was about the time I’d fi rst met them, too.
“I’m waiting,” she persisted, getting absolutely nothing from my glance. “Your apology? We’re friends. Friends do this kinda stuff for each other and don’t throw tantrums when they do. Seriously, Linds, we’re all getting a little sick of your 47
Lynn Galli
angry spells. It’s why we didn’t invite you out last night with us.
Haven’t you noticed we all don’t get together as often? Seriously, you can’t be that clueless.”
Clueless enough to think that avoiding her clan for over a year would give her a big enough hint that I didn’t want to hang out with them, yes. Instead, she somehow felt she was the one deciding whether or not we were spending quality time together.
“I like you, Lindsay, seriously, but it’s getting harder to justify your behavior to our friends.” Valerie’s contact-enhanced green eyes blinked, holding back yet another of her emotional tides.
“No one asked you to,” I said, stepping out of the car to get her moving.
“Seriously?” she huffed, following me. Her arms waved to go with her righteous attitude as she approached. The fumes from the alcohol that had seeped through her pores all night battled with the stench of the other elements from her night in a jail cell.
The sudden movement of her arms fl ung the odor in all directions around her. “I’ve been sticking up for you for ages. I practically have to bribe our friends to invite you out sometimes. Seriously.”
I stopped and waited. It took four steps before she fi nally noticed that I wasn’t beside her and turned to face me. “Listen, Grey’s Anatomy, I don’t need you sticking up for me. I never asked you to do that. And if our other friends are so great, why the hell didn’t they keep you from slapping that woman last night, or at the very least, follow you to the police station to bail you out? Why is it that I’m the only friend you ever call when you get into trouble like this?”
“That bitch had it coming. She had no right fl irting with my man like that.”
“So you hit her? And last I heard Aaron wasn’t your man anymore.”
She fl inched, shooting a dagger of a glare at me. “He’s mine.
He just thinks he’s on a break right now.” Her fi ngers curled in the 48
Objection
air around the word “break,” making me want to reach out and snap them in half. She needed a spell in rehab for her addiction to air quotes.
“This is the third time you’ve hit someone in a bar, Val. The second time someone has pressed charges for it. And you think I’m the angry one?” I didn’t wait for her sure petulant reply.
Women like Val could never accept blame for anything. “Where were Nancy and Maria when you were assaulting this woman?
And where are they now?”
“Assaulting? Damn, Linds, you make it sound like I planned to hurt this woman. I slapped her, that’s all, and she deserved it.”
That’s all? Every time I got together with Valerie I found myself silently echoing the idiotic things she said. “Okay, technically, threatening to slap her was assault. Slapping her was battery. We had this discussion the last time I picked you up from jail.”
“So the bitch suffered a slight sting, big deal. What a baby.
Grow a pair, I mean, seriously.”
“I know the concept of empathy is foreign to you, but imagine sitting in a bar, meeting a guy who starts fl irting with you and, all of a sudden, some crazy bitch comes out of nowhere and slaps your face? Would you be fi ne with letting some stranger just get away without any punishment? I don’t think you get just how much trouble you’re in. This is your second offense. The fi rst time the judge let you off with a suspended sentence. That’s not going to happen this time. Yoshi should have told you that.”
She made a “psshhhft” sound with her lips and waved another hand through the air. “It’s impossible to understand anything that guy says. I mean, seriously, how long
“I’m waiting,” she persisted, getting absolutely nothing from my glance. “Your apology? We’re friends. Friends do this kinda stuff for each other and don’t throw tantrums when they do. Seriously, Linds, we’re all getting a little sick of your 47
Lynn Galli
angry spells. It’s why we didn’t invite you out last night with us.
Haven’t you noticed we all don’t get together as often? Seriously, you can’t be that clueless.”
Clueless enough to think that avoiding her clan for over a year would give her a big enough hint that I didn’t want to hang out with them, yes. Instead, she somehow felt she was the one deciding whether or not we were spending quality time together.
“I like you, Lindsay, seriously, but it’s getting harder to justify your behavior to our friends.” Valerie’s contact-enhanced green eyes blinked, holding back yet another of her emotional tides.
“No one asked you to,” I said, stepping out of the car to get her moving.
“Seriously?” she huffed, following me. Her arms waved to go with her righteous attitude as she approached. The fumes from the alcohol that had seeped through her pores all night battled with the stench of the other elements from her night in a jail cell.
The sudden movement of her arms fl ung the odor in all directions around her. “I’ve been sticking up for you for ages. I practically have to bribe our friends to invite you out sometimes. Seriously.”
I stopped and waited. It took four steps before she fi nally noticed that I wasn’t beside her and turned to face me. “Listen, Grey’s Anatomy, I don’t need you sticking up for me. I never asked you to do that. And if our other friends are so great, why the hell didn’t they keep you from slapping that woman last night, or at the very least, follow you to the police station to bail you out? Why is it that I’m the only friend you ever call when you get into trouble like this?”
“That bitch had it coming. She had no right fl irting with my man like that.”
“So you hit her? And last I heard Aaron wasn’t your man anymore.”
She fl inched, shooting a dagger of a glare at me. “He’s mine.
He just thinks he’s on a break right now.” Her fi ngers curled in the 48
Objection
air around the word “break,” making me want to reach out and snap them in half. She needed a spell in rehab for her addiction to air quotes.
“This is the third time you’ve hit someone in a bar, Val. The second time someone has pressed charges for it. And you think I’m the angry one?” I didn’t wait for her sure petulant reply.
Women like Val could never accept blame for anything. “Where were Nancy and Maria when you were assaulting this woman?
And where are they now?”
“Assaulting? Damn, Linds, you make it sound like I planned to hurt this woman. I slapped her, that’s all, and she deserved it.”
That’s all? Every time I got together with Valerie I found myself silently echoing the idiotic things she said. “Okay, technically, threatening to slap her was assault. Slapping her was battery. We had this discussion the last time I picked you up from jail.”
“So the bitch suffered a slight sting, big deal. What a baby.
Grow a pair, I mean, seriously.”
“I know the concept of empathy is foreign to you, but imagine sitting in a bar, meeting a guy who starts fl irting with you and, all of a sudden, some crazy bitch comes out of nowhere and slaps your face? Would you be fi ne with letting some stranger just get away without any punishment? I don’t think you get just how much trouble you’re in. This is your second offense. The fi rst time the judge let you off with a suspended sentence. That’s not going to happen this time. Yoshi should have told you that.”
She made a “psshhhft” sound with her lips and waved another hand through the air. “It’s impossible to understand anything that guy says. I mean, seriously, how long
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