Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 142764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
I can see the tightening of his jaw, the way the muscle jumps in the dim moonlight. He doesn’t respond and instead takes a swig of the liquor.
"Hm...joke’s on him. She's fucking higher class than he is now. Karma is a real bitch, isn't she? Was this your daddy’s and your plan? He tell you to kiss and make up, so you can marry Bel instead? Everyone knows he lives off your mom's inheritance, and that he had nothing when he started out."
I clench my hands into tight fists. "I'm not talking about him right now. I want to know when Bel will be back at school."
"That’s Ms. Arturo to you, dickhead."
I let out a slow breath so I don't punch him in the fucking jaw. He’s on my last fucking nerve, and I really don’t want to destroy his face. "No, she's my wallflower, and you fucking know it. I'm not going anywhere, and I’m not giving her up."
He smirks. "Hmm...I think you already gave her up. As for when she comes back to school… Let's just say she's waiting for her stitches to heal. The stitches that she had to get after you pushed her and caused her to hit her head. Remember that?"
My stomach cramps. I close my eyes against the image of her falling, of the blood dripping onto the floor. The horror in her eyes, the pain and fear. I did that to her, and I’ll never truly forgive myself. I’ll spend every day making it up to her if she gives me the chance.
"That was an accident."
"Was calling her white trash an accident too? Because you know what they say about emotional and physical abuse. Physical wounds heal, but it’s the emotional wounds that stay with you forever. I wonder how long it’ll take for her to heal?”
Another recruit stumbles down the steps of the main house, across the sidewalk, and onto the grass. His glassy eyes barely register us as he races across the line. Being the asshole he is, Sebastian kicks him in his bare flank, sending him stumbling but not fully down. We watch him run until he disappears down the small hill.
Needing a minute to fight back the slowly rising guilt and revulsion of how thoroughly fucked up I am for still wanting her, I turn and walk back into the house.
I snatch one of the recruits who’s finishing his last shot. "Let's go, asshole. Time's up."
He struggles and stumbles to his feet, and I drag him out of the house and throw him toward the line. Color me surprised when he doesn't fall and takes off running. Not bad.
I watch him go and then step back inside the house and call out to the remaining stragglers. "You have two minutes to get your asses outside, or you're done. For good."
I turn and watch as Sebastian wanders slowly down the lantern-lined route, and I follow him. He's not getting out of this conversation that easily.
When he pauses, we end up side by side. "Look, everything that happened at that party was fucked up, okay? It didn't go as planned, not at all."
He glances over at me, his features partially hidden in the shadows from the low-lit lanterns. "How is your fiancée, Drew? Have you fucked her yet? Last I saw, she was ready to strip down in the middle of the ballroom in front of everyone. Hell, I bet she’d let me fuck her with you. Two-for-one special."
I clench my teeth and glare off into the dark so I don't take a swing at him. This has been his attitude the few times I've seen him since that night. "That’s over with. I made it clear to Spencer and to my father that I won’t marry her. He let it drop, for now at least. What are we doing here, man? Is this what years of friendship amounts to?"
Like a bow strung too tightly, he snaps, getting right into my face, his chest bumping against mine. The smell of vodka from his breath burns my eyes. “You fucked her and then threw her away in the most painful way possible. When she needed you most. My fucking sister. You expect me to be okay with that? You expect me to choose you over her?"
A snake of danger and pain slithers up my spine. I'm two seconds away from saying MY sister, but I don't. I lock the words down because I know that would only start a different kind of fight. "You didn't know she was your sister until a month ago. She's nothing to you. And I’m not asking you to pick me over her or saying that what I did was okay. I’m simply trying to figure out why you’re so pissed off at me."
He turns away from me with a shake of his head. "I might not know a lot about her, but she's still my responsibility, my ward. She’s my fucking sister, Drew, my sister. I’ve lost everything, and now I find out I have a sister, a relative that’s worthy of giving a fuck about.” His voice cracks with raw emotion, and I can understand his desire to protect her. Much like me, he’s never had anyone in his life who’s worth giving a fuck about. “Anyway, the right thing to do is to protect her, even if that means keeping you away from her. Even if she wanted to see you, which she doesn't."