by Caitlyn Dare
And who knows when we might get another.
23
Bexley
"Can't we just stay here all day? It's the weekend, no classes. We don't even have to leave your bed," I suggest as I reluctantly pull my clothes on after another shower where very little actual cleaning went on.
"We can't," Mia says sadly, being the voice of reason. "You know as well as I do, I'm not going to be able to hide forever. The fact that I wasn't summoned yesterday is a shock in itself."
I nod at her, running my hand through my wet hair as I watch her brush hers.
"This fucking blows," I groan, feeling totally out of sorts at the thought of leaving her to wait for Cade and whatever sick games he might have in store for her.
My fists curl as I watch her.
"I'll be okay, I promise." Her eyes lock with mine in the mirror, and she gives me a small smile that in no way makes me believe her words.
She might think she can hold her own, but the reality is that I don't think anyone can do that when it comes to Kingsley.
Ripping my eyes from hers, I find her cell sitting on her nightstand and I march over.
"What are you doing?"
I tap away, ignoring her question.
"If he does anything, tries anything… If you need me…" I flash her the screen with my number. "Call me. Yeah?"
She nods, but I fear it's only to appease me.
"Kitty Cat?" she asks, walking over and taking her cell off me.
"You're my little mouse, I can be your cat." I wink before a smile curls at my lips.
"You're a goof. Come here." Her tiny hands slide up my chest until her arms rest over my shoulders and she reaches up on her tiptoes so she can kiss me.
"I'll miss you," she murmurs against my lips. My cock swells once again at her closeness, and I wish I could take her away from all of this, away from him, and just keep her for myself.
"You too, little mouse."
I push my tongue past her lips and I just start to lose myself in her once more when a knock sounds out around the room like a gunshot.
She jumps away from me as if I burned her, and pain wraps around my chest at her move.
"You need to go," she hisses.
I look around the room at a loss for how that’s supposed to happen while someone—probably the devil himself—is standing at the other side of the only door.
"The window." She points at it as if I don't know what one is.
Before I look over, I take her in for a second. All the color has drained from her face and her eyes are wide, like a rabbit caught in headlights.
"You're serious?"
"The fire escape is right there, you won't plummet to your death."
"Great," I mutter, shoving my feet into my sneakers and making my way over.
"Who is it?" I ask as I pull the curtains back to see she's right about the escape.
I lock that little nugget of knowledge away for later, because it's the perfect way to get to her unnoticed in the future.
She rushes over to the door and presses her eye to the peephole.
"A-Annabel."
She gestures for me to hurry up and I throw open the window, pissed off that it's come to this, although I knew it would.
I shouldn't even be here, let alone doing the walk of shame after the night before.
With one last look at her, I throw my leg out the window and climb to the small platform beside it.
Mia quickly closes the window behind me, but I don't go. Instead, I watch her reflection in the mirror in her room as she smooths down her hair and pulls the door open.
I expect to see Annabel's blonde hair flounce into the room, but instead, all the air rushes from my lungs when Kingsley steps inside, his face hard, clearly pissed off that he was made to wait.
She lied to me.
After everything that just happened between us. She lied to me.
My stomach plummets.
I know I'm only torturing myself, but I can't take my eye off them as he takes her chin in his hard grip and slams his lips down on hers.
Pain shoots from my chest as I watch the girl I'm falling for kiss another man.
No, not just another man.
Him.
My stomach churns and bile burns its way up my throat, yet I still don't move.
It's not until he walks them out of sight that I'm released from my frozen trance and am able to jump over the railing, landing on my feet on the ground below. Without looking back, I take off running across campus, but when I get to my building, I don't bother going inside.
Instead, I climb into my car and speed out of the parking lot.
I don’t have a destination in mind, I just know that I needed to get away and attempt to clear my head.
Mia has me feeling all kinds of things that I know I shouldn't, especially when she's promised to someone else.
I think of my mom and my biological father. Is this how it happened for them? Have the two of us just condemned ourselves to lives full of deceit and lies?
I slam my hand down on the wheel, the frustration getting the better of me.
She’s not mine.
She can never be mine.
All we’re going to do is cause each other more pain by carrying on this charade, by pretending that we can have everything we want.
I've already taken something from her that I shouldn't have. And if he finds out… I shudder at the thought. Cade is already gunning for me. I can only imagine how bad it will get if he knew I took her v-card when it should belong to him.
My fingers tighten on the wheel as I picture him sliding his tongue past her lips and claiming her.
Could he smell me on her?
Was my scent still in the room?
Does he know?
My stomach is awash with nervous energy and fear for my little mouse when I pull up to a house I haven’t seen in a while.
I shouldn't really be surprised that this was where I'd end up. I like torturing myself, after all, and I've just left one car crash behind only to walk into another.
Killing the engine, I sit back, staring at the house that was my home for almost all of my life—well, until I was banished from town and cast aside as if I never existed.
I blow out a breath and push my door open. Mom’s home. Her car is in its usual space, along with the housekeeper’s.
My hands tremble as I try to contain the storm that's threatening to erupt within me, and I swing the front door open and step inside. The familiar scent of jasmine hits my nose, but where it once made me feel safe, content, I no longer feel anything.
"Hello?" I boom through the silent house.
Movement erupts from upstairs, and in a few seconds footsteps race toward the stairs.
"Bexley? Oh my goodness. Bexley!"
Mom flies down the stairs at the speed of light before she crashes into me, flinging her arms around my neck and squeezing me tight.
I don't return her excitement. Instead, I leave my arms by my side and wait for her to get her fill.
"I've missed you so much," she sobs against my shoulder. I refrain from pointing out that if she never sent me away like an unwanted pet then she wouldn't have to miss me, but at this point, my leaving Sterling Bay seems like the least of my issues.
Finally, after long minutes, she pulls back and wipes her tear-coated cheeks.
"Oh it's so good to… your face," she says in horror as she attempts to frown, but her Botox stops most of the movement in her face.
My bruises are mostly gone now, but there's still some evidence lingering from last weekend's fight.
"What happened?"
"You happened," I spit, turning my back on her and stalking toward the kitchen, my sudden need for a drink too much to deny.
I march straight to the refrigerator and pull out one of Dad's beers.
"Bexley, isn't it a little early for—"
"Really?" I spit. "Are you really going to stand there and criticize my choices after all the times y
ou've fucked up?"
"Bexley?" she sighs, fresh tears welling in her eyes.
"No. Don't ‘Bexley’ me, Mom. You lied to me my entire life. No, actually, you didn't just lie to me. You lied to Dad, too. You betrayed both of us."
"It wasn't like that," she cries.
"No? So what was it like?"
"I was protecting you. Don't you see that?"
"Well, a fine job you've done of that, Mom. I've ended up right in the middle of where you apparently didn't want me. You ran, you lied, you did all of that to keep me from my rightful place as heir of that bullshit, yet at the first sniff of trouble, you send me back there. What the hell, Mom?"
Her tears finally fall, and she makes no attempt to hide them from me like she would have in the past.
"I didn't have a choice."
"You always have a choice."
"Marcus discovered that you were his blood. Before that, you were safe. We were safe."
"How? How did he find out?"
She throws her arms up. "I have no idea. How do Quinctus find out anything? They have eyes and ears everywhere."
"You should have been more careful."
"That’s why I came here, Bexley.” Her expression softens. “Sterling Bay is meant to be a safe haven. It was agreed that Sterling would be a safe haven. That we couldn't be touched here. The Jaggers made sure that we could live our lives as we wished and were able to leave our pasts behind us."
A safe haven? What the fuck does that mean?
"You’re not making any sense,” I grit out. “If it's so safe here, why did I have to go back?"
"It’s complicated, son. There’s still things I can’t tell you.”
“What the fuck?” I balk. This is crazy. I need answers. I need to know what the fuck is going on.
“You were a firstborn heir, Bexley. The second I discovered I was pregnant, I knew I had to get you out of there. And then when I gave birth and discovered you were a boy… I was terrified. I know what Quinctus are capable of, and I didn't want that life for my child."
"Yet look where I am. In the middle of my fucking initiation." My voice booms across the kitchen, my anger over this whole situation getting the better of me.
"I'm so sorry, Bex. I'm so sorry." She drops her head into her hands and sobs.
"Not good enough, Mom. I'll never forgive you for this. For lying to both of us for so long."
"I just wanted—" she hiccups.
"To protect me, I know."
Her eyes lift to mine, devastation and guilt shining brightly within them.
"Where's Dad?"
"A-at work."
"Tell me he hasn't forgiven you for this?"
"He—" Hiccup. "He's moved into the pool house."
"What?" I roar. "You deceive him for your entire relationship, and he's the one to leave the house—the house that he pays for? Unbelievable."
"We need to keep up appearances, you know that."
I sigh, my fight leaving me at the ridiculousness of this entire situation.
Of course this is all about how things look to the rest of Sterling Bay and all of their pretentious, asshole friends.
"This is a fucking joke. You are a fucking joke."
I blow out of the house, slamming the door so hard behind me I wonder if the glass might have cracked as I storm toward the pool house.
I didn't come here for Mom, although she might have some of the answers I so desperately need. I came for Dad. The only other person on the planet who understands how I feel right now. And who is probably as confused as I am by all this bullshit.
The space looks mostly the same as I remember, but instead of it being where I hung out with my boys, it's now a bachelor pad. Bottles of beer and whiskey cover most of the surfaces, along with work folders and notes.
I fall down on the couch and rest my head back, closing my eyes, wondering how the hell my perfect life turned to such shit.
24
Mia
“What’s wrong?” Annabel asks as we walk up to my house.
After spending the night—one amazing night—wrapped in Bexley’s arms, and then finding Cade standing at my door this morning, I needed space.
Cade is out of town for the weekend—he wouldn’t tell me why. But I’d texted Bexley straight away, asking if he wanted to do something.
He never replied, and my mood went from hopeful to despair in five minutes flat. So when Annabel called and asked if I wanted to go home with her for the weekend, I said yes. It beat sitting around all weekend, waiting for Cade to come back or wondering what Bexley was doing that was so important he didn’t want to speak to me.
“Nothing.” I force a smile.
“Come on, Mia. This is me. I know when my best friend is upset about something. You barely said two words at lunch.” We’d visited her mom first, spending a couple of hours eating the ridiculous spread Mrs. French had laid out.
“It’s just weird being back, I guess.”
“Since everything?” she asks, and I nod.
“I didn’t exactly leave on great terms with my parents.” There had been raised voices and cussing, mostly from me. But I didn’t understand how they were so okay with me being Cade’s prosapia. With Mom, I got it a little. She was born into this life. But Dad? He’d always been a bit more of a free spirit.
“But they’re family. You always find your way back to family.”
“Thanks, Bel.” I grab her hand and stop her just before we reach the front door. “I know things have been a bit strange since we started Gravestone U—"
“And you became one of them, you mean?” She smiles, and I find no malice there, only understanding.
“I’m not one of them. I’m not sure I ever will be.”
“I get it. But I want you to know something, too. I’m proud of the way you’ve handled everything. You should be, too. Being the chosen prosapia is never easy. But look at Fawn and Tim. They’re wildly in love.”
I want to argue after what Sasha told me about Tim and Hadley, but I don’t, because although Annabel is my only real friend at Gravestone U, she’s right. Some things have changed. I’m on the inside now, or at least, I’ve entered their world. Annabel is still an outsider.
“Here goes nothing, I guess,” I say, digging out my key and letting us into the house.
“Mom?” I call.
“Mia, sweetheart, is that you?” She rounds the hall, looking every bit her immaculate self.
“Oh, baby, it’s so good to see you.” Her hug is overbearing, but I let her have this moment.
“Okay, Mom.” I pat her back. “We’ve only been gone a couple of weeks.”
“Two weeks too long, if you ask me.” She holds me at arm’s length, inspecting my face. “Are you getting enough sleep? Eating plenty of greens? You look a little—"
“Mom! Take a breath, I’m fine.”
“Hey, Mrs. Thompson,” Annabel says.
“Oh, Bel, sweetheart call me Temperance, please. Mrs. Thompson sounds so formal. Come,” she takes my hand, leading us into the living room, “I want to hear all about it. I still can’t believe my baby is at college. College!”
I shoot Annabel a silent plea for help, but she only offers me a reassuring smile. Traitor.
“So how are classes? And the dorms? Oh, and how are things with Cade?” Her whole face lights up at the mention of my tormentor’s name.
“Cade is… a bit of a jerk, Mom.”
“Mia!”
“What? It’s true.” I shrug.
“Cade Kingsley is a fine young man, sweetheart. You’re a lucky girl—"
I bristle, and Annabel finally jumps to my rescue. “I love your blouse, Mrs.—I mean, Temperance. Is it new?”
“This old thing? No, but thank you, Annabel. My motto is it never hurts to be dressed for an occasion. Who knows what the day might bring. Did you already eat? I could make—"
“Bel’s mom did a whole spread for lunch. I’m stuffed,” I say. “Actually, if it’s okay with you, Mom
, I think we’re just going to hang out in my room. I’m kind of beat.”
“But you just got here, and me and your father have the gala tonight.”
“That’s okay, we can hang out tomorrow before I leave.”
Her brows pinch. “Mia, I’d really like—"
But I’m already up out of my chair and making for the door.
“I guess we’ll see you later.” Bel grabs her bag and follows me upstairs.
When we’re in the safety of my room, she says, “That was mean.”
“I know, but I couldn’t stand listening to her going on about Cade as if he’s this hero. He’s really not, Bel.”
“Did something happen?” She kicks off her sneakers, grabs a pack of Twizzlers from her bag, and dives onto my bed.
“You mean aside from him being his usual cocky, arrogant, cruel self?”
“Whoa, tell it how it really is.” She chuckles.
But I’m not laughing. I’m remembering his fingers on my skin, moving inside me, and I want to vomit all over my plush carpet.
Taking a deep breath, I brace my hand against the dresser. “I know everyone thinks he’s this powerful, sexy guy, but honestly, he’s kind of an ass.”
“But have you seen his ass?” she asks. “You can’t tell me the guy isn’t packing a serious hot body beneath his Fendi t-shirts and jeans.”
I press my lips together, refusing to answer. I don’t want to talk about Cade, let alone imagine him naked.
“Have any guys caught your eye?”
Heat creeps into her cheeks, and I know I’m onto something. “Who? Alex?” I tease. She mentioned him a while back.
“No one.” She plays dumb, biting the end of the candy stick.
“Oh, come on, I saw the way you blushed. There is a guy.”
“Well, there was, but now it’s confusing.”
I grab my beanbag and smush down on it. “How so?”
“It’s Alex.”
“I knew it!” I smile, but realization quickly dawns and my expression falls.
“Now you understand my predicament.” Annabel lets out a resigned sigh.
“You didn’t say anything?”