“Too soon?”
She might think I’m a cold-hearted bastard, but as the words pass my lips, my chest tightens to the point it’s almost crippling. Not that I’m going to let her see that. The only person in this world that knows I might have a weakness, is me.
“You’re a prick.”
“Oh.” I laugh. “I know, little one. Nothing you can say will be news to me. So, tell me, what did you really come in here for?” Tilting her face up to me, I lower down until our lips are a breath apart.
Her breathing falters with our distance and I fight the smile that wants to spread across my face knowing that she’s affected by me.
“I... I came to tell you to fuck off.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, maybe that’s what you think you came for. But deep down, we both know it’s not actually true, don’t we?”
“You’re insane.”
“Maybe,” I muse. “But I’m not the only one because while you stand there claiming to hate me, I know that you’re wet for me.”
“Fuck. You. Ashton.”
I squeeze her cheeks harder and they finally touch mine, but I don’t claim them. Instead, I brush mine across her cheek until they’re at her ear.
“Is that why you hate me, little one? Because you were so drunk that night that you don’t remember how it ended. You don’t know whether you let me fuck you or not?”
Her breathing becomes more labored with every word I say but her expression remains hard.
A smile begins to tug at her lips, but it doesn’t get much farther with my tight grip. “You think I’d have remembered if you did. Think you’re giving yourself a little too much credit there.”
A growl rumbles up my throat and my hand drops to hers as I push her back against the wall. She swallows nervously beneath my hold, her pulse thundering against my fingertips.
“Oh, little one, I can assure you that if I’d fucked you that night then you’d still be feeling it now.”
Her eyes hold mine, but she doesn’t react to my words.
“You’re all talk, Ash. You’re not man enough or you’d have done it.”
I smile at her, but there’s nothing happy about it as only evil intentions fill my mind.
“Ever heard of delayed gratification, little one? One thing I do have is patience and I’m more than happy to wait for the right time to ruin you for anyone else.”
I release her and take a step back.
I keep my eyes on her as she sucks in a few deep breaths, her chest heaving and her breasts catching my eye.
“Your friend was cute. Any chance I could get her number?” I ask.
“Stay away from my friends, Ashton. And don’t even think about turning up to Ethan’s on Saturday night.” She backs out of the room as she dishes out warnings that land on deaf ears. “This is my life. You don’t get to turn up and stomp all over it.”
I chuckle at her. “Watch me, little one.”
She storms to her room and slams her door, leaving mine wide open. I assume it’s to piss me off, but it has little effect.
Walking over, I close it before turning my music back on and falling down on my bed to finish off my joint in peace.
The next time I get a visitor, at least they have the decency to knock, although the second my dad pokes his head around the door, I soon realize that I’d much rather it be Ruby barging her way inside.
“How are you doing?” he asks, slipping farther into the room. His eyes land on me for a beat before they zero in on the ashtray beside my bed.
“Great.” I roll my eyes at him.
“Lisa and I would prefer if you didn’t smoke in the house.”
“Would you?” I ask, tipping my chin up at him.
“Yeah.” His lips part to say more. I know he wants to chew me out for smoking in the first place, but he wisely keeps his thoughts to himself.
“Did you want something?”
He stands awkwardly at the end of my bed looking like he has a million things he wants to say to me, but he seems to stumble over every single one of them. It’s been years since we’ve had any kind of real relationship, and I can’t see us fixing things any time soon. Too much has happened, too much betrayal and pain has happened.
“Uh... yeah... dinner is ready.”
“What is it?”
“I- I don’t know. Lisa cooked it. She’s a fantastic cook though.”
“I bet she is,” I mutter, swinging my legs off the bed. I really don’t want to go and have a family meal with them, but my empty stomach says other things.
“I’m just going to knock for Ruby. I’ll meet you downstairs in a few.”
I refrain from telling him that I’ll get her. If I get anywhere close to her room, there’s a chance I won’t let her down for dinner. Instead, I clean up and grab a shirt, waiting until they’ve both disappeared downstairs to join them.
As I walk into the dining room, they look like a picture-perfect family as they smile at each other and pass the dishes around.
“Wow, this is cozy,” I mutter, pulling the chair out beside Ruby and dropping down. She pauses, spooning some peas onto her plate, and I smile at her reaction to my closeness.
“Ashton, it’s so good to see you,” Lisa almost sings. “How are you doing?” Her eyes go all soft and sympathetic, and it makes anger bloom inside me.
“Yeah, you know,” I mutter. Like fuck does she know anything. She’s not had her life ripped away from her and landed in this hellhole.
“I know we said we wouldn’t talk about the future until...”
“The funeral. You can say the word.” I stab at a potato with my fork and shove the entire thing into my mouth.
“Okay... well... yes, the funeral. But I spoke to Principal Hartmann today about you starting at Rosewood High.”
My eyes shoot to my father’s but I don’t miss Ruby’s chin drop at his words.
“Not happening.”
“Ashton, be sensible here. You don’t have enough credits to graduate this year.”
“How do you know that?” I bark, my irritation levels rising faster than I can control.
“I called your old principal to update him on the situation and to ask him to prepare for your transfer.”
“I’m not going back to school.”
“Sorry, Son, but this isn’t up for discussion. If you’re living under this roof, then you’ll be continuing your education.”
“You’re fucking serious, aren’t you?”
“Ashton,” he admonishes as Lisa gasps at my language.
“I never wanted to live under this roof, or are you forgetting that?”
“You’re still a minor, Ashton. Do you need a reminder of that?”
“I know how fucking old I am,” I seethe.
“Then you know that you don’t really have a choice about this.”
I stand with such speed my chair goes crashing to the floor behind me.
I stare at my father, tension crackling between us.
He was my everything until the day he told me he was leaving, until the day I watched him rip my mother’s heart out and walk away from both of us like we meant nothing.