by Janie Marie
Her mother stood. “No, I’m ending our contract. I won’t tell anyone who you are. Just leave me be. Please.”
“He’s in love with her,” he said, not sounding sympathetic at all.
Her mom looked at the floor as her lip quivered.
The man continued, “He was never in love with you. When’s the last time he even slept next to you? When was the last time he gave you more than a kiss on the cheek? How close was he to—”
“Please stop,” Scarlet said softly.
“You’ll never be what he wants. If you force him to stay with you like you did by having that kid, he’ll hate you, then he’ll take the girl and raise her with the woman he really wants. And who knows what will happen to her then.”
Kylie balled her little hand into a fist before she pushed herself up on her tippy toes and punched the man in the back of the head. “Leave her alone.”
“Kylie,” her mother shouted as the man spat out a curse and went to turn around. Kylie went to hit him again for saying a bad word. However, Scarlet yanked Kylie out of the booth, clutching her to her chest as she took a step away from the man.
“This is over,” Scarlet told him.
Kylie tried to push her mother’s hand away so she could look at him, too, but she wasn’t strong enough.
“The contract’s off,” Scarlet said. “I can fix my marriage. I can fix everything. He’ll stop.”
“He won’t.”
Kylie’s mom shook her head. “I’ll call the cops on myself if that’s what it takes to stop you.”
“No, you won’t. You would’ve done it a long time ago if that were true.” The man chuckled, but it was a low, growling sound as he took a step closer. “There’s no fixing any of this. You knew he didn’t want you then; everyone told you so, but you forced him to stay. Now he’s fixing the mistake he made when he married you. But you had to go and make a child, and he nearly—“
A loud slap sounded, making Kylie yelp and clutch her mother.
“You really shouldn’t have done that.”
Riiiiing!
Jerking from her desk, Kylie’s eyes shot open as the teacher’s voice called out and the sounds of chairs scraping across the floor greeted her ears.
“All right, class, have a good lunch.”
She blinked and wiped the drool from her lip as someone came to stand beside her desk.
“Ugh,” she said and grabbed her binder. “What do you want?”
Trevor smiled. “I wanted to check on you.”
Kylie stood as her dream faded from her mind, and she was reminded of the day she had been having. Logan had cheated on her with Janie behind Ryder’s back.
“I’m fine.” She wasn’t fine. She was pissed. Hurt. Murderous. Logan hadn’t called her back right away. He’d called sometime around three in the morning to tell her they’d talk today. He also explained he had to take Janie out for breakfast to meet someone. He told her he’d let her know more, but all she could focus on was that he was taking Janie out. The breakup was supposed to be fake, but it felt real.
Trevor fell in step with her once she took off. “You don’t have to pretend with me. But I’m proud of you for dealing with everything the way you have.”
She frowned, glancing around the hall as students rushed to lunch. “Proud?”
He nodded, fist bumping some guy they passed. “Yeah. Janie’s a slut who thinks she’s queen. She thought she could push you out, but here you are.”
“Push me out?” She tried to hold on to any bit of positivity that came from Janie’s presence, but after hearing how hot Janie and Logan looked together—how much Logan loved her—it was nearly impossible to think of even just one good thing.
“Yeah.” Trevor sighed, messily running his fingers through his blond hair. It had gotten longer. “She has a way of getting what she wants. Logan’s always been a little prize for her. I think she must’ve assumed he’d never move on, so she pushed her way into your relationship with him to remind him she’s still there.”
Kylie looked away from his face. He sort of looked like a blond version of Logan from the side, and it was messing with her emotions.
“I guess Logan isn’t really a saint either.” He gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry I introduced you to him. I never should’ve left you there that day. I should’ve known he’d use you as a pawn to get her back.”
Her throat felt like it was closing.
“You’re way better than her, Kylie.”
She jerked her head up. “What?”
He gave her that Trevor Grimm, golden boy smile. “She’s just the bad girl who lures guys in because they think she must be hot in bed to have guys like Ryder and Logan. Not to mention, the rumors she makes about herself getting raped. I mean, the cops didn’t believe her. Not even Arthur believed her because he knows what she’s like. She asks for attention because it makes Logan and Ryder, and every other dumbass, think they have to save her or have her.”
Her heartbeat raced. Trevor was saying what she’d always thought. “You don’t think she was raped?”
He shook his head. “The two boys she said did it were good guys. They had everything going for them. Janie just found out Logan was drowning himself in pussy and decided Ryder wasn’t enough attention, so I think she went out, had sex, then made up that she was raped.
“Arthur had her on meds, but I know she got in trouble that day because she didn’t take her pills. That’s why she was in detention—she flipped out on a teacher about her shirt being opened. Who the hell would be okay with her accusing them of staring at her? She flipped out, and the teacher quietly asked her if she’d taken her meds. ‘Cause she’s crazy.”
He sighed, continuing, “I don’t know. Maybe that had something to do with her saying the stuff she did, but they didn’t rape her. I even asked them because she’s sorta family to me, but they said she wanted it. Then she started crying for Logan and Ryder after. So they left. Like I said, crazy.”
“What?” Her mind was spinning. How insane was Janie?
“She has lots of problems,” he said. “Her mom was nuts, too. She always tried to brainwash us with stories about the moon and how this world was made. Just insane shit. Aunt Gwen tried to straighten Janie out, but Uncle Lance fell for her little acts. It caused lots of fights between him and Aunt Gwen. And Arthur, poor guy, he didn’t know how to deal with her. But the more Janie acted up, the more Logan pampered her. So yeah, she’s on all sorts of shit just to make her stable.
“Leo and Lycius, the guys she accused, paid the price for her not taking her medicine. She even attacked me when we were younger.” He held out his arm, revealing a scar she’d always noticed running up his forearm. “She was staying at their house. Aunt Gwen had brought me there because my dad left town. It was late, and she told me to just go to bed. I went to my normal room and got in bed. Janie was surrounded by pillows, and I didn’t notice she was there until she was screaming, kicking and scratching. Logan came in, ripped me out of bed before I could figure out what was going on, and beat the shit out of me until Uncle Lance stopped him.”
“Oh my God.” She touched the scar before jerking back. “That’s awful.”
“Yeah.” He put his hands in his pockets, shrugging a shoulder. “That’s Janie though. She loves being rescued. And guys like to be heroes, so . . .”
Kylie caught sight of Trevor’s face. He looked so upset over being blamed for something he didn’t do and losing Logan to Janie. Sure, Trevor had screwed her over by dumping his project on her, but he seemed genuinely sorry for it. He was here, trying to make amends and taking her side.
She started rethinking every little thing she’d come to know about Logan and Janie. Was she stupid for believing Janie when she’d said she had no interest in Logan? After all, there had been no need to get naked. Luc hadn’t done anything to any of them. He hadn’t even approached her. It was all an excuse to get Logan to herself.
She’s just like Maura.
“He want
s to be her hero,” she whispered, not meaning to speak aloud.
“Exactly.” Trevor nodded. “I used to have a crush on her when I was younger. But even as a kid, she was a manipulative little thing. She had Uncle Lance wrapped around her finger, and she’d pit him against Arthur. They’d compete over who was the better daddy for her, and Uncle Lance would do anything to be her favorite. I guess he really wanted a little girl or something. Or it’s the stories . . .”
She bit her lip. Janie had been doing it on purpose. She lied to Logan’s dad to make him get rid of her stepdad. She wanted to be closer to Logan, but it backfired when Logan’s dad lost his mind and did something to get thrown in jail.
Kylie was about to ask him a question, but giggling from behind them pulled her attention away.
“What a slut,” one girl said, none too quietly, to another set of girls.
“Why would Trevor be with her?” asked another girl.
A third girl spoke up, “She’s desperate for some Grimm D. I heard withdrawal’s a bitch. What a whore.”
“Apparently not as good as Janie though.”
The girls snickered as Kylie’s heart raced with rage, sadness, and jealousy.
“Did you see that drawing of Janie?” one of the girls asked.
“I know. So romantic,” another one said as she sighed dreamily. “I’m jealous. I heard all of Logan’s tattoos are about her.”
Kylie wanted to cry as much as she wanted to beat the absolute shit out of Janie. She was ready to blow their secret and laugh that she was with Logan—that he loved her. She wanted to scream there was no way Logan wanted Janie back. She wanted to gloat that even if Janie was the first girl Logan loved, she, Kylie Hood, was the one he wanted now. For the first time, Kylie was the one who was loved.
“Don’t listen to them, Kylie,” Trevor said, startling her.
“Do you know what drawing they’re talking about?” she asked him.
Trevor sighed, pulling out his phone. He scrolled through it until he brought up a post that showed a drawing of Janie standing in a clearing. Naked. “I don’t know where it came from,” he said, pointing at the wood surface the drawing was on. “That’s Logan’s dresser. He leaves the apartment open. I guess someone went in, or I think Janie might have posted it. Maybe she’s getting back at you for posting those pictures.”
Kylie’s hand shook as she touched Logan’s signature at the bottom of the picture. “This is what you were talking about the other day? Is this old?”
Trevor pocketed his phone. “Yeah. She doesn’t have the tattoos in the drawing, and that’s the spot Logan used to take her all the time. It’s near Blackwoods Forest. That’s where she said she was raped.”
Kylie’s eyes watered. “He sketched her naked?”
“Shit.” He lightly shoved her into a corner. “It’s them.”
Kylie didn’t know who he was talking about, but she peered around the corner, gasping. Logan was there. With Janie!
She breathed faster, watching everyone staring at them as they walked hand in hand into the building. Janie was wearing sunglasses, but it was clear she was scanning the area, and her gaze was instantly drawn to where she stood with Trevor.
Trevor pressed Kylie into the shadows, but he stared Janie down.
Janie stumbled, and Logan righted her, dropping a hand to her waist as he looked in their direction. He probably couldn’t see Kylie in the shadows, but he looked furious as he took in Trevor.
Trevor flipped him off. “I think we all saw enough of your baby doll, bitch. No need to parade her around.”
Logan took one step toward him, but Janie wrapped her arms around Logan.
Kylie’s body heated with rage as Logan dropped a kiss to her forehead, and he lifted her like she was a child and carried her into the office.
“Fucker.” Trevor sighed, looking at Kylie. “Hey, you okay?”
She shook her head. “I hate her.”
He smiled, pushing her hair away from her face. “Don’t worry about her, all right? She’s nothing. Especially next to you.”
Kylie swallowed, unable to look away from his gorgeous blue eyes. “Thank you, Trevor.”
“You’re welcome.” He caressed her cheek before glancing around. “I think they’ll be busy in the office for a few minutes. If we walk by now, they won’t notice us.”
“Okay.” She looked around, so thankful to have him by her side. People were staring, but at least now she wasn’t hearing about how stupid she was. Now she was hearing speculations about her and Trevor.
He grabbed her hand, dragging her out of the corner. “We can find somewhere to sit alone so you don’t have to hear anyone.”
“Thanks.” She squeezed his hand, smiling when he gave a gentle squeeze back.
Her breath caught in her throat as she walked past a table where the Godsons sat. Ryder wasn’t among them, but the brothers were there with two of the girlfriends. Watching her.
“Did you hear Janie made Tercero break up with his girlfriend?” he asked quietly. “I don’t know what happened, but it was something about Janie being all over him, and Ryder didn’t do shit.”
“Really?” Kylie realized Tercero’s girlfriend was indeed missing from the group.
Trevor nodded. “It was probably because Tercero looks almost identical to Ryder. Janie’s a possessive bitch. Poor Elise.”
Kylie nodded; she had seen just how Tercero smiled too sweetly at Janie, and how Janie always had something cute to call Tercero. Out of the group, Elise had been the kindest, at least trying to make her feel better when everyone else was rubbing it in her face that Logan was hung up on her. “Do you know about their family?” she asked as they got in line.
He sighed. “Too much. Our families are linked to all the fairytale founders.”
“I heard.” She smiled up at him. “I never put it together that you were one of the actual American Grimms.”
His cheeks pinked as he rubbed his neck. “Yeah. It’s not something I brag about. Fairy tales, you know? Kinda lame. The Godsons and the Knights are proud of it, and they take it to the extreme. They believe they’re more than just stories made up by their ancestors. Like, they actually believe they’re reincarnations of the legends or something. Like the Creator story—they think that’s real. Always two is what Uncle Lance tells Logan all the time.”
“Really?” She was afraid to look behind her, but she could feel the stares.
“Yeah. Stupid, right?”
Kylie agreed. The Creator story was one of the most bizarre. What she remembered about it was the existence of another world that mirrored theirs, but that the world they lived in was, in fact, just the Creator’s dream, their creation, and the world from the stories was the real or first one.
Trevor started talking again. “Since all four families were together for that story, they think it’s a real memory. How it was made from Hell and all that. Logan and I weren’t raised to be included, but there are more stories the Guardians have kept hidden.”
“Guardians?”
“You don’t want to know,” he said ominously.
“I do.” She peered over her shoulder, finding not only the Godsons watching her, but also most of the students in the lunch hall.
“Well, if you believe what they say,” he began, “the guardians are monsters. Demons and fallen angels who serve the rulers of Hell. And they watch over the Creator’s kingdom as they await the return of the moon. You know how the moon was always in darkness—a New Moon? Then Venus and our moon were both hit by meteors eighteen years ago, and the moon started to cycle and have phases and stuff. It’s just science, but they think it’s proof their tales are truth.”
Kylie bit her lip. She knew the science behind the sudden change in the moon’s cycles. As long as she’d been alive, it had cycled, but people older than her always talked about how crazy it was to never see the moon glow. “Do you know Luc Godson?” she asked, distracted.
“Everyone knows about Luc Godson.” He shrug
ged. “He was around a lot when Janie and Ryder got together because of that fight with Logan. He’s older by a few years, and I think he’s legally responsible for all his brothers.”
They moved to the counter and grabbed food to take to the register.
“I’ll get it.” He pulled out his wallet, paying for her meal and warming her cold heart. “Let’s go over there. It’s dark. At least they can’t see us too well.”
Kylie smiled when she realized he was still holding her hand. He was doing exactly what a friend—a boyfriend—should be doing. He wasn’t off holding his ex’s hand, kissing her, or carrying her around like a damn baby.
“You still okay?” Trevor took her tray, setting it on the table.
“Yeah.” She took a seat, sighing as she glanced over to see only the Godson boys still watching. The girls looked annoyed, but Kylie didn’t care. At least now they knew how it felt to be ignored by the guy they were with.
“You need to eat.” Trevor pushed her food to her. “You’ll feel worse if you don’t.”
She smiled, opening her utensils as he took a bite of pizza from his plate.
“What are you doing after school today?” he asked as he opened a drink.
“Oh.” She grinned at him. “My stepdad is taking me to get my hair done. I haven’t been able to because Lorelei’s crazy. But he was here when everything happened yesterday, and he’s finally acting like a real dad.”
He smiled, watching her take a bite. “Your stepmom was pretty strange. I couldn’t stand how she was forcing Maura on me.”
Kylie stared at him. “I forgot you took Maura out.”
He shrugged. “I felt bad for her. I didn’t want to disappoint you more than I already had. So I took her to a movie and bought her some ice cream.”
“Oh.” She frowned, taking a bite of her salad. “So why are you sitting with me?”
He glanced around, confused. “Because I want to. Do you think I’m with Maura or something?”
“Well, everyone likes Maura.”
“No, they don’t.” He chuckled, gesturing toward a table filled with football players. “She’s just easy. That’s why I never wanted to take her out. Everyone on the team’s slept with her. She needs serious help. She stalks every guy for like a week after.”