You’re Mine by Penny Brooks
Chapter 69

Chapter 69HarperSadie and I are still chatting in the living room when we hear carengines pulling into the driveway. Then the slamming of car doors.Sadie’s eyes widen and she turns toward the window that faces thefront of the house. “Oh shit. Your brother's here.” She hesitates. “And hebrought Easton with him.”My heart skips a beat. I'm both excited and angry, which is not a normalcombination for me to experience. I want to see Easton, but I'm alsostill really mad at him for ditching mefor Ryan. I know they're best friends but...I jump to my feet at the same time the front door bangs open and Ryanand Easton walk

+They're angry. I can feel it radiate from the both of them, see it writtenall over their faces. And it's super intimidating. They're both so big andbroad, their expressions fierce, jaws clenched, mouths grim.Sadie remains frozen on the loveseat, as if she’s afraid to move and Istand there in front of the both of them, ready to face them down.They don't scare me.Well, not really“Where the hell were you?” I ask with way more bravado than I'mfeeling, my gaze onEaston.Ryan takes a step toward me. “Harp, you need to sit down. We have totell you something.”“Blake did it,” Easton says without hesitation.Ryan sends Easton an irritated look. “Nice. Real smooth.”I frown, confused. “Did what?”“The spray paint. Writing whore on the garage door. It was Blake.”Easton reaches behind him, pulling his phone out of his back pocket.I'm shaking my head again and again, taking a step backward. Thenanother one, like! need the distance. “No. No way. I don't believe it.He's my friend, Easton. Blake would never do that to me.”“It's true.” Easton's voice is grim as he thrusts the phone into my face, ashadowy photo on the screen. “We have proof.”I squint, trying to make out what I'm seeing. “What is that?”“Spray paint cans. All black. In the back of Blake's car. He fucking did it,Harper. He's responsible.”My gaze goes to Sadie, who looks as horrified as I feel. “No,Impossible.”“The cans were in his car. I spotted his SUV in a restaurant parking lotand I walked up to the car to make sure it was his before I went insidebecause I was going to chill with him, you know? But then I saw thecans.” Ryan shakes his head, disappointment in his gaze. “I calledEaston.”“That's why I went to him. He wanted me to see the evidence,” Eastonadds.Disappointment and sadness crashes over me and my knees wobble. Ican't believe it. Blake's my friend. He's been nothing but nice to me.Sweet. I'm sure he was disappointed about me and Easton gettingtogether, but Blake is a total player. He can replace another girl to occupyhis time. Not like he wanted anything serious from me anyway.“He did it all” Easton continues. “The locker. The cars. The garage door.He's responsible for all of it and I'm going to make that motherfuckerpay.”“Wait a minute.” Sadie holds up her hand as if she's in class, and Eastongoes silent. “The locker and car incidents were done with cheerleaderpaint.”Ryan frowns. “Cheerleader paint? What the hell are you talking about?”“I don't know what you call it. It's the paint they use for windows andwhatever on game days,” Sadie explains."You mean washable paint?” I ask.“Yes.” Sadie snaps her fingers. “That. The locker and the cars werepainted with removable, washable paint. Yet the garage door was spraypaint.”“What are you saying? That two people are responsible for this shit?”Ryan asks.Sadie shrugs. “Maybe? I don't know. Whoever did the stuff at schoolwasn't brave enough to make it permanent.”“I think it has more to do with whatever's on hand at the time. We wereat school, so that washable paint shit was readily available,” Easton says."Aisha didn’t do this. This is all because of Blake.”“I think Sadie’s on to something,” Ryan says carefully. “Maybe it wastwo different people.”“What, Harper has that many enemies? Bullshit,” Easton spits out.My heart sinks. Do I have enemies? Two of them? Like Sadie told meearlier, I barely talked to anyone. I keep to myself. And now there arepeople at school who actually hate me? Enough to vandalize my lockerand my brother's car and Sadie’s car and my house?It makes absolutely no sense.Well. I can only think of one person who hates me that much.“I think it's all Aisha,” I announce. “That bitch hates my guts. Sheconfronted me in the hallway today and said all kinds of shitty things.”Ryan and Blake share a meaningful look but otherwise say nothing“What the hell was that?"Hmm. Sadie noticed it too.“What are you talking about?” Ryan asks as he approaches my bestfriend, a faint smile on his face like he's wanting to distract her.“That look you and Easton just shared.” Her gaze cuts to mine. “Younoticed it, right?”I nod“It was nothing.” This comes from Easton, who stops by my side andSlings his arm around my shoulders.I shrug it off.“Bullshit,” Sadie spits out. “What else is going on? What else do youguys know?"“Nothing. We know Blake's responsible for the garage door,” Eastonsays, putting his arm around my shoulders once more, his grip firm so Ican't get away from him. “And we're going to confront him about it.”“When?” I glance up at Easton to replace him already looking at me.“Soon,” he says, his gaze intense. “He's going to pay for this, Harper. Hecan't go around terrorizing my girl and getting away with it.”My entire body goes warm at his casual use of the words “my girl, butI'm still having a hard time imagining Blake spray painting the wordWHORE on our garage door because he's mad at me.“That fucker has messed with the wrong house,” Ryan adds. “Can'tbelieve my best friend would do this to me. To my family.”Easton flinches, so faintly no one would notice.But I did. He's upset too. Not just because of what Blake is doing to me.Blake is-was-Easton’s best friend as well. What he’s done is a totalbetrayal.There's no going back from a betrayal this big.And that terrifies me.More than I want to admit