustments! 

As always, thanks so much for reading and please remember to leave a vote if you enjoyed this chapter (:

***