He might as well have handed over his right to be my father that day because it was the day I lost all respect I had for him.
“This is bullshit.” I storm from the room to the sound of Lisa trying to talk my dad down from following me. Maybe she’s not a total idiot after all.
I grab my jacket and keys from the table in the hallway and march from the house.
The vibrations of my bike beneath me help to calm me a little but one look up at the house and it hits me once more.
Mom’s gone and this is my life now.
Backing out of the driveway, I rev the engine and fly away from the house that holds everything I don’t want right now.
Family.
I ride around town for hours, taking in what I guess is to be my new home. I might not want to be here, but deep down, I know Dad’s right. I’ve certainly got nowhere else to go or any other family to rely on. All my grandparents have gone. Mom had a sister, but they’d not spoken for years. It’s basically Rosewood or nothing.
I pull up in a parking lot by the ocean and with my fake ID burning a hole in my wallet, I head to the store and attempt to buy myself a bottle of something that will numb the pain.
Thankfully, the girl behind the register didn’t bat an eyelid about serving me and in only minutes, I’m stepping down onto the beach. I walk along until I’m alone, then I twist the top off the bottle and tip it to my lips.
The vodka burns as it goes down, but it feels so fucking good. It’s a sign that things are going to get easier in the coming minutes.
I swallow down more as I stare up at the huge houses that look down at the beach. Dad and Lisa’s place is nice, but it’s nowhere near the size of those mansions.
My eyes search the balconies and windows to see who might live in the colossal homes, but I find nothing.
With a sigh, I turn back to the ocean and drop down to my ass.
I see no one the entire time I sit there hidden in the darkness and drowning in my misery.
6
Ruby
“I’m sorry,” Stephen says as the slam from the front door rattles the house.
“You don’t need to apologize for him, love. He’s hurting, it’s understandable.”
“It’s not an excuse to talk to us like that.”
Mom shrugs and smiles sweetly at him. “He’ll be okay,” she says, reaching out for Stephen’s hand. “Just give him some time. Everything about his life has changed in the blink of an eye. It’s going to take a while to adjust. Things might start to settle once we’ve got the funeral out of the way.”
I want to ask what she means by the we in that sentence, but I don’t get a chance because Mom turns her eyes on me.
“Do you have any parties this weekend? Maybe you should invite him, introduce him to your friends.”
“Um...”
“Introduce him to the team. He’s a brilliant quarterback, if the coach has half a brain then he’s going to want him.”
“Um... I really don’t think that is a good idea.”
“Why not? Making some friends might be just what he needs to feel at home here.”
Thoughts of him joining my circle of friends sends a bolt of panic up my spine. I can’t have him around me every second of the day. I just can’t.
I open my mouth to argue but I soon decide that it would be better if I just shut my mouth and agreed. I really don’t want Mom and Stephen digging into why I don’t like my stepbrother.
“I told Principal Hartmann that he’s likely to start the week after the funeral.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little soon? He has just lost his mom, Stephen.”
I know Mom’s just concerned, and as much as I’d love to put Stephen off the idea of sending Ashton to Rosewood as soon as possible, I know that I’m in no position to really have an opinion about this. I know Stephen lost both his parents young, I can only go on his experience and hope that he’s right.
“The distraction will be a good thing.”
The conversation turns to a golf trip that Stephen has coming up and I tune out as I push my dinner around my plate. I’m not really hungry after the pizza earlier but I didn’t have it in me to tell Mom after she’d already cooked. If I weren’t hiding in my room after my interaction with Ash, then I might have intercepted her before she started.
After a tense as fuck dinner, I excuse myself to my room for an early night hoping that I can make the most of Ashton being out and actually get some sleep.
It works because the next thing I know, my alarm is going off once again, and I actually feel like I’ve had a decent night’s sleep.
I push from my bed feeling more refreshed than I have in days and set about getting ready. Before I crashed last night, I’d messaged Harley asking if I could spend the weekend with her. It’s pretty standard that I get ready for a party at hers and now Poppy lives there too, it makes even more sense for me to join them.
I shove everything I’m going to need for school and the entire weekend into bags before silently making my way out of the house.
It’s not until I step out of the front door and the security light illuminates the driveway that I realize why I might have slept so well last night. Ashton never came home.
I look back up at the house, tempted to go and see if he’s really not here, but no sooner has the thought crossed my mind do I force it back down. He wouldn’t give two shits if I stayed out all night. Why should I allow even a bit of concern for him to fill my mind?
Fuck him and his mind games and evil words.
Fuck. Him.
I throw my bags into the trunk of my car and head for school ready to put myself through yet another hardcore practice knowing that a day off is right around the corner.
“You’ve been weirdly quiet all day, did something happen after we left last night?” Poppy asks from where she’s resting back on one of the couches in Zayn’s den.
The guys aren’t here yet, but we’ve already gate-crashed their little get-together. Perks of not only being cheerleaders but also besties with one of the player’s girls.
“Nah, I’m just glad to be out of the house. He stormed out during dinner and never returned. His bike was still missing this morning.”
“Shit, do you think he’s okay?” Harley asks, handing us both a soda each.
I look up at her with my brows raised. “No idea but it sounds like you might want to go and check him over for wounds.” I don’t mean for my tone to come out sounding quite so bitter, but it does.
“Okay, down, girl,” Harley mutters, curling her legs under her and joining us on the couch. “He’s hot, sure, but you’re my girl. My loyalty is only and always with you.”
“I appreciate that.”
“You should, especially seeing as you two have both screwed me over by getting with my brother.” She flashes a glance at me, but her eyes lock on Poppy’s before a smile begins to twitch at her lips.
“Hey, I only kissed him and... touched a little bit.” Poppy growls beside me. “I’m sorry, if I knew then I wouldn’t have. I was desperate, you know.”
“Oh nice.” Poppy laughs.