Read FALLING: The Negative Ion Series for Free Online

frowned.
    Daddy bent and kissed my cheek. “No, honey. I’ll be close though. How about I take you to breakfast in the morning, just you and me? And maybe some celebratory shopping? Let’s see if we can max out my AmEx and get you all set for work in New York in one day,” Daddy laughed.
    I grinned then hugged him. “You’ve got a date, Daddy. Good night.” I kissed his cheek, then Mom’s and sighed as they walked off, careful to stay as far away from one another as possible. Damn, they won’t even walk close together. I guess that dance they shared earlier was for my benefit. Love? Nope. Tolerance is more like it and if it weren’t for me, it wouldn’t even be that.
    “You know that I have to kill Roland now, don’t you?”
    I felt my nostrils flared then I turned and looked up into the annoying face of my brother. “Why is that, Parker?”
    “I saw that kiss. I told him to stay away from you. A chaste date is all he was supposed to get. I agreed to this, knowing he has an annoying girl who will whine and nag me for his behavior.”
    Roland has a girl? What? I thought he only wanted sex not relationships.
    “Parker, cool the big brother act. Nothing is going to happen between Roland and me, thanks to you. You knew I had a crush on him and you kept us apart. Why?”
    “First, it’s not an act,” m y brother frowns at me. “Second, Roland is worse than I ever was when it came to girls. He’s my guy but, fuck, women love his ass. I did not need my little sister being a notch on his belt and I didn’t want to hear at work what he did to her second hand!”
    “Who said I was going to do anything with him?”
    “Don’t be naïve, Itsy,” Parker sighed. “If you went out with him on a real date, he would be in your panties by dessert. He’s that fucking smooth. I don’t buy any of that bullshit about him caring about you and not going that route with you.”
    “So you think I’m not worth being with? Am I not good enough for someone to be in a relationship with? I’m only good enough ‘to get the panties’ from? Good thing I didn’t feel like that with my best friend. I cannot believe I supported your relationship, even before I realized your feelings were mutual. I guess you’re right, Parker. I am pretty fucking stupid and naïve.”
    I roll my eyes, walk away then grab my best friend.
    “Your fiancée is an asshole!” I murmured as I dropped to my seat. “I cannot believe he kept Roland and me apart! I could wring his neck if I could reach it properly!”
    Samantha sighed. “Roland was not supposed to tell you he liked you but I made him. Parker is going to kill me when he finds out I butted in.”
    “When did you know?”
    “A while ago but I called Roland when I figured out you had a thing for Jaxen. I convinced him to go around Parker and talk to you.”
    I glare at her, not understanding anything. Then I get a chill in my spine that rapidly spreads through my body.
    “Sammi… is, um… do you think I’m not good enough for Jaxen?”
    Her eyes widened then a look of pain sweeps her face. “What? No! If anything it’s the other way around. He’s not good enough for you! I told you yesterday that I thought you could do better and I meant that! I swear!”
    I swallow. “So Roland is your way of keeping me from Jaxen?”
    “Yeah , sort of,” my friend nods. “I don’t want to see you hurt and I know Jaxen will hurt you as sure as I’m sitting here.”
    “ God, how naïve and stupid do you people think I am?” I let out a loud, frustrated groan. “Look… I appreciate you and Parker wanting to protect me. I really do but how is anyone suppose to learn anything if you keep taking the lesson from them?”
    “Not… I don’t think you’re either of those things, Itsy. I just do not want to see you hurt. I know how my brother is and I know how Roland is and how he feels about you. Well, how they both feel. I just think Roland is the better of two evils and I hoped you would