“Keep it up, Bushman, and I’ll shove that bottle up your dick hole!” Randy yells.

With Waters as his bodyguard, the little fucker has grown a set of balls. He sprinkles the last few drops on the ground next to me and backs away.

“Get her in the trailer,” Waters orders.

Bushman struggles to pull an unconscious Sunny up the two steps into the vehicle. Once she’s mostly inside, Lily pushes him out of the way and drops down beside her. I try to stand, but I’m way off balance. Waters is definitely going to gloat about this. I manage to get to my feet as Bushman turns over the engine.

Randy hands me a shirt to wipe my face with. It’s sticky from the soda. And bloody from one of my face wounds.

I take a stumbling step towards the trailer. “You can’t send Sunny home with him.”

Waters puts a hand on my chest and pushes. I drop back to the ground on my ass.

“Enough, Alex!” Violet gets between us. It reminds me of what she did in the locker room after I discovered Waters banging her there—except that time she was defending Alex, not me. “Do you realize what a hypocrite you’re being? I don’t even like you right now!”

“He’s been fucking my sister around for months!” Alex shouts back.

She throws her hands in the air. “No, he hasn’t!”

“Get over your goddamn ego, Waters,” I shout from the ground. “If you yell at Violet again, I’m gonna beat your ass.”

“You can’t even stand up right now, Butterson.”

“Alex! Just stop!” Violet seems as pissed as he is.

Commotion inside the trailer stops the yelling match, which is good, because it’s making my headache worse. Sunny opens the door again, more cautiously this time. Lily is right behind her, looking likes she’s prepared for fainting, round two. Sunny elbows Bushman out of the way and holds on to the door frame, still unsteady.

Looking at her makes me feel like shit. The only emotion on her face is resignation.

Lily puts a hand on her shoulder, looking past us to Randy, behind me. “Sunny, maybe—”

She shakes her off. “Alex, let’s just go.”

“Are you serious with this? Come on, Sunny. What is even going on right now?”

Her gaze swings slowly to me. “There’s too much drama, Miller. We can talk about this later, when everyone’s calmed down.”

“Later?” I gesture to the trailer. “You’re leaving. What kind of later is there?”

“I’ll call you tonight.”

“What’s the damn point? You’re gonna keep listening to whatever everyone tells you. All I asked was that you have a little fucking faith that I’m gonna do the right thing, and what happens? Your brother shows up and gets his dick all tied in a knot over some pictures he doesn’t like, and you decide you’re gonna go home with this fucking joker?”

“It’s not like that, Miller. Alex is worried.”

I turn to Alex. “I’m not with Sunny to get back at you, you self-absorbed fuck.” I hold a hand out to her. “Come on, sweets, come out. I’ll take you back to Guelph if that’s where you want to go. Let’s just have a conversation.”

“Miller, I—”

Her hesitation is my tipping point. It’s a kick in the balls I don’t need. “You know what? Forget it. Go back to Guelph with Tiny Dick and the gaping asshole.” I look to Waters. “You win. Congratulations. I hope you’re fucking happy.”

Sunny steps down from the trailer. “Miller, wait.”

“For what, Sunny? For you to finally believe I’m not fucking you over? I can’t do this anymore. It’s like being a goddamn hamster on a wheel. Stay or go, Sunny. Do whatever you want. Either way, I’m outta here.”

I drop the shirt from my forehead to check if the bleeding has stopped. Sunny faints again, and Lily catches her, just barely. I want to do something other than say fuck it, but it’s useless. I can’t make Sunny trust me, I can’t change my job and the craziness that surrounds it, and I can’t make Waters less of an interfering asshole.

I head for the back of the trailer, then remember it’s Waters’ car, not mine, parked behind it. They’re all blocking me in, making an exit impossible. I want to spin my tires and spray some gravel, maybe do a few fishtails and drive some of my anger out.

“We’ll all be out of your way in a minute.” Waters looks way too pleased right now.

“I’ll be inside, packing up my shit.”

“Stay the fuck out of my cottage,” he says.

I give him a WTF look. “Really, man?”

“Alex, you’re being a complete jerkoff,” Violet says. “You can go in the cottage, Buck.”

“Forget it. I’ll wait in the car until the jerkoff leaves.”

I climb into the rental and lock all the doors, glad the windows are tinted. I grab a ball cap from the backseat and pull it low, gritting my teeth when it hits the cut on my forehead. I check the rearview mirror. Randy’s holding the trailer door open. I assume he’s talking to Lily, or trying to. There’s so much shit going down, I can’t imagine it’s a very productive conversation.

Vi and Waters have a hand-flailing argument in front of the trailer. When Waters goes to hug her, she puts her hands on his chest, fending him off.

He pulls her close anyway, her hands trapped between them. When he tries to kiss her, she gives him her cheek. I don’t want to feel responsible for their argument, but I do. He takes her hands in his and clasps them behind his neck. Then he tilts her chin up. I’m an interloper on their private moment. His expression is earnest as he close-talks, their noses almost touching. Eventually Violet lets him kiss her, but she’s still stiff.