by Shel Stone
Who you drove to drink, Adrian wanted to say, but knew he couldn’t.
His father called the waiter over with a curl of his finger. “My son will have Spaghetti Bolognese.”
“We don’t…” the waiter said, looking panicked.
“Or whatever child’s food you have.”
“I’m not hungry, Father. It interferes with my drinking.”
“Just bring something,” his father said tartly. Yep, such antics would probably be devastating normally, but Adrian just didn’t give a shit. “Now, you stay the fuck away from that girl.”
Adrian laughed. For a moment, he wondered if Cecily had actually called his dad, or had her dad do it. No, that wasn’t her style. She didn’t trust her parents any more than he did his. No, this was because someone had mentioned something to him about his son fucking Jeffrey Chambers’ daughter, or of that ilk.
And really, if he wasn’t stopping pursuing Cecily at Cecily’s request, he was hardly going to stop at his father’s. “Yeah, that is not going to be an option,” Adrian said.
His father did that icy silence he did when he was really displeased. He could feel the man’s eyes on him. The last thing he wanted was to discuss Cecily with his father.
“Well, that’s an order, Adrian. This is not something you wish to displease me about.” His low voice had a clear warning. “Things could get very uncomfortable for you. Don’t think you’re in a position to take all this for granted.”
“All what? This restaurant?”
“The flow could so easily stop. You do understand that, don’t you?” There was something in his father that quite enjoyed this dressing down. The man fully expected to be obeyed. In fact, he’d never gone quite this far with his insistence before.
Adrian smiled. “Here’s the thing, though,” he said, looking his father in the eyes, “however bad Jeffrey Chambers fucked you, Cecily Chambers fucked me much worse.” He leaned forward. “And you threatening to disown me at this point, isn’t even going to register on my radar.”
It was true. Literally nothing would make him stop. Maybe Cecily if she truly wanted it, but he didn’t believe so because she gave as good as she got—maybe better considering how things were standing. She knew she had him and she rubbed it in. If she was running in terror, he probably would leave her alone, but she egged him on. Truthfully, he wouldn’t be this obsessed with her if she had truly backed off, but she never had, not for a moment. She stuck the knife in. So no, his father threatening to cut up his credit card wasn’t really entering the picture.
Picking up his wineglass, his father drank slowly, then put it back. Might be that he’d pick up his phone now to call his banker to stop any flow of money going his way. Adrian tried to think through the implications, and all he could think of was less alcohol. Seb would buy his drinks and never bat an eyelid. If the choice came between Cecily and whatever else, he wasn’t letting go of Cecily. It might not be a good thing informing his father of the position he was in, but it was done now.
“If you’re going to disown me, do it. Seems my loyalty is with Cecily Chambers, whether I want it to be or not.” It would be a pain in the ass, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. His mother had money of her own, but it would make family dinners uncomfortable. His school fees were paid up until the end of the year. And if he had to move out, well, he’d just deal with it.
“You’re not marrying that girl.”
“What? I’m eighteen. I’m not marrying anyone.” Although in all honesty, there was no one else he could consider having a future with, not that he was even thinking of the future.
“You understand the damage Jeffrey Chambers could do to our family?” Oh, it was our family now? A minute ago, it had been a clear distinction between the people who mattered and those who were mere moochers.
A plate of fries and crumbed chicken nuggets were placed down in front of him, and a glass of whiskey. Adrian laughed. It burst out of him, and it actually felt really good to laugh. It might come across a little maniacal. This was absurd.
“You’ll be glad to know my feelings aren’t reciprocated.”
“I’m not surprised after the stunt you pulled with that video clip.”
“Well, I didn’t plan on things turning out like this.” Adrian looked at his father. Something had changed. His tone had changed. Maybe he understood the impossible position Adrian was in, because he was fucked, or the man had finally given up on him.
“You made your bed, now sleep in it.” Okay, maybe things hadn’t really changed that much.
Chapter 39
ALTHOUGH CECILY WOULDN’T admit it, it was a little nerve-wracking going to sit with Mont in the cafeteria. It was as if she could feel Adrian’s eyes boring into her back, but he could stuff it. This was her gig and if he didn’t like it, he could leave. Then again, she didn’t really have any idea what he wanted, beside the fact that he wanted her, or said he did. She didn’t entirely trust his declarations. There was a large chance he was still just trying to mess with her. And hell he was good at it. It was so easy for him to mess with her equilibrium.
If he hated that she was back in the cafeteria, she had no idea. Maybe he was back to wanting her gone now that she wasn’t succumbing to his charms. Why was it so damn difficult to work out how to deal with him? It was like walking on eggshells, not knowing what would set him off.
And people didn’t seem to care as much about his decree that she was a persona non grata. Few people, other than Morgan and Abby, actually knew what was going on between them. Maybe they took this as a challenge to his authority in the school. And even with everything, she still wanted to tear down his decree that she was to be shunned, because she was still angry as hell.
The fact that his feelings had changed didn’t make her forgive what he’d done to her. If he suffered, it was what he deserved. And if he had any respect for her, which she doubted, he would stop his actions against her. And maybe he was, because people were chilling out around her. Even Mishti and Tory were venturing over to say hello. Adrian’s decree that she was no one didn’t hold anymore.
“Hey,” a familiar voice said. Audrina. “How is everyone?” So apparently Audrina was over pretending she didn’t exist. Guess that meant the winds had changed since the fair-weather friends were back. She stood awkwardly as if she wasn’t sure what her reception would be like.
“Good,” Mishti said. “How was your trip to LA?”
Cecily hadn’t known she’d gone to LA, and found she didn’t care. Clearly Audrina and Mishti were still in touch, probably Tory too. Maybe not Morgan as Audrina would have put her friendship on pause to see how public opinion would go. In a sense, if Cecily would forgive Mishti and Tory for their desertion, she should forgive Audrina too. But Audrina was family and that had meant nothing to her. Because of that, Cecily couldn’t just forgive her like she had the others. If you weren’t loyal to family, who were you loyal to?
Then again, the same could be true for herself. It could be said she had been less than loyal to her own family. Her parents, her brothers. Lauren, who she still refused to see as family. Since coming back, she hadn’t tried at all with any of them. She’d been too angry with everyone to recognize any effort they had made. But they had treated her like shit, her mind yelled back at her, and they deserved it back. And Audrina had treated her like shit—she didn’t deserve forgiveness.
“You should come out tonight. We’re going to Depository. It’s going to be a cool night. Kind of sedate. Everyone is going,” Mishti said, then turned her attention to Cecily. “You’re coming, right?”
“I don’t know,” Cecily said.
“Everyone is going.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Cecily wanted to check if Mont had other plans, but maybe he was already planning on going if everyone else was. “I’ll see what we’re up to.” Since the date, her and Mont had started hanging out more often. They were kind of slipping into coupledom. They met every morning, sat together at lunch and sometimes they ca
ught up after his practice. It wasn’t ‘come over and hang’ yet, but it was definitely heading that way. Nothing official. It was just that they spent time together and no one would be surprised if they made it official.
Adrian speared through her head. He’d hate it. He hated everything about Mont, and her and Mont. But that was just too bad. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. He had nothing left he could use. Still, she couldn’t stop the twisting feelings of unease that came with thinking about him. That never seemed to stop. If she could just stop that, then she would probably be completely over him and this bullshit. That would be cool—his name was mentioned and she felt absolutely nothing. Kind of like she did about her ex Jasper these days. Jasper who? Oh, that guy. Nothing.
Looking over, she saw Mont down the table, laughing at something one of the guys said. So cute, so perfect. They’d kissed and it was really nice. Mont was a good kisser. It just didn’t have that rip-your-clothes-off quality that she’d had with Adrian. Probably because Adrian was full-on crazy. But they said that, didn’t they, that there were guys you burned so hot with, it just consumed everything. They weren’t good for you. That was what Adrian was. He wanted that fire, had become caught in it, and still was. That fire wasn’t good. It was destructive. Or maybe Adrian was just batshit crazy and she’d become caught up in it.
Still, she didn’t dare look over toward where he was sitting, because she knew he would look back, and his eyes would draw her in and shit would start again. Any angle and he would draw her in. Always looking for a way to get at her—spent arsenal and all.
The bell rang and Cecily could dismiss him from her thoughts. The Audrina question was left unanswered. She still needed to think through what she wanted to do there. Standing up, she went over and kissed Mont. He had to lean down to reach her, and she loved that he did.
Don’t look over, she told herself as she turned back and grabbed her bag. He would be there. Luckily, she had no more classes with him after lunch, so she could relax a little—as much as she ever relaxed when he was around.
*
Depository was a nice bar/restaurant. It was industrial meets rustic. Clearly designed by someone for that effect. Wood and metal chairs along a long bar. Comfortable seating, and further into the space, there were restaurant tables.
And it was full of people from school. Clearly some managed to get drinks from the barman as there were large jugs of beer on the tables.
Mishti looked good and seemed to be on form. Entertaining was her thing and she acted a little like a hostess, greeting everyone as they came in. Morgan veered off to chat with Finn, whom she apparently had a thing for. Not overtly, but if he called her over, she always went. Cecily didn’t follow, because Adrian was sitting in that direction. Like a dark cloud in the room, that Cecily was intent on ignoring.
Spotting Mont, she smiled and walked over to where he stood by the bar with one of his teammates. “Hey,” she said and kissed him back when he leaned down to her.
“You hungry? I thought we could eat.”
“I can eat.”
“There’s a bit of a waiting list. We can go somewhere else.”
“I’m not in a hurry.”
“You want a drink?”
“Uhmm.” She didn’t have a good fake ID like everyone else did. In Europe, where they tended to go, staff weren’t that fussy—and the drinking age was lower. And besides, Mont wasn’t really into girls drinking a lot. Food was more his thing, and he ate a lot. “Nah, I’ll wait until dinner.” The teammate took his beer and wandered off, leaving his seat empty and Cecily hung her coat over the back. “I’ll just go to the bathroom.”
A narrow corridor led to the bathroom, which was nice with white shiplap on the walls and black fixtures. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold and she checked her lipgloss before heading back.
But Adrian was standing in the narrow hallway as she emerged, which made her pause. For a moment, she considered going back into the ladies, but she refused to be chased away.
“How’s it going pretending to be perfect?” he asked, that smirk on his face he sometimes did, the one she wanted to smack off his face most of the time.
“Good. I’m coping really well with it. Hey, maybe I am perfect?” she replied with a shrug.
“The mask isn’t rubbing a bit?”
“Nope.” With his arm stretched across the narrow walkway, he wasn’t letting her pass and it annoyed her. “Toilet’s that way,” she said, pointing behind her. Why the hell was this corridor so narrow? They had to basically squeeze past each other. Unfortunately, Adrian didn’t look set to move. Probably enjoyed having her pinned.
“What are you going to do when fucking him will be such a disappointment?”
“Screw you, Adrian,” she said and shoved him as hard as she could, barging past him. His hand gripped her arm, and she turned back to him. “Let go!” she warned.
His eyes told her he really didn’t want to, but his grip loosened and she wrenched her arm out. “You’re disgusting,” she said, turning her back to him. “You know that?” She took a step back. “A stupid little boy, who has no idea what to do with himself. Can’t sort yourself out, so all you can do is tear other people down.”
The dark glossiness in his eyes drew her in like they always did. Bastard. And he had no answer for her, not response to her accusations. He only stared at her. “You don’t belong with him.”
“No, I don’t belong with you. No one does, because you’re a kid having a temper tantrum.”
She didn’t trust him at all, didn’t know what he would do right now. Not much, because Mont was just around the corner, mere feet away. Not only that, but his whole team was here, and Adrian was smart enough to know he’d get the shit kicked out of him.
With her back straight and her head held high, she walked away. “At least I am honest,” he called.
“Fuck you, Adrian. Were you honest when you took me out, told me all those lies and deceived me?”
“Yes.”
“Bullshit. Do you even hear yourself? You can’t stop lying.”
“I never lied.”
“Oh really? Should we ask everyone else if you lied and deceived me? You didn’t lie when you taped me…”
“Fucking me,” he filled in.
“Screw you. So that wasn’t a lie? How you planned on putting that on the internet?”
“It was an omission.”
“Same thing, you sick fuck.”
“I’m in love with you. That isn’t a lie. Believe me—it’s not a fucking lie.”
“Whatever,” she said and marched away. “Burn.” Seriously, he could burn with it. All on his own. It wasn’t true. It was some kind of way for him to manipulate her.
Her heart beating and adrenalin running through her system, she took her seat by the bar again and tried to smile at Mont. Fuck Adrian and his bullshit. When would it end? The worst was that he picked on her most sensitive spots, her fears. He saw that she didn’t fully show her true self with Mont, and he honed in on the fact that she feared he wouldn’t accept her as she was. Adrian was more than adamant that Mont wouldn’t accept her, but it wasn’t like she would believe him—except he echoed the fears inside her. And now he predicted that they wouldn’t have the right kind of passion between them, which, although she wished it wasn’t so, was another thing she really feared. What if they never had more than just nice? Would she be pretending there too?
No, he was messing with her head. It was what he always did.
And then he came out, he walked with firm strides, but when he came past her, he reached out and grabbed her face, pulling her into a bruising kiss on her cheek. It was so fast, she couldn’t guard against it. A passing kiss, hard enough that she wondered if it leave a mark. Just like him to do something despicable.
The shock in Mont’s eyes were clear. Was Adrian trying to insinuate something had happened in that corridor? Was this his new tactic? Why wouldn’t he ever stop?
Withou
t thinking, she picked up her glass of water and threw it at him, hitting him in the back. It fell to the ground and broke. Seemingly, silence descended on the whole place. Everyone had seen it. Adrian turned to stare at her, his head cocked to the side. This pleased him. Asshole.
Cecily stared daggers at him.
“Uhm?” Mont said beside her and she turned her attention back to him. The shock was written on his face. Okay, that had to seem kind of crazy to him.
“You don’t know the shit he says,” Cecily said, trying to explain her shocking reaction.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Morecroft?” Mont asked, rising from his chair. Oh, no, she had started an escalation. Technically, Adrian had started it. What did he think would happen when he came out and did that?
“Things are messy between her and me,” Adrian stated.
“Yeah, no shit. You should be in jail for the shit you pulled,” Mont said.
Adrian snorted. “Believe me she got her revenge.”
“What are you talking about?” Mont asked, looking between them.
“Nothing,” Cecily said.
“Oh really? Don’t lie, Cecily,” Adrian said warningly.
It was like a coldness coming down across Mont’s features. A distance. He just wasn’t there anymore. “What is he talking about?” Mont asked, addressing her now.
“I just…” Cecily started. In her gut, she knew she was in trouble here. Things were going seriously wrong. There had been one infraction. “I’ve just had it up to here with his sh—… antics. It just doesn’t stop. You know what he did to me.”
“And that’s called an omission,” Adrian stated and Cecily wished her stare would kill him.
Mont’s mouth was tight. “I’m just going to… You need to sort your shit out.”
“This isn’t my shit,” Cecily pleaded.
“Really? Because you seem to be engage in this just as much as he does.” Abby and Morgan’s warnings were echoing through her mind as he said it. They’d said the same thing, and now Mont agreed with them. How could he say that? He didn’t know what went on, how Adrian was always trying to trip her up, or undermine her. “And you literally threw a glass at him.”