“Well, damn, Charlie. Maybe I’m with the wrong guy.”
Charlie laughs as Colton grabs me and slams me against the counter, keeping me pinned with his hard body. “Really?” he murmurs, looking at me with those mesmerizing eyes and sending the butterflies in my stomach into overdrive.
“I mean, um … what were we talking about again?”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he tells me, easing up on my body and allowing just enough space to take my waist and lift me onto the counter. “You sit tight. I’m going to make you breakfast.”
My brows shoot up as Charlie scrunches his face in distaste. “Bro, come on, don’t be stupid. You can’t cook for shit. Know your limits and stay there. There’s no need to try and impress her with skills you don’t have.”
Colton ignores his friend and starts digging through the cupboards. “I didn’t say anything about cooking,” he says, pulling out a bowl and then showing off the wide range of cereals. He gives me a stupid grin and waves his hand in front of them. “Your wish is my command.”
I roll my eyes and jump down from the counter. “Get out of the way,” I tell him, barging my way into the pantry. “Let me make you guys a proper breakfast.”
“Fuck yeah,” Charlie grunts. “I knew there was a reason I came here.”
The boys fuck around, talking about who the hell knows what, and within twenty minutes, I’m serving up the best-looking bacon and egg rolls that I’ve ever seen. We’re just about to start digging in when I hear the familiar click of heels against marble and I prepare myself for the worst.
“Colton.” Comes a shrill call from outside the kitchen. “Where are you?”
Colton’s whole demeanor drops at the sound of his mother's call. “Kitchen,” he grumbles, his eyes flashing to mine with an apology, knowing damn well that every time we’re in a room together, it never turns out well. Though, hopefully, by now that cow has figured out that she can't beat me.
She comes striding into the kitchen, the clickity-clack of her heels already the most irritating thing I’ll hear all day. She looks to her son before glancing across to Charlie and then finally at me. Her face falls. “Oh, you’re here,” she spits. “Is the pool house I have supplied not efficient enough that you have to come and overtake my home? Sorry, my generosity is not up to your standards.”
“Mom,” Colton snaps. “Lay off. You’re embarrassing yourself with your shitty attitude. This is my fucking house and I’ll welcome whoever the hell I want into it. Besides, Ocean has more right to be here than you do. Now, what do you want? I have shit to get done.”
She rolls her eyes and reluctantly tears her glare away from me to focus on her annoyed son. “Ugh, I did not raise you like that.”
“Funny,” he grunts. “I don’t recall you raising me at all.”
She lets out an irritated huff and slams a credit card down onto the counter. “You need to put a call into your financial team. My card isn’t working.”
“I know.”
“You know?” she questions, standing straighter as Charlie and I flick our gazes between the two like some kind of intense tennis match.
Colton looks to me for a brief second as if to tell me to pay extra special attention. “Yeah, I know. I cut you off. I’m your eighteen-year-old son, I shouldn't be responsible for funding your extravagant lifestyle.”
My mouth drops and I find myself leaning in closer as Charlie does the same, not wanting to miss a single moment of this.
“Excuse me?” she shrieks. “What did you just say?”
“I think you heard me.”
Oh, fuck. This is not going to go well.
“This is unacceptable behavior. You can’t do this. I’m your mother. I demand you call your team and have them reinstate my access. I have a luncheon this afternoon and I can not have my card declining in front of those women, that would be mortifying. This would have never happened if your father was still here.”
“Oh, you mean that man who you set alight during his own damn funeral? The man who gave you over a hundred million dollars in your divorce settlement despite the prenup and who continued paying for your lavish lifestyle even after you took off?”
“That was a part of our settlement. He had a financial obligation to me. Don’t act as though he was doing me some sort of favor.”
Colton scoffs. “No, of course, he wasn’t doing you any sort of favors. It’s not as though you’ve ever worked a day in your life or did anything to deserve the piles of cash that are constantly coming your way.”
“How dare you speak to me like that. I put up with your father for twenty long years. I deserved every cent.”
“Well, that’s just the thing, Mom. Dad is gone now and I sure as hell don’t have any kind of obligation to keep funding you. So, here’s an idea, why don’t you stand on your own two feet and support yourself for a change instead of living off other people for the rest of your life? Whatever happened to all that money anyway? Surely you didn’t blow it all on extravagant trips around the world, ridiculous parties, and those male escorts you like to use so much.”
A laugh bubbles up my throat as I watch her cheeks flame a raging red. “Oh, dammmnnn, Momma Carrington. That sucks. Though, if you speak to Harrison, I’m sure he will be able to sort out some shifts for you, but beware, he’d have to clear it with the boss first.”
Her jaw clenches and her stare zones in on me, and for a moment, she looks like the most dangerous woman on earth. If looks could kill, I’d be up in flames, but as it is, she’s just a nasty bitch with a pathetic bite and there’s not a damn thing she can do to me. “This is all your fault,” she spits. “If you weren’t around to poison my son’s innocent mind, this never would have happened.”
“Trust me, lady. Your son lost all his innocence the day his mother decided not to fight for him. By the time I sunk my claws into him, he was already as bad as they come. So, unfortunately, I can’t take the credit for that work of art.”
“I, uhh …” Charlie says slowly while awkwardly backing out of the room with his bacon and egg roll in his hand. “Just remembered that I need to go and stick needles in my eyes,” he says, glancing back at me. “I’ll meet you outside in ten if you still need that lift to school.”
I nod and in a flash, he's out of here, not willing to stick around for whatever bullshit storm Laurelle is about to create. With Charlie out of the way, she’s quick to throw her glare back at her son. “I want this fixed right now, Colton or so help me …”
“You’ll do what?” he questions. “Take away my TV privileges? You haven't got a leg to stand on. You’re getting nothing from me. Try the twins. They just got their inheritance, why don't you go mooch off them for a while. Though, they’re just like you and have issues sharing so good luck getting anything out of them.”
Laurelle shrieks and with a huff, she storms out of the kitchen while swiping her hand across the counter and knocking my bacon and egg roll onto the ground, smashing the expensive china in the process.
“Wow, real mature,” I call after her as her heels clickity-clack faster than anything. We hear her string of curses through the whole house, making a scene wherever she goes and smashing a few vases in the process.
I turn back to Colton. “It baffles me why your dad didn’t keep her around longer.” Colton laughs and I walk over to him and take a bite out of his roll. “Are you alright? That couldn’t have been easy.”
“Actually,” he grumbles. “Sticking it to her was kinda fun. I might do it again.”
“Okay,” I laugh. “Well, make sure that I’m around when you do. I wouldn't want to miss another show like that. Ten out of ten for the drama. You really hit the nail on the head.”
Colton rolls his eyes and I help myself to another bite of his roll. “Though, speaking of you being a bad, bad boy before I showed up … what’s the deal with Jude? I’ve kinda been avoiding that whole section of the house.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” he says. “He’s … surviv
ing.”
“Only just?”
He nods.
“Good. But what do we do? It’s not like we can just keep him down there forever and if we let him go, we risk him telling someone.”
“I know,” he murmurs, keeping his voice low, not wanting to be overheard. “I’d hate to put this kind of pressure on you, but you're the one who was hurt. It’s your call. Whatever you want to do.”
My eyes bug out of my head. “I might be from Breakers Flats but I’m not some criminal mastermind. I don’t know what to do with this shit.”
“I’m not doing this to make my life easy. Trust me, if I could, I’d just do what needs to be done and take that pressure off your hands, but this justice is for you, and being the one who gets to decide his fate puts the power in your hands. He took something from you and now you have the opportunity to do the same to him.”
I nod, understanding where he’s coming from but really not sure how I feel about it. “Can I ask you something?”
He nods. “Of course.”
“Why put him down there in the first place?” Colton’s brows furrow and I clarify my question before he starts with the obvious answers. “Why put him in the wine cellar and not lock him away. I mean, the guys in prison have a shitload nicer living arrangements than he does.”
Colton takes a breath and steps into me before lifting me onto the counter so that we see eye to eye. “There are a few reasons,” he starts. “We have the obvious answers like for one, it was the first place that I could think of on short notice, and the fact that he was going to get his ass handed to him means that there was going to be a mess. There’s plumbing down there so I could easily clean up. Reason number two, he raped you. It’s as simple as that. He hurt you and that fucker deserves to suffer.”
“That easy, huh?”
He nods, his lips pressing into a tight line as he bares an ugly part of his soul, hoping that it’s not going to scare me away, but after everything we've been through, there’s not a lot that could pull me away from him. “That easy.”
I swallow, meeting his eyes. “Have you ever done something like this before?”
“No,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong, Jade. I’m not a good guy. I’ve done a shitload of stuff that I’m not proud of but keeping a fucking rapist locked in a dungeon, yeah … this is the first. I ...” Colton lets out a heavy sigh and meets my eyes. “There’s something you need to know about Jude, something that I’m hoping might help you to understand why I went to such lengths with this.”
I watch him cautiously, feeling my anxiety beginning to spark. “What is it?” I ask, my voice a soft whisper.
“You know the other girl who he hurt? Mandy Johnstone.”
I nod. “Yeah, what about her?”
“After all that bullshit with her getting hurt and Jude’s parents fucking around to make it worse, she went away. Her parents claimed that they sent her to boarding school as some sort of twisted punishment for lying about what happened with Jude, even though we all knew it was fucking true. But here’s the thing, I looked into the boarding schools around here and she's not enrolled at any of them. I checked with her extended family and friends, no one has heard from her. It’s as though she just disappeared off the face of the earth, and my gut tells me that Jude had something to do with it. I don’t know if he scared her off or if he did something worse, but I wasn’t going to allow that to happen to you.”
I stare at him in horror. “I … I don’t even know what to say about that. You think he killed her?”
“I really don’t know. I have no evidence to support that he did, just that she’s missing or hiding away somewhere. Maybe she changed her name and just slipped away with the rest of the world, but what I do know is that he had something to do with that and it’s about time that he got what he deserves.”
I nod. “I couldn’t agree more.”
He leans into me and rests his forehead against mine. “Jade, I’d do fucking anything to protect you, and before you start, I know that you’re perfectly capable of protecting yourself but when it comes to you, I can’t help myself. I knew it the second I met you just outside this door and you gave me that hungry look as though you’d die without getting a taste. You’re my fucking girl, Jade. I hate that I treated you so badly when you first arrived. It took me way too long to admit to myself that I was wrong about you, I wanted so badly to be right. I didn’t want to fall for you. I always saw falling for a woman as weak, but it’s not. Having you in my life has made me better despite the fucked up things I’ve been doing.”
Warmth spreads through me and I lean into him, meeting my lips with his and kissing him deeply.
“All I want to do is make you happy, Jade.”
“You do. I …”
The shrill ring of my phone cuts me off and I let out a groan as I fish it out of my bra and stare down at the screen. “Ugh, it’s Charlie,” I announce before lifting the phone to my ear and silently brushing my lips over Colton’s again. “What do you want?”
“Coooooome oooooon. For fuck’s sake. I thought you’d be out of there just after I was.”
“You said ten minutes.”
“Yeah, that was twenty minutes ago.”
“Fuck, really?” I pull the phone away and glance down at the screen, taking in the time. “Shit. I’m coming.”
I end the call before Charlie has a chance to make a comment about my last words and Colton steps out of my way, realizing the panicked look on my face. After all, he sees it way too often to know exactly what it means. I’m fucking late. “Here,” he says, shoving his roll into my hand after I’ve jumped down from the counter. “I’ll see you after school. Try not to break any noses while you’re there.”
“Can’t make any promises,” I sing before scurrying out the door and finding Charlie very impatiently waiting, muttering about it being the last time he offers to drive my stupid ass anywhere.
Chapter 16
My locker door slams closed with a bang and I pull my bag onto my back after another long day at school with way too much homework for my sanity. How am I supposed to keep up with this workload? The girls here are used to this shit, but me? Not so much. I don't think I’ve ever done homework in my life until I came here. It’s insane.
Hendrix walks beside me as we make our way out of the school and I’m just about to tell her how I think her dad might possibly have a shot with my mom when the old beat-up shit box that’s dripping oil onto the road catches my eye and everything sinks within me.
What the fuck is he doing here? He knows I can’t resist his stupid face.
It’s one thing for Nic to show up out of the blue, but Sebastian. I can’t resist him. I love him so damn much that constantly reminding myself that I’m still furious with him is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
I wonder if he’s seen me already. There is a shitload of girls around here, I’m sure he could be distracted by all the potential pussy. Though, I’ll have to remind him that the majority of them are under eighteen, despite them all looking like Victoria Secret supermodels.
If he’s distracted, I could just slip into Drix’s car and take off to avoid the whole thing. It’s a win/win. Well, it’s a win/win for me and Drix at least. We’d get to drive back to her place, laughing about how we avoided the sexy gangster in the beat-up car. Sebastian would clearly lose out. I bet he had to scrape the bottom of the barrel just to find the cash to fill his tank with gas. It’s a long drive out here and … fuck.
Who the hell allowed me to have a guilty conscience?
I let out a heavy sigh and look towards his car and instantly meet his eyes, realizing that he would have had eyes on me the second I walked out of the gates. I had zero chance of escaping him, but the idea was fun while it lasted.
Sebastian pulls himself up onto the windowsill of his car and waves his tattooed arm at me. “Yo, babe. Get that sweet ass over here and let me take you home.”
“The fuck?” Drix grunts, staring in shock. “How ma
ny of these tattooed sex slaves have you been keeping from me. Holy fuck. Look at him.”
My gaze sweeps over him, trying to see what she sees. Yet to me, all I see is a brother. If you want to get all technical, then yeah, I guess you could say that he’s got a rock hard body covered in stunning artwork, and the most seductive eyes I’ve ever seen. But to me … the idea of seeing him as anything remotely sexual is kinda disturbing.
I let out a groan and glance at Drix. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I tell her.
“You better. Tomorrow I’m not holding back. I want answers on who the hell these guys are and how to get a few of my own.”
I roll my eyes and find a smirk cutting across my lips while very quickly realizing that she won’t let me evade her questions for much longer. She spent all day trying to get information about Nic out of me. She thought the more she asked, the more likely I’d be to break, but there are a few things she needs to learn about loyalty. Where I’m from, it’s something you don’t break, no matter what the circumstances.
Drix doesn’t bother waiting for a reply and scurries off to her car, leaving me to face Sebastian on my own. Though, I wouldn't have it any other way. Whatever gets said here definitely needs to be done in private.
I make my way over to his car and don’t miss the cautiousness in his eyes. Sebastian is always so carefree so when something is bothering him, it’s as clear as day on his face. People always say that the eyes are the window to the soul and in Sebastian’s case, it’s absolutely true.
I stop by his driver's door and look up at him as he remains perched on the windowsill. “What are you doing here?”
He gives me a beaming smile and ignores my questions. “Thought I was going to have to drag you over here.” I roll my eyes and turn away. I get all of two steps before he reels in his attitude and realizes that I'm not in the mood to play around. “No, no, no, Ocean baby. Please, let me drive you home. I came all this way just to drive you ten minutes down the road. Please don’t make my trip for nothing.”
Barbie B*tch: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 3) Page 15