I follow Phoenix out of my father’s office, the smell of my mother’s famous marinara sauce making my stomach rumble.
Like I could even think about eating anything right now.
My eyes fall on Charlotte. Her spine is stiff as she swirls a long wooden spoon around the large stainless-steel pot on the stove. Chase and Asher are standing by, sinister smirks on their faces as they laze against the center island in the kitchen, arms folded over their stupid prep ass button downs.
I grit my teeth.
What in the fuck?
Phoenix drops a hand on Charlotte’s shoulder and she looks up at him with a relieved smile.
It makes my blood fucking curdle.
Why does she look relieved that Phoenix is here?
And what did those assholes say to her?
Judging by the looks on their faces, it was nothing good.
Asher whispers something to Chase, and they both snicker.
I ball my fists at my sides.
They think they have power, and stupid me for feeding it to them in the first place. As if my father would ever put his trust into these guys to handle his business. They only know Gucci and Versace and Armani.
They know nothing of Beretta and Ruger and Kimber.
“Xan, you ready to go?” Chase asks. “Or, ah…” He nods his head toward Charlotte’s back as she stirs, her hand wrapped so tightly around that spoon that her knuckles are turning white. “You got something you need to take care of first?”
I take in a sharp breath. “There’s been a change of plans.”
The guys exchange a look. “But you said your dad—”
I hold up a hand to stop Asher from speaking his next words. “Not tonight.”
“What about the stuff that was taken? Doesn’t he want to get it back?”
I narrow my eyes as Phoenix rolls his. “I told you. Not tonight! I’ll talk to you at school tomorrow. We’ll figure it all out then.”
Asher’s nostrils flare and his jaw twitches. Of the two, he’d be the one more likely to cut me down, but he’s not stupid enough to do it here in what he thinks is my other domain.
Thank fuck Jase was pissed off enough to disappear before he shattered that perception for me.
Phoenix pops a piece of bread into his mouth, not even trying to hide the smirk on his face.
And Char…she never looks up.
Not once.
My throat tightens as Chase and Asher stalk out the front door without another word, slamming the door behind them.
“Xander, what the fuck is with those guys? Are you really that desperate for friends that you needed to pick up with Brantley and Bentley? I mean, they were so fucking starched my body hurt looking at them.” Phoenix grabs a soda out of the fridge and twists off the top.
A tiny snicker escapes Charlotte’s lips as she stirs, and I let out a small sigh.
My mother’s familiar perfumed scent floats into the room, and she greets me with a bright smile, gathering me into her arms. I bury my head in her neck for a minute, just so I can pretend I’m not about to dismember someone, that my whole family is not being hunted by a notorious enemy, and that the girl I secretly love isn’t a potential target for a sex-trafficking ring. For one minute, I just want to be a guy with no cares in the world who can hug his mom and feel protected.
I can’t remember the last time that was my reality.
“Charlotte, are you going to stay for dinner?”
My eyes dart over to Phoenix’s, but before I can even answer, Charlotte turns around with a small smile on her face. “Thanks, Mrs. Iazetti, but I can’t tonight.” I try like hell to catch her gaze, but she purposely avoids it.
At least, that’s what my paranoia tells me anyway.
“Are you sure, sweetie? I feel like you deserve to eat it after all of the work I made you do to it!” Mom laughs, a heartfelt chuckle that is as genuine as they come.
Just like Mom.
“Thank you, but it’s fine. I’m actually having dinner with my parents.”
Hmm. I call bullshit.
I can’t imagine the last time Charlotte’s parents actually made her feel like they wanted her around. It’s part of the reason why we always spent so much time here. My parents treated her like more of a daughter than her own did.
It doesn’t make any sense. Why would she lie? She always preferred being here to her own house in the past. What’s she running home to?
But as much as I want to keep her by my side, I know I have to take her far away from here. Her sticking around puts her more at risk, and until I have more on Moretti, I need her to lay low.
Only problem is, I can’t tell her why.
“I’ll take you home,” I say, avoiding my mother’s curious stare. She knows enough not to ask the burning questions unless we’re alone, and for that I’m grateful.
I wish fucking Jase had gotten the discretion gene.
But he got overloaded with the dickhead gene instead.
I watch as Charlotte gathers my mother in a long, tight hug and my mother cups her face, making her promise to come back to collect on the dinner invite.
Charlotte never once looks up at me.
My skin prickles as she brushes past, flipping her hair over her shoulder. My breath hitches as the soft ends graze my arm. Phoenix flashes a knowing smile, and I grab my keys, following Charlotte out the door.
I push my hair back and follow her, clicking the after-market alarm I just had installed to unlock the passenger side door. I open the door and she slides in, silent, still staring straight ahead.
“I’m not taking you back to the beach. I don’t want you anywhere near that car,” I say. “I’m taking you straight home. We’ll worry about the car tomorrow. And you can’t go anywhere tonight, okay? You need to lay low until we figure this out.”
Nothing but silence fills the air.
“Char—” I start to say.
“Just shut it, Xander,” she mutters. “I shouldn’t have gone home with you. I should have gone right to the cops. And don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. I don’t need you as my keeper. I would have preferred you as my friend, but it’s clear we’re past that now.”
My fingers tighten around the steering wheel. “Way past,” I growl. “And don’t do anything stupid tonight. That guy has your license plate number. That means he has your address. Let your highly paid security team do their jobs and stay in that fucking house!”
“You don’t have the right to tell me what to do!” she screeches. “You gave up that right, remember? You’re not pulling strings anymore! Not you or your asshole friends!”
My friends.
Jesus Christ, what the hell did they say to her?
I try to control my breathing, but my pulse is thumping so hard against my neck, I’m afraid it’ll explode in the next few seconds. “Look, if that guy was on your ass tonight, do you really think he’d have let you make it to the police station? Or anywhere else, for that matter?” I shake my head, the Judge’s engine roaring to life. “I know you’re not that stupid.”
She pins me to the leather seat with a glare that shoots flaming fucking daggers that slice away at my insides. “I’m not a lot of things, Xander. And a doormat is one of them.”
I peel out of my driveway, headed in the direction of Hawthorne Manor. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“That whole episode at the beach?” she yells. “What was that? Another way to play me? Toying with me like that when I was clearly upset? You decided to use a different tactic since we weren’t at school?” She scoffs. “I prefer the bully version of you better. At least he’s an outright scumbag and not a liar!”
“I wasn’t gonna let you stick around in the fucking dark so that dick could attack you the way he almost did at the club I told you to stay away from!” I shout, maneuvering the car down a tree-lined street in her neighborhood. “I didn’t want you to wind up dead!”
“And you were so worried that you disappear
ed with your brothers practically as soon as we walked into the house, and then left your jerk-ass friends to feed on me. Tell me, are they your errand boys the way you always complained about being Jase’s? Are they taking bully classes from the king? Is that why they were there tonight?”
I slam my hands on the steering wheel. Goddammit! I’m gonna beat the shit outta those assholes when I get my hands on them!
“What the hell are you talking about? I forgot that I made plans with them tonight. I didn’t think leaving you with them for a few minutes would be a big deal. If they got out of line, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. But they’re just looking out for me. They know what happened between us and they don’t want me to get screwed over. You know, I have a life, Charlotte! I had to keep going after you left! I made other friends, friends who actually gave a shit about me! I built a life for myself, a damn good one, once I figured out how I was gonna—” I snap my mouth shut before I can finish my thought.
How I was gonna live without you.
Yeah, that’s better left unsaid for now.
It’ll be easier to keep her safe if she continues to hate me.
“I had a life, too, Xander, and it sucked without you,” she whispers as I pull up to the security gate at her estate.
Well, fuck me. That makes my gut contort every which way, not that there’s a damn thing I can do about it right now.
The guard pops his head out to eye me up and down. Finally, he peers into the car, spotting Charlotte.
“Hey, Jasper,” she says, forcing a smile. “He’s fine, don’t worry.”
Jasper nods, flashing a tight smile at me. “Sir.”
“Thanks,” I grunt, pressing on the gas as soon as the gates creak open.
I drive slowly, passing the Olympic-sized swimming pool, cabanas, tennis court, and man-made lake on the property before the main house comes into view. I pull around the cobblestone driveway and stop in front of the double mahogany doors.
I open my mouth to say something, not that I know what, but she beats me to it.
“I thought I caught a glimpse of the real you at the beach, the guy I remember. The guy I loved,” she murmurs. “But he really is gone, isn’t he?” She shakes her head.
“He had a lot of shit to deal with on his own when you left,” I say, staring at her profile in the moonlight, silently urging her to look at me one last time. “It changed him. For good.”
“Yeah, and for the worst,” she says, a hard edge to her voice. She turns her head a slight bit, meeting my pained expression, her eyes guarded. “Stupid me for thinking things could be different this time around.” She pushes open the door and steps out of the car before I can even jump out to help her.
“I have a great fucking life without you, Charlotte,” I hiss, choking on each word as they spill from my lips. “And the only thing that’s gonna be different this time is that your pathetic ass will be shriveled up in a corner alone. Your choice,” I say through clenched teeth. “Your fault. Your fucking problem.”
Charlotte’s eyes widen as I spew hatred and disdain, despising myself more and more with each word uttered. Her eyes darken, her jaw tight. “Well, thanks for reminding me that I have absolutely nothing keeping me here in Ridgeview, Xander. Graduation can’t come soon enough,” she snaps, sliding out of the car and slamming the door closed.
I watch her walk into the house, her shoulders slumped and an icy sensation circles my heart and squeezes.
I’d say it hurts, but it’s already so damn numb.
And empty.
It’s been that way for the year and a half.
I don’t see it ever changing.
Chapter 17
Charlotte
Xander doesn’t follow me.
It’s not a surprise, but it still stings a little.
It’s not like he has ever fought for me before. Why would tonight be any different?
After slamming his car door, I hear his car peel out of my driveway. Guess he couldn’t get away from me fast enough.
My entire body feels heavy as the giant wood front door whines while I open it. The sterile feel of Hawthorne Manor pricks at every nerve.
This is the last place I want to be. But where else do I have to go?
Slipping my shoes off, I trot to my staircase. Right as my foot is about to hit the first step, my father’s booming voice echoes against the marble flooring.
“Where the fuck have you been?” My father never curses, not unless he is fighting with my mother.
I twirl around, pinned in place by his menacing stare. His chest is puffed out. His fists are clenched. His suit is disheveled. Not the look I was expecting.
No matter how rough of a day, no matter how enraged Charles Hawthorne was, he always kept his composure — always looked put together. His outward appearance was akin to a superpower.
“Out,” I finally respond. I feel an inch tall as he hovers over me.
“What do you mean ‘out’? Where is my car?” The bourbon coating his words isn’t lost on me.
I take a step back, but he closes the space quickly. “I went to the beach, but a friend drove me home.”
“A friend?” My father’s deep blues narrow as he scoffs. “Iazettis are not friends. When is that going to sink into that thick skull of yours?”
I tug on the bottom of my long hair. He’s right. But I ignore the fact that he knew I was with Xander. I don’t want to fight with him about that anymore. Old news. He ruined all of that for me years ago. There’s no use in beating that dead horse.
“So, you just left my expensive car in a lot at the beach without even thinking about the fact that it could be stolen?” he continued, growling at me.
“I’ll get it in the morning. It was getting dark and I didn’t feel safe driving.” It’s only half of a lie. I wasn’t safe. But it’s not like my father cares about that. He only cares that I borrowed his new baby and that she was in danger. My father could buy ten more of them without blinking, but to him they are invaluable. Wonder if he thinks of me that way. Probably not.
“You’re just as careless as your mother.” His words dig in deep as I remember their fight from earlier.
“I’m sorry for taking the car, but I promise I will get it before school tomorrow.” I don’t know what else to say. There isn’t really any point with all of that rage, sorrow, and expensive liquor soaking my father’s blood.
“Your brother would have never been so cavalier.”
Ouch.
“Well, I am sorry I am not Andrew,” I cry out, throwing my shoes and purse onto the floor at my feet. I know he was thinking it, so might as well just say it. “I am sorry I am not the perfect golden boy that he was. I am the disappointment that you just wish wasn’t your problem.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Charlotte. You messed up tonight. Do not turn this around on me.” He grips my arm, getting within an inch of my face. “You know better than to act like a petulant child.”
“I know what you really want to say, Dad.” I bow up a little, locking my eyes on his.
“What is that, Lottie?” His lips curl at the corners as his front teeth grind together, daring me to say what is on my mind.
He’s drunk. No surprise. But I wish that it was because he was mourning his son. My father doesn’t have that kind of heart – or a heart at all. He’s just drunk because he can be. And its making this entire situation even worse. Fuck it. I’m finally voicing how I feel and that feeling amazing.
“You wish that I was gone and Andrew was still here. And quite frankly, so do I.”
“I knew bringing you home was a mistake.”
“Then why did you?” My throat catches as I fight back all of the emotions from the day. I hate that I want to cry. I hate that I am showing any form of weakness. I am not weak. He will finally see that about me. He has tugged on my strings for the last time.
“Because I am your father and I am doing what is right for this family. You know as much as you need to. You’d best lea
rn your place around here. Stop acting out and stealing cars that don’t belong to you, and start acting like the Hawthorne that you’re supposed to be.”
“I see it now. I see why Mom has to stay doped up to be around you. You’re a miserable man who doesn’t care about anything other than status and money.”
“You’re mother at least knows her place,” he snarls, gripping my arm tighter. As his nails dig in, I try to wrestle it free. There’s no use. He’s got me right where he wants me.
“Let me guess. She’s at a spa for a few days? She made good on her promise to leave.”
He churns his jaw, eyes still locked on mine. He’s daring me to look away but I won’t. Not this time. I am finally standing up for myself. And it feels damn good.
“You know I miss him, too. Just like Mom does. Just like you do,” I continue as my father stands there at a loss for words for the first time in his life. “But at least we don’t take it out on everyone else around us. You treat Mom like shit and you both completely ignore me.”
“I will not stand for this, Charlotte. I am your father. You have no right to speak to me this way.”
Is that all he’s got? Really? Nice comeback, Chuckie.
“You just don’t like things that you cannot control.”
His shoulders square as he sucks in a deep breath. “Go to your room and stay there. You are not to leave this house until it is time for school in the morning. Do I make myself clear? I’ll deal with the car. You’re never to drive one of my vehicles ever again. Is that clear?”
I swallow hard. He’s the second man to tell me I cannot leave the suffocating walls of Hawthorne Manor in under an hour. It makes me want to leave all the more. And I am going to. He’ll just never find out about it. The only reason why he knew I was gone was because I left with his car. I won’t make that mistake again.
He throws my arm to the side and turns away from me.
“I have to go out for the night, but mark my words, I have every eye of this staff watching you.” He doesn’t turn around for his final statement. He just leaves me standing there.
* * *
Puppet: Ridgeview Prep Book 1 Page 14