Read Online #Selfie (Hashtag Series Book 4) by Cambria Hebert - Free Book Online

made… about actions I took. Basically, damage I did to my own life. Yet there were people like Rimmel who were dealing with fallout from things she had no part in creating.
    Romeo came around the corner and we both looked up. His blue gaze latched onto Rimmel, and it was like he saw exactly what was going on inside her. Like he saw past her skin, beneath the smile. It was like he knew.
    “I’m afraid I have bad news,” he intoned.
    Rimmel stiffened immediately and so did I.
    “What now?” I groaned. “Please tell me they didn’t let him out of the loony bin early for extra-psychotic behavior.”
    God, that was just what everyone didn’t need.
    Romeo shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s worse.”
    “What is it?” Rimmel asked, worried. “Is it your arm?”
    “Murphy is getting fat.”
    It took a minute for the stupid sentence to sink through the horrendous thoughts Rimmel and I were both having.
    Several silent beats later, we looked at each other and Rimmel snorted. I laughed.
    “You call that an emergency?” I snickered.
    Rimmel smacked him in the middle.
    “Feline obesity is a very serious issue.” How the hell did he keep a straight face when he said this crap?
    “I take it your mother has taken a liking to my cat and is feeding him a million treats a day?” Rimmel asked.
    Romeo draped an arm across her shoulders. “Yes, I didn’t think it was possible anyone could feed our cat more than you, but Mom’s managed it.”
    Rimmel giggled. “I can’t wait to see him.”
    “Let’s go pack.” Romeo steered her down the hall, and I turned toward my bedroom door.
    Before I went in, I looked back at the pair as they walked away. Romeo glanced over his shoulder at me and winked.
    I flashed him a grin even as something in my stomach sank.
    I was so glad she had someone as good as Romeo. Someone who would take care of her even when she could take care of herself. Even the strongest people needed someone to lean on sometimes. Even people with the best of intentions sometimes made mistakes.
    Seemed like the past few months of my life was filled with them.
    I felt lonely just then. I was standing in the center of a beautiful beach house filled with my very best friends, but I was utterly alone.
    Who would make stupid jokes about feline obesity when I felt down? Would anyone ever be able to see beneath my skin, at what swirled beneath? Would I ever be anything more to someone than just a one-night stand?
    I was afraid the answer to everything I just asked myself was a very loud, very resounding no.

Chapter Nine

    Braeden
    I was feeling pissy.
    Rome could tell, I knew, but thankfully, he didn’t try to distract me or talk me out of it. It wouldn’t have worked anyway. Sometimes a guy just felt pissed.
    Okay. Sometimes I just felt pissed.
    I hefted the last of the girls’ shit down the stairs and out into the driveway. Why women needed so much stuff I had no idea. I mean, hell, they walked around in tiny-ass bikinis all week, not like they needed the fifty pounds of crap they brought with them. Except for Rim, of course. She had one bag, one full-coverage swimsuit, and one thankful big brother.
    “That everything?” Romeo asked when Trent and I handed over the last of the haul.
    “I hope the hell so,” I replied.
    Trent snickered. “Dude, I don’t even want to know what’s in those bags.”
    Rimmel came down the steps with a list in her hand and stopped beside me. I glanced down to see the checklist the rental company left of all the things that needed to be taken care of before we left. “Everything is done,” she stated.
    I noted the neat checkmarks beside each item and smiled. “Only you would find homework on spring break.”
    She elbowed me in the gut, and I made a sound like it hurt. It didn’t, but I didn’t want to make her feel bad. It wasn’t her fault she was harmless as a fly.
    “Sweet. Let’s go, then. The airport is waiting,” Romeo said.
    Trent glanced at the red convertible.