Sympathy for the Devil by Billy London Read Free Book Online

years of friendship.”
           “Why do you get to decide?” I yelled. “It’s nothing to do with you.”
           “Yes, it is. I’m the constructive opinion, because I was there at the beginning and the end. Sort of God-like...”
           “You blaspheming, sick...” I started, my throat clogging. I thought I was going to start screaming.
           “I’ll see you, T . Let me know what you decide.” He shut the door behind him and I burst into tears.
           How had I crossed this guy’s wires? My first instinct was to call Cari, but I had a really bad feeling about what she would say. James and Ben saga all over again... The next was to pre-empt West and tell him everything, but we hadn’t been going out long enough. He wouldn’t trust my word over his friend’s, the one he knew better than his own siblings. If West tried the same thing with Cari, I’d kill him first. My only real option was to try to change Pierce’s mind. My eyes welled with tears. How I wasn’t curled up on the floor was testament to either how much Amy and I needed to hoover or that I was stronger than Pierce gave me credit for. Ben and I hadn’t seen each other in months. I didn’t even know he’d come back from India. If he really was back from his travels.
           I took a look at myself in the mirror my dad had given me as a moving-to-university present. I changed my clothes, underwear outwards, picked up my bag and coat, and made my way to West’s digs. I knocked on his door and was relieved at the joy that sprang into his eyes at the sight of me.
           “Hi!” He grinned.
           Wipe it out , I told myself. You haven’t done a single thing wrong. This time... I wrapped my arms around West’s neck and pushed him into his room with determination.

Chapter Six – Cari
     
           Major - the argument I had with Pierce at Waterstones had turned me on. Minor - he was a complete bastard. I didn’t understand how I got to the stage where he occupied my thoughts. I told myself to get a grip the second I thought my name as Carina Callun. He wasn’t that attractive. He was vile, quite poisonous, and I had no idea why someone as downright sweet as West was friends with him. He’s no good for you , I reminded myself sharply. Besides, someone had told me lawyers should never intermarry. It would be bad. Jealousy, career sabotage, and one poor bastard ends up staying at home with the kids. Namely the wife. Blah, blah, blah. Yadda yadda yadda, divorce.
           What also persuaded me not to pull him into the nearest bedroom and get it out of the way was the fact that Toni seemed incredibly uncomfortable when he was around. Not that West would know, but I knew my friend back to front, and Pierce had upset her. When I pressed her, she never told me what he had said, only, “He hates me. I get the feeling he’d love to wash me off along with the rest of the dirt on his shoes.”
           I held back from going to see him and bottling him until he bled to death or died of internal injuries by Toni telling me, “The longer I’m with West, the more he’ll have to accept it. If you go and put him in UCH, that’s not going to happen.”
           The conflict of feelings made my head hurt, so I thought if I gathered as much information on him as possible I’d be set one way or the other. I hoped it was the hate way. The idea of being disloyal to Toni could just be that. An idea. I joined in conversations where his name cropped up [invariably some blonde crying because he’d dumped her] and got the same trailer: He’s a cold hearted [insert derogatory insult here].
           “If you really want the truth, or to hear from someone who actually likes him,” a friend of the last blonde told me, “then talk to Fiona Gray. She’s friends with him. Don’t ask why.”The friend eyed me with sudden interest. “Wait, do you want to…”
           “No,