Reckless at Westbrook High (The Kingston Brothers #2)
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Reckless at Westbrook High
The Kingston Brothers Book 2
Bethany Winters
Copyright © 2021 by Bethany Winters
All rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Created with Vellum
Contents
About the Book
Trigger Warning
Playlist
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Quick Note From The Author
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Book
WREN
Never fall, never feel.
Four words I tell myself to protect my heart from the pain I know all too well.
I learned my lesson the hard way.
Promised myself I’d never allow anyone to hurt me the way she did.
Now I’m falling and I can’t seem to stop it.
He’s dangerous.
I’m broken.
He fills the missing pieces until all I feel is him.
And I’m the sucker stupid enough to let him do it.
LEVI
I’ve always wanted what I can’t have.
Family, freedom, love.. him.
I’ve wanted him for as long as I can remember – the broken bad boy with the sad eyes and the tortured heart – but like everything else in my life, it’s not that easy.
His past will tear us apart.
My lies will break us beyond repair.
This love will send us both to an early grave.
Ask me if I give a damn.
Wren Kingston is mine.
And it’s about time he knows it.
This is a full length, dark high school romance with themes some readers might find offensive. While this story can be read as a standalone with a HEA and no cliffhanger, it is a continuation of the Kingston Brothers series and should be read after Kings of Westbrook High. PLEASE NOTE: This book is M/M. Books 1 & 3 are M/F.
Trigger Warning
***CONTAINS SPOILERS***
If you’re comfortable going in completely blind, please feel free to skip this page.
This is a dark romance.
Certain aspects of this book may be triggering for some readers, such as: underage drinking and drug use, violence (between the two MMCs), explicit/graphic violence & blood, murder, kidnapping, torture, child abuse, non–consensual sex & abuse of a minor (this doesn’t happen by or to either of the MMCs, but it is witnessed and it’s on page)
Playlist
Sick & Tired – Iann Dior, Machine Gun Kelly & Travis Barker
Sick Boy – The Chainsmokers
Only One – The Score
I Think I’m Okay – Machine Gun Kelly
Irresistible – Fall Out Boy
Freaks Like Us – Sleeping Wolf
My Blood – Twenty One Pilots
Cold Blooded – Zayde Wolf
Happy Song – Bring Me The Horizon
Love Is Gone – Slander & Dylan Matthew
Dreamin – The Score & Blackbear
Parents – Yungblud
Reckless – Jaxson Gamble
Concert For Aliens – Machine Gun Kelly
Listen on Amazon Music & Spotify
“Numbing the pain for a while will
make it worse when you finally feel it.”
– J.K. Rowling
For Mum and Lisa.
For encouraging me to write
what I love without judgement.
Chapter One
Wren
Four months ago..
“Alright, gimme one more, then I’m ditchin’ your ass.”
I shake my head at him and snatch the vodka from the island, twisting the cap off to pour us another shot each. “Who’s the lucky girl tonight?”
Kai smirks and slides his eyes to the group of half naked cheerleaders in the hot tub outside. “Bet you fifty bucks I can get at least three of em’.”
I laugh lightly, knocking his glass with mine. “Deal.”
We neck our shots and he fucks off to go win his cash, then I pour out another two and swallow those as well. It’s going down like water by this point, so I decide enough’s enough and take out my weed, leaning my elbows on the kitchen counter to roll myself another joint. I’m already high as a fucking kite, but even still, it’s not enough.
It’s never enough.
“Yo, Kingston.”
I lift my head at the sound of my name, eyeing Ryan while I lick the seam of the paper. “Wren.”
“I knew that,” he laughs, stumbling his drunk ass over to me to steal my joint. “You got a light?”
“I thought you quit,” I raise a brow, tossing him what he asked for all the same.
“Yeah, well..” he shrugs, lifting the flame to his mouth to use it as a microphone. “It’s my birthday, imma do what I like, imma smoke what I like, imma fuck who I like..” he frowns, choking on a hit. “I don’t know the rest.”
“You don’t know it, period,” I mutter, watching him blow his smoke out right here like he can, the fuckin’ idiot.
He’s either too drunk to notice what he’s doing right now or too drunk to care, but either way, I know his mom well enough to know she’d have a fit if she knew he was smoking that shit in her kitchen.
“Goddamn, it’s my birthday, everybody love me..”
I shake my head at him and grab his shoulder to drag him outside, knowing there’s no point talking any sense into him right now. I drop his ass down on the cushioned couch by the pool and leave him there a minute, tipping my chin when I spot my big brother sitting on one of the benches in the corner with a beer in his hand and his elbows on his knees, glancing between me and Kai every few seconds. The group of pretty girls surrounding him are damn near throwing themselves at him to fight for his attention, but he doesn’t pay them any in return. He’s too busy watching us, protecting us and our backs from whatever threat he’s convinced himself might jump out and get us at any second. My twin brother and I are almost as big as him and more than capable of defending ourselves, but he doesn’t care. Watching over us is his full time job as far as he’s concerned, and he never takes a damn day off.
I move to walk back inside the house, rolling my eyes when Damon leans forward and pins my eyes with his, his question clear.
“Bathroom,” I mouth, lifting my hands in mock surrender. “That cool with you, boss?�
��
He glares, but he’s not mad at me.
That’s just his face.
All the downstairs and first floor bathrooms have long ass lines I’m not about to stand in so I head up to the second floor to find an empty one up there, knowing I won’t have to wait because this part of the house is off limits to everyone but me, my brothers and Levi – Ryan’s childhood best friend and sometimes house guest.
I take a piss and wash my hands, locking my jaw when my eyes automatically move for the stupid key tattoo on my left wrist. Just like it always does when I’m drunk and bored, my mind wanders to her without permission and I toss the soap across the counter, squeezing my eyes shut to rid the image of walking in on my girlfriend riding my cousin’s cock in her own bed a little over a year ago.
The same place she took my virginity and gave me hers.
The same place she told me she loved me for the first time.
The same place she promised we’d be forever..
“Wren.”
“Fuck, what?” I snap, lifting my eyes to the mirror to find Levi standing behind me in the bathroom doorway.
“The fuck are you doin’, man?” he snaps back, rushing over to me to pry my hands apart. “Are you for real right now?”
I frown at that, following his line of sight to eye the scratch marks covering my tattoo and the blood beneath my nails, the same blood now dripping all over the sink and counter.
Jesus.
“Wren..” he warns, dipping his head to catch my eyes. “What is this?”
“I–” I blink, shaking my head. “I didn’t..”
“You didn’t?” he echoes, pulling my wrist back when I try to pull it away. “Because it sure looks like you did.”
I grind my teeth and shove his ass back so I can rinse the blood from the sink, not even a little bit in the mood for him and his shit tonight.
He cares too much.
Always has.
He’s been on my ass since we were kids, constantly trying to play the hero I don’t want or need.
The day I almost drowned when we took my parents’ jet skis out in the eighth grade, he was there to save me. The day I had a panic attack in the bathroom at school my first day back after my mom died, he refused to leave me alone until I’d calmed down. And the night I lost my fucking mind after my ex-girlfriend cheated on me and broke my heart.. I’d probably be locked up or dead if it weren’t for him.
He’s always been right there, trying to save me, trying to fix me, and for some unknown reason, it only ever seems to be me.
Never Kai, never Damon, not even Ryan.
He’s only like this with me.
“Tell me what happened.”
“How about you fuck off and mind your own business for once, yeah, Lev?” I bite out, making a point to bump his shoulder with mine on my way out.
He’ll grab me.
I know he’ll grab me.
But fuck, why do I want him to?
Just as I think it, he spins on me just like I knew he would, snatching my jaw to get in my face. I take that for what it is – a threat – and shove his ass back, fisting his t-shirt to pin his back to the wall. The cheeky fucker has the audacity to glare, looking me dead in the eye without an ounce of fear there, but he makes no move to push me away.
“I said tell me.”
“And I said back the fuck off.”
“Wren.”
I wet my dry lips while I attempt to plan my next move, pulling my brows in when he drops his eyes to follow the movement.
His eyes are green.
Bright fucking green like shiny little emeralds.
His dirty blond hair falls over his forehead and I tighten my grip on his shirt, honest to god struggling to resist the urge to move it out of the way.
Fuck.
“Wren..” he rasps my name, sliding his hands over my forearms to grab my wrists. “Did you–”
“No,” I say quickly, ignoring the way my skin burns beneath his touch with something that shouldn’t fuckin’ be there. “I didn’t do it on purpose, Lev. I didn’t even know I was doing it, okay?”
He hesitates, bouncing his eyes between mine like he’s searching for a lie, but then his shoulders drop and he nods, seeming satisfied with whatever he sees. I clear my throat and release my grip on him, stepping back to put some distance between us because I don’t like the way he’s looking at me right now. He fails to hide a stupid ass grin and tips his chin for me to follow him, rolling his eyes when I open my mouth to tell him no.
“It’s either me or Damon,” he points out, leading the way. “Your choice, dumbass.”
I lock my jaw and follow him down the hall to his bedroom, leaning my ass back on his dresser while he moves for the bathroom cabinet to grab what he needs. Sick and Tired by Iann Dior plays quietly through the speaker on his nightstand and I look around, noting the place still hasn’t changed much since the last time I was in here. The walls are painted white to match the tiles on the floor, a big ass California king covered in grey silk sits in the center of the space, facing the flat screen on the wall opposite, and a white leather couch sits in the corner, facing the perfect view of the beach and the ocean through the floor to ceiling windows across the entire back wall. Other than that and the dresser behind me, there’s not much else in here. No pictures of his asshole parents, no personal shit, just the essentials and a brick sized wireless speaker.
He comes back a minute later and sets everything down on the side next to me, eyeing me and my form while he presses a damp towel to my wrist.
“I can do it,” I mutter, snatching it from him, but he just snatches it back and smacks my hand away, fully intent on cleaning it for me.
I glare at his long ass eyelashes while he concentrates on my cut up skin, wondering how and why he seems to think he can keep getting away with shit like this.
I’m a Kingston brother.
People fear me and my family in and around this city because they’d be stupid not to, but this fucking guy couldn’t care less, the brave little shit.
“I make you mad.”
I tense at that, holding my breath while he runs his thumb over the letters on my skin, smirking to himself like he enjoys the effect he has on me.
He’s right.
He pisses me off and I don’t know why.
I’m the quiet one – the chilled one compared to my two brothers – but when I’m around him, something’s different.
“Why didn’t you get this covered?” he asks, gently dabbing my wrist with a cotton ball soaked in hydrogen peroxide.
My skin burns like a motherfucker and I grind my teeth, snatching the half empty bottle of Jack from the side. “It’s a reminder.”
“A reminder,” he echoes, sliding his eyes back up to mine. “Of her?”
I ignore the way he says her like he’s mad, shaking my head no while I twist the cap off the top. “It’s got nothing to do with her.”
“What then?”
“Never forever, Lev,” I mutter, pausing a second to swallow a shot. “Never feel, never fall.”
He nods like he gets it, leaning in further to take the drink away from me. He sets it down on the side next to me and his other hand comes down to rest on the wood by my hip, caging me in.
“You don’t need that shit,” he informs me. “What you need is to get off, have some fucking fun and release all this built up tension inside you.”
I laugh lightly at that, ignoring the savage look in his eyes my drunk ass seems to be mistaking for heat. “I’m not interested in fucking girls with you, man.”
“Who said anything about girls?” he teases, speaking over my lips.
My brows snap in the center and I pull my head back, frowning. “The fuck?”
He ignores me and slides his hand up to the back of my neck, pulling me back until our noses are almost touching. His tongue slips out to lick his bottom lip and I frown some more, fisting my hands on the edge of the dresser behind me when my mind starts to wan
der some place it shouldn’t.
The fuck is wrong with me?
“You feel that?”
“No,” I lie, swallowing the emotion creeping up my throat when he rakes his fingers through my hair.
“Liar.”
“Lev..” I warn, scanning his face to search for intent. “I’m not gay.”
He smirks at that, tightening his grip on me to pin my hips with his. “You sure about that?”
I groan before I can stop it, dropping my forehead on his to look down between us. My cock thickens in my jeans when I feel his against mine and I shift where I stand, trying to erase the ache, but that only makes it worse. My heart pulses in my ears and I look up at him, silently waiting for whatever comes next, but he doesn’t move.
Fuck, I wish he’d move.
“You gonna kiss me, Lev?”
“You gonna punch me if I do?”
“Try it and find out.”
“Tell me you liked it.”
I pull a long hit of air into my lungs, doing my best to block out the memories threatening to come crashing down on me and my goddamn sanity.
We don’t talk about that night.
Not once, not ever.