Threat by Elena Ash

fuming just from hearing me repeat those two words.
“Fine. Truce,” she begrudgingly agrees. She pops her
bagel into the toaster. “We'll see how long you can hold out.”
    I fold my arms over my bare chest, leaning against the counter on the
far side of the spacious kitchen. “Oh you won't have to worry
about me.”
    She stares me down from across the way, her gaze dropping to my arms
for a split second before she forces herself to look away. I can’t
help but smirk at her thinking I didn’t notice. Even I can't
deny that this pose makes my arms look really fucking good.
    “And while you're at it maybe you can be a little nicer to your
mom,” she adds as she butters her bagel.
    I have to pause and check if my ears are working right. Did she
seriously just talk about my mom and me? “Maybe you could mind
your own damn business while you're at it,” I snap. Who the
fuck does she think she is, criticizing our relationship when she
doesn't know shit about me?
    “I’m just saying you were unnecessarily rude to her for
no reason.”
    For a moment I'm questioning whether this conversation is really
happening. Great, now I've got two meddling bitches in my life. Maybe
dad was right and moving in here was a bad idea after all.
    Nah, they've got a Jacuzzi.
    “You saw her. She's a fucking airhead.”
    Her eyes go wide. “She's your mother .”
    “She's an idiot and a whore!”
    Leah's mouth gapes. “How can you say something like that?”
    “Easily. Just wait until you get to know her. As soon as you
have to spend more than two seconds around her you'll hate her too.”
    “You don't really hate your mother.”
    I don't? Well that's news to me. “How would you feel if your
mom was out sucking dicks for cash?”
    “Wait...what?!” She pauses, and then her eyes narrow.
“You're making that up, right?”
    “Just answer the question.”
    She turns away silently, her face suddenly going blank. “I
wouldn’t know because I don't have a mom,” she says with
a shrug.
    “Oh.” That wasn't the response I was expecting, and her
nonchalance about it throws me off guard. “She dead or
something?”
    Leah shakes her head. “Nah, she just doesn't give a shit about
me. Haven't seen her since I was a kid.” She seems completely
not bothered by this and I have to wonder if it's all an act. If it
is, it's a good one.
    “Sorry,” I tell her. And I mean it.
    She blinks, looking up at me with confusion. “Why? I'm not,”
she says and returns her attention to her breakfast.
    Okay. Even for me, that was awkward, but it doesn't seem to
faze Leah at all. Whatever. I don't want her prying into my family so
I won’t pry into hers.
    “So we should get ready to leave in about the next hour.”
    “Ready for what?”
    My brows furrow. “Uh, for the road trip. Or did you forget
everything that happened five minutes ago?”
    “You can leave whenever you want. I'll see you there.”
    I want to laugh. She actually thinks we're going to go up there
separately. Cute. “No, I think you misunderstood, we're going
together.”
    She stares me down. “No one said that.”
    “Yes, your dad said that before you got here.”
    “Bullshit.” She rolls her eyes as she folds up her paper
plate and throws it in the trash.
    “Did you miss the part at the end where he mentioned precious
cargo? And me taking care of you? It’s over five hundred miles
away and it'll take us two days. He doesn't want you out here alone.”
    She scratches her head and shuffles her feet. “Don't pretend
like you give a shit what happens to me. I don't need you to drive me
around.”
    “Believe me, I don't,” I say. “I don't want your
dad to kill me, or my mom to be any more pissed at me than she
already is.”
    She looks me up and down with narrowed eyes, studying me like she can
read my mind or some shit. “I know what you're doing, David
Banducci.”
    I lean in, towering over her modest height. “Threat,” I
say in a tone that lives up to my name. Her