A Whole New Crowd (A Whole New Crowd #1)(67)

I smirked. Of course. “You’re an idiot. You believed Kevin’s lie about adopting me and now this? Mandy dumped her friends. Wanna know why? Because they’re *s. I hope you didn’t invite Devon, Jennica, and Amber? Mandy’s done with them and I’m proud of her for doing that.”
She blinked rapidly, as if shocked, then she forced a smile on her face. “Of course. I invited her friend Tristan and anyone Austin told me that was ‘cool.’” Her cheeks pinked and she laughed softly. “He told me to trust him with the invites so I did. If he invited anyone you don’t think should come, we can still toss them out. No one will impede on my daughter’s well-being.”
I was watching her. I cursed. “You mean it.”
She blinked, and her eyebrows bunched forward. “Of course, I do. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Kevin lied to you. You were brainwashed to adopt me. Are you not getting that?”
She shook her head. “No, Taryn. I wasn’t brainwashed and I wasn’t manipulated. I wouldn’t have taken you in if I hadn’t wanted to.” She stepped close. Her hands lifted and she took hold of my shoulders. Leaning forward, her voice lowered to a hoarse whisper, “The moment I saw your picture, I fell in love with you. Then I read your file and I fell even more in love.” Her fingers curled into me, holding on tight. “I am not happy with my husband. There are things we have to work out, but I am happy about you. I am so thankful that you’re a part of our family.” A tear slid down her cheek. She ignored it, giving me another shaky smile. “I’m not as blind as you think. I can see that Austin’s hurting. When we picked him up, he didn’t want to come home. He’s your fiercest defender in the house. He asks us every day when you’re coming home. And Mandy...” She closed her eyes. When they opened, there were fresh tears there. “I’m ashamed that I haven’t reached her like you have. I’m ashamed that so much was going on in my house and I never did anything about it.”
The tears. The heartfelt proclamation. I bit back a smart ass retort and fought from rolling my eyes. Then I couldn’t help it. It slipped out. “For real?”
“What?”
Her hands uncurled from my arms and she moved back a step. Searching my face, she saw the disbelief on my face.
I shook my head. “Who do you think I am? You really thought I would fall for that act?” I couldn’t forget the history. She left me with Austin. She took off whenever her husband called for her. Her daughter was a drug addict. “You shouldn’t be ashamed by what your husband has done. You should be furious. You should leave him.”
“Taryn,” she started.
“No.” I moved further away from her. “You’re one of the worst kinds of people. You’re the kind that sees something horrible has happened and you sweep it under the rug. You want it to go away so your life isn’t interrupted.”
Tears were rolling down her face, but it was like she didn’t feel them. She stared back at me. Her eyes were unblinking. There was a glazed look in them.
“Look at me. I’m the one who survived not having a family and I’m schooling you how to fix yours.” I snorted, feeling an empty void open in me again. “I can’t undo how I feel about Mandy and Austin. I already love them, but I’m thankful now that no relationship was built between you and me, or Kevin and me. So thank you for being shitty adoptive parents. You did me a favor.”
I sat in my car after that and waited. Shelly stood there, pale as a zombie, for a few more minutes before her phone rang. As she answered it, I heard her words muffled through the window, “I’m coming, honey. No…” Then she turned and went to her own vehicle.
I sat there, even after she drove off. I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
*

I hit the punching bag. They lied to me. It barely moved so I hit it again. They didn’t care that they lied. I gritted my teeth. My fist tightened and I rolled my shoulder back, lifted my wrist again, and bent forward into the stance. One foot was in front, the other behind, and I was on my toes. I was ready to switch them, jab back and forth, and bounce back as the bag should’ve been swinging to me.
Nothing.
With a deep growl, I hit it as hard as I could. It moved an inch.
“You’re using your arm.”
“Duh.” I didn’t look as Tray came into the room. He left the lights off, so the only light on was the small lamp positioned over the punching bag. Sweat rolled down my back and I’d lost my shirt long ago. Standing in my black sports bra and a pair of boy shorts, I felt fine. I was heated, but not overheated with the air conditioner in the room.
He circled around me. I glanced down, saw he had kicked his shoes off as well. After another moment of studying me, he took his shirt off too. He tossed it to the corner, then tilted his head to the side, and his hazel eyes narrowed at me. A slight smirk lifted the corners of his lips. As he stood there, his muscles clenched. His chest lifted and he breathed in, his stomach muscles clenched in and then out. There was hardly an ounce of fat on him.
We’d been sharing a bed for two months now, but as I drank him in, it was as if I was seeing him for the first time. Hunger and lust slammed into me. My mouth opened and I swallowed.
His smirk widened and he gestured to my arm. “Use your shoulder. Hit with your body, not your arm. Your strength comes from your core. The hand is the weapon.”
“I want to bone you right now.” I frowned.
“You’re working out. Your adrenalin is pumping.” His hand gestured from his chest to his stomach. “I can’t blame you. I’m a prime specimen.”