PUPPET MASTER

MEADOWS

Cody turned away from me. I quickly reached out to him, my heart racing loudly in my chest.

"I've already told my mother about it. She wants me to be in LA by next Mon—"

He sharply turned around and scowled at me. "Really? You told your mother I'm your boyfriend?"

"Yes, Cody." I swallowed and took a step forward, grabbing both of his hands. "I'm so sorry I told her without asking you first, but I'm in a big mess."

He didn’t say anything, just stared at me, grinding his teeth together. I blinked, puckering my lips, my neck aching from tilting so far back to look up at him.

"Pretty please."

"And what did she say when you told her why you and William broke up?"

My shoulders slumped. My hands slipped from his arms, and I took a step back.

"You didn’t tell her, did you?"

"Why would I tell her why William and I broke up?" I clenched my fists, staring at the metal ground beneath us.

He scoffed. "Come on, Med, tell me—why do you want me to pretend to date you? Is it for your mother, or because of him?"

"I’ve already told you."

He scoffed again, and this time it made my blood boil.

"And your mother believed you? Really? Your mother, of all people, is cool with the idea of me coming to Los Angeles as your boyfriend?" he said sardonically. "You know you can’t lie to me, Med."

I threw him a look. "This isn’t because of William, Cody. My grandparents are coming over, and they wanted me and William there. But I can’t bring William because he has a freaking wife."

He rubbed his brow and exhaled deeply.

"I’m sorry, but I can’t get tangled in this mess."

"Cody, please."

"You’re not the one who has to deal with those bloody hypocrites, so stop begging me, Med."

I gasped. "My family are not hypocrites, Cody! Watch how you speak about them."

He raised a brow at me, taking a deliberate step forward. "Really? You don’t think I know how your family feels about me being around you? Every look I get from them tells me exactly how much they want me far away from you."

"Why didn’t you come up with a better excuse? You have a thousand guys crushing on you, why didn’t you just give her one of their names?"

"I didn’t have enough time to think, Cody. It’s like those times when an old lady walks up to you and you lie, telling her I’m your girlfriend."

He rolled his eyes. "That’s not the same thing."

He turned around to leave, but I immediately jumped in front of him, stretching out my hands.

"Cupcake needs some help," A flicker of a smile threatened to break his stern expression, but at my last word, it vanished . "Popsicle."

I snickered, knowing how much he hated that nickname.

He tried to maneuver past me, but I blocked him again.

"Get out of my way. Antonio would lock you up again if he finds out you’re intruding."

I shrugged. "Like you’d let me stay there for even a minute."

He stopped suddenly like my words had electrocuted him, the tiniest bit of amusement vanishing from his face.

"That’s all you think I am, isn’t it?" He looked away and shook his head. "In case you don’t remember, my whole life is in this place. I can’t just let go of it to act as your puppet."

"You are not acting as my puppet—"

"I warned you to break up with that asshole, Meadows," he cut me off sharply, his eyes twitching. "You didn’t listen to me. Now you have to bear your burdens alone, and don’t you dare drag me into this."

I nodded slowly at the look in his eyes. Why was he so upset about it? The words stung so deeply. Was that really how he saw it? As a chore?

Maybe I’d made a mistake.

"Sorry for thinking I could rely on my best friend." I turned around and left the training ground.

I heard his footsteps following behind me. I wiped the tears escaping my eyes. Telling him about the pregnancy wouldn’t be a good idea. Who knows—he’d probably give me a two-hour lecture on how I’d messed up.

"Give me your keys. I’ll drive you home," he said as I slid my keys into my car door.

"You were working while I intruded, weren’t you? Why don't you go continue!" I dragged the door open and got into the car.

" Come on, don't act like a child."

He tried to grab the door, but I slammed it shut before he could. He stared at me, grinding his jaw, fists shoved into his pockets.

Dante and Russo came out of the container and called his name. He looked at them and said something before turning back to me.

I looked away and started the engine. Driving down the abandoned road, I glanced into the rearview mirror and saw him walking back to Dante and Russo.