Page 3 of Bound By Blood

Alex was a natural blonde, like Carly, but she died her hair every couple of months to a pitch-black color. It suited her pixie face, framing it all the way down around her delicate chin.

Together, they sat in their usual booth at Roscoe’s. They had been coming here since they got out of college, a bunch of misfits from different parts of life. But somehow, they clicked together like a perfect, colorful puzzle. Okay, maybe a messed-up puzzle.

Each of them had their own problems, except for Lily, who was careful with everything she did.

Roscoe’s was a place of comfort for Carly. It smelled of stale beer, grease that wafted from the kitchen, body odor from the unsavory men, and cologne and perfume from those who came to seek adventure in such a hole in the wall. Still, it was a place she loved.

The floor was covered in beer, alcohol, and soda, making Carly’s shoes stick to it even as she sat. The bar was dimly lit with dark shadows creeping in the corners. It was loud with people talking and laughing, and clinking beers together in toasts. Rock music, Carly’s preferred choice in tunes, played softly through the speakers, though it was almost drowned out by the sounds of the bar. It was a dive bar if Carly ever saw one.

Going to Roscoe’s was a weekly ritual for Carly. Every Friday night, they’d meet here, drink their problems away, and laugh until their bellies hurt. It had been Lily’s suggestion in the beginning, which surprised Carly at the time. This wasn’t a place for someone like Lily to pick willingly.

Lily and Carly had been best friends since they were snot-nosed kids, and they still were, though they were two opposite sides of a coin. Lily grew up rich, whereas Carly grew up poor and in a bad part of Gravesdale.

There was a time, after they became adults, when Carly had envied Lily’s life. As soon as she graduated from college in business, her parents had bought her a two-bedroom house, not far from Roscoe’s. They also made her CEO of their company, which squatted in a skyscraper downtown, one of the few places the Creeds, a rich and powerful family, didn’t own.

Once Carly had dropped out of college and disowned her mother, finding that both weren’t for her, she was left with nothing. She lived on the streets for a short time before Lily took pity on her and asked Carly to move. That’s when Carly’s envy started, but it was short-lived. Lily never looked down on her for it, a fact that she was grateful for. To top it off, Carly was able to save the money she made working at home as she didn’t have any expensive bills to pay.

Though the house was only two bedrooms, it was far bigger than the two girls needed. There were granite countertops in the expansive kitchen and two spacious bathrooms, with marble floors throughout the home. Her parents paid quite a bit to have it redone, fitting for their one and only princess.

Carly pulled herself from her thoughts and turned her attention back to her friends. They were currently discussing Zach and his latest love interest. Zach had had many love interests, and every time, he fell hard for them. Sometimes, when the men would break it off with him, Carly had the urge to hunt down the fuckers and make them pay for breaking her friend’s heart. But every time, she refrained. She may have seemed scary to some people, and rude at the best of times, but it’d only hurt Zach more.

Zach hadn’t fallen for this particular love interest yet. At least, not fully. Over time, he had learned to guard his heart. Now, Carly found it funny how Zach was obsessed with him but had yet to tell the guy how he felt, for this reason. She, herself, had given up on men a long time ago. She wasn’t opposed to a good roll in the hay with a random stranger, but anything else was a waste of time. She was comfortable being by herself. No one could disappoint her that way, and watching Zach go through it time and time again . . . Yeah, no interest.

Carly plucked up a cheesy fry and popped it into her mouth. After swallowing, she said, “You need to stop being such a fucking baby and just tell the guy how you really feel. You’ll never get him into bed if you don’t. That’s clearly what he’s waiting for.”

Her words were probably rude, but she was just being honest. It was the reason she worked from home in the first place. Not many people could handle her bluntness, and her lack of a filter had a tendency to get her into a lot of trouble. She had tried the whole customer service thing at Lily’s parent’s business once, and that had been enough to tell her she wasn’t cut out for it. They hadn’t fired her, but she had willingly left before she damaged their company in any way.

People were always complaining because she had no problem with telling them to their faces that they were being a bitch. Only the people currently sitting at the table had been able to accept her and her snarkiness. And she was perfectly okay with that.

The music switched to a new song as Zach frowned at Carly. “Not everyone is okay with wearing their heart on their sleeve like you are. I tried that. Many times, and it didn’t work out for me, remember?”

“Yes, I remember,” Carly began. “I’m not talking about hearts here. I’m just trying to get your ass laid.”

Zach pointed at her. “How about you stop worrying about my sex life and work on getting yourself laid?”

Carly smirked. “I don’t need to get laid. I’m perfectly happy with my vibrator, thank you.”

Amber laughed, nearly spitting out her beer through her nose. “You need a guy, not a toy,” she said when she composed herself.

Carly shrugged. “Dick is dick, no matter what form it comes in.” And wasn’t that the truth? Recently, she’d had more pleasure by herself than getting laid.

Lily nodded, running her finger along the rim of her wine glass. “And the plastic ones don’t ever disappoint you.”

Zach blinked at her and then put his hand over his heart. “Why, Lily, little ol’ you has a toy?”

Lily winked at him, and Carly grinned broadly. She had gotten the vibrator for Lily’s birthday last year when Carly noticed she never brought a guy home. Lily was interested in men, but fucking a guy for the fun of it had never been her thing.

“Exactly,” Carly said, briefly linking arms with her best friend. “Well, unless they run out of batteries.”

“That’s why you always keep the batteries stocked in your nightstand.”

Carly frowned at her. “Are you stealing batteries from my nightstand?” Lily blushed, and Carly laughed. “You whore.”

Her friends were the only people with whom she could truly be herself. The few people she didn’t have to pretend with. She was the ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of person, and they got that about her.

Zach snorted while chewing a fry. When he swallowed, he said, “You girls need a life.”

“No,” Carly interjected. She grabbed her empty bottle of beer and made her way to stand up. It was a bit awkward since the table sat so close to the red and cracked leather booths and Carly was a bigger girl, but she managed to squeeze her way out. “What I need is another beer.”