After New York, I tried to be a better man to her, I even agreed to share her with those morons. Now though, with this out in the air, when I wasn’t the one who told her… she’s never going to trust a word I say again.
“I’ve lied to you a lot, but I’ve also been real with you, Star. I tried to see the world through your eyes, and I’ve never cared enough to do anything like that in the past. I know this doesn’t help, but I have to know. Does it all feel fake to you? Everything that’s occurred between us two?” I crouch down in front of her, and grip her chin when she tries to look away.
“I don’t know. The thing is, I understand it in a way. I just wish I knew the truth from the beginning, maybe things would be different if I had.” Her eyes drop to the side, and I really don’t like where this is going.
“Star…”
The door opens, and I growl as not only Tucker and Aeron walk in, but Thallon as well. My invite did not extend to that dickhead, and they fucking know it. That, and they’re early, I guess they just couldn’t wait to get here, screw it. Clearly this conversation is going nowhere fast, may as well get the show on the road.
“Why is he here?” I use my middle finger to indicate Thallon, before flipping him off.
“He’s our new number three,” Aeron says with a laugh. My spine goes straight as my eyes narrow to slits.
“You have got to be joking, I’m not letting him anywhere near Star. Look what he did to her!” There’s not a chance in Hell that I won’t shout, not at this level of insanity.
“To be fair, you did tell him to punish me. It didn’t have to be Thallon.” Luna’s voice is clear, as we all stare at her. She doesn't shrink back or look away.
“Because I had to be impartial.” I step towards her, but Tucker gets in my way.
“No, because you knew Sir wouldn’t allow me to let her go until I did something bad. You just wanted to make it happen on your timescale, not mine.” Thallon moves towards her. I can’t believe he is saying that with her in the room, he knows the rules.
“Thallon, you can’t say that with her in the room.” Tucker pushes him back, not letting anyone but him and Aero get close to Star, my Star.
“Why not? Didn’t she prove to you she could be trusted? Don’t you hate keeping all this shit from her as much as Aeron does? Or did I misread the signs?”
“It doesn’t matter, he’s not a part of this.” I need to get this back on track, before we go too far into uncharted territory. “It’s bad enough having you two.” I can’t stop myself from shooting daggers into Thallon, I only wish they weren’t metaphorical ones.
“Don’t I get a say in this?” She throws her arms out to the side, as we all stare at her.
“Why would you?” I don’t even hesitate before I ask it. I’m a jackass, I know.
“How about because it’s my body, and despite what you think, the world is a lot different when you leave here?” She’s spitting mad, as she lowers us all with a glare.
“You can’t be serious? After all the shit he’s put you through. Why would you want him to be a part of it?” Tucker asks, as Aeron remains quiet, simply watching what happens.
“What about what you guys put me through? You’re far from angels in all this.” Star storms over to Aeron and he passes her the joint without having to say a single thing. He also pulls her down onto his lap, but she doesn’t look as though she’s about to complain.
“I didn’t do anything, unless making you come repeatedly makes me a bastard.” Tucker smirks at everyone as I crack my knuckles and try to stay focused.
“Sure, because everything always comes back to sex. You really want to know why you guys are no better than him?” I’m proud of her, she hasn’t stuttered once. And seeing her like this, despite all my anger and frustration, it’s a turn on for sure. She looks, at us all in turn, save for Thallon.
“Go for it, Little Zero,” Aeron says against her, and she starts to squirm on his lap.
“Fine, but I wasn’t the one who wanted to dredge up past... past...” Is she about to swear? Ooh, yes, please. I’d love to hear filth come out of that sinful mouth.
“Past shit, Koala girl.” Thallon smirks, and she smirks right back. Great, so now he has a name for her. If I have to cancel this whole agreement, I will. I’ll keep her safe without any of their help.
“Yeah, that.” She lifts her brows, and it's only making me feel more aggravated and hostile. “Fine, Tuck, you made me feel small with your words all the time. And those times you made me come, straight after, you’d ruin it by saying something that would wreck me. It doesn’t bother me anymore, but in the beginning, it destroyed any confidence I may have had.” He’s the first to look away, so she moves her attention to me.
“Pretending to be Liam, actively trying to frighten me. Constantly making me wonder when your good mood would flip and I’d see the Emmet that everyone is afraid of. The whole legacy crap. Do I really need to go on?” I sneer, before it falls away. I can’t say anything though. Really, she isn’t even a little wrong.
“Sin, you were always great with me, apart from when you’d get back. But we’ve already spoken about this.” she trails her fingers down the side of his face, and he places a kiss against her fingertips.
“We’ve all done shit to her, maybe we should let her decide who can protect her. We were going to have four before Tom fucked up anyway.” He sounds half asleep, but I know he’s more than aware of everything.
“She’s an Academy girl, she doesn’t get to make demands,” I shout out, and I hate that everyone but Luna is glaring at me. I’m not in the wrong here. I’m just unravelling, and struggling to keep my head on straight.
“I know what I am, Emmet. I also know that when I leave here, I won’t ever let a guy tell me how I can and can’t behave again.” Her voice is soft, but I can hear every word.
“He’s right though, while you’re here, we can do whatever we want. Emmet owns you, Little Zero.”
She gets to her feet, takes a long drag, and passes it back to Aeron.
“I can’t guess at what I mean to any of you. Maybe I’m an obstacle that you wanted to conquer, a bit of fun, maybe something more substantial. However, when I leave here, I won’t look back. Not for a guy who cared more about the power his name could bring, then experiencing an iota of something more.” Tears stream down Star’s cheeks. She isn't even trying to hide it, and I feel as though I’ve just been gut punched.
“If we were so bad to you, then why were you so happy to see me, Star?”
“Why did you kiss me, Tiny One?”
“Why did you forgive me, Little Zero?”
“Well, you want us to treat you differently from everyone else, then give us a reason to,” I demand, as our questions blend together. Neither waiting for the other to finish speaking first.
“Because I love you!” A shout, a scream, what’s the difference? Either way, it’s loud.
“Who do you love?” Aeron stands up as we all crowd her in. Thallon stays back, he knows right now, this isn’t for him. Who does she love? It can’t be me. Not after everything.