Bittersweet by Shewanda Pugh Page A

something.”
    Hassan’s chest inflated with the enormity of his inhale. But after exhaling, he didn’t say a word.
    Edy went back to Wyatt’s bed and looked him in the eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Sorry our friendship turned to shit. Sorry I didn’t—couldn’t love you the way you craved. But I did care about you. I do care about you. You were my best friend and that was never insincere.”
    Wyatt’s gaze slid up the length of Edy. Then he reached over and jabbed his bed’s intercom. “Can I get security in here?” he said.
    Hassan grabbed Edy by the arm and ushered her out the door.    
     

Fifteen
    One of the essential components of punishment was enforcement; a threat was only as good as the ability to carry it out. Being grounded worked the same way; someone had to stick around to make it obligatory. Otherwise it became a suggestion, a recommendation, then not even that as time wore on. Being grounded became a debatable question.
    The first post-Reggie party approached already. Hassan and the others wanted to know if she’d be there. Edy would. She had to. Not because she wanted to stick one to her mother either, but because she feared if she didn’t go, if she didn’t do these things right away, she’d slip into the sort of complacency where she’d find excuses to be fearful. She’d become afraid to unlock the doors. Afraid to go out. Afraid of all the Reggie Knights of the world. Afraid of all the Wyatt Greens.
    She squeezed her eyes against the last thought.
    For all the talk on Facebook of not letting some Blue Hill Ave. losers get the best of them, no one seemed keen on offering up their house for a party. Which made Edy realize there was no party to go to per se. “Temporary problem,” Hassan explained. “Temporary problem with a permanent solution.”
    The permanent solution turned out to be Lorenzo Carpenter. Creepy Lorenzo Carpenter who had been hemmed up when Edy abandoned his last party after seeing Hassan with the redhead. This time Lorenzo’s house wasn’t available, then it suddenly was. Edy almost didn’t ask what deal was struck. Then as the Mustang pulled up to that familiar three-story Victorian the color of the setting sun, she couldn’t resist.
    Hassan looked her over. “Lorenzo likes to party. He doesn’t take much persuading, okay? We only told him he’d be doing all of us a huge favor and would get instant kudos from a lot of people for it. Imagine being the first guy with balls enough to throw a party after all this? And so soon? He’d have his pick of any girl.” He leaned over and kissed her soft. “Almost any girl.”
    Edy grinned. “I should have known. He’s in it for the girls.”
    “He is,” Hassan agreed.
    They climbed out the Mustang and a strange thing happened. Strange as an aurora over Texas. Yeah, the crowd, sparse for a South End party, was odd in and of itself. And yeah, the scattered folks went out of their way to give shouts of hello for Hassan. Then one by one ripples of greeting broke the surface for Edy, too. First one, then another, until she stumbled, so distracted was she by the task of stopping and returning each ‘hello.’
    Hassan laughed at her bewilderment and slipped an arm around her waist to steady her. “It goes better if you just throw a few waves,” he said. “Maybe concentrate more on the walking.”
    “You two come to party or to be a fire hazard?” Mason Dyson asked.
    Edy twisted free from Hassan to rush him. She hit a wall of sheet muscle, before the longest arms wrapped her, squeezing as if he could protect her from everything.
    “See that?” Matt said to Hassan. “Your girl loves us.”
    “She’s in my arms.” Mason pointed out.
    Alyssa cleared her throat, Mason jumped, and Edy made the distance from one twin to the other.
    “Hey,” Alyssa said once both guys had been properly hugged. She surprised Edy by opening her arms really wide.
    Okay. Hugs. She could handle that. Even if it did seem a little