I nodded, unable to deny the truth. Despite everything I ever did to her, Logan would've always forgiven me. That was just who she was. It was why she was my best friend for so long. Always forgiving. Always loving. Always there. I never realized how much I actually missed her friendship until she was gone for good. It was easy to take it for granted when everything was happening because there was always that chance that we would overcome this and it would just be another bump in the road of our friendship. But she took that chance away when she committed suicide, and quite frankly, I couldn't blame her.
I wouldn't have wanted to deal with that torment either, especially not over a stupid boy.
But he wasn't just any boy, I reminded myself bitterly. I turned my attention back to William and forced myself to smile.
"I promise I'll go out," I said.
"Be sure to document it with photos or it didn't happen."
"What if I go to a massive orgy with my friends? Still want photos?"
He smirked at me. "I'd rather you not do that. Stay out of trouble, Sevyn," he said, just as his phone rang.
I left with a parting wave and pulled out my phone when I entered the hall, calling Rebecca.
"Sevyn, darling! I hope you're done freaking out," she said upon answering, which made me roll my eyes. "I almost thought I had to call your parents to tell them you were going to spiral again."
"No, Bec. And why would you call them anyway, for fuck's sake? You're supposed to be my best friend," I protested with a frown.
"Because I love you and only want you to be safe and alive. I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you," she said, sadness cloaking her voice.
A part of me was sad. I couldn't imagine how hard it was for my friends to watch me go through the hardest years of my life when Logan first died. There were times where I thought suicide was the best answer for me as well. From the suicide attempts, the drug abuse, and self-destructive behavior phases, my friends were my rock through it all. Even though it irritated the shit out of me sometimes, it made me feel good that they were still in my corner after all these years, long after we'd graduated high school.
I smiled. "I know, Bec, but I'm fine. I was calling because I wanted to know if you guys were free tonight? I wanna get out of the house and I haven't been out in a while."
"Oh my God, this is perfect! The girls and I were already planning to go out tonight—"
"Why didn't anyone call me then?" I asked with a frown.
"I mean anytime we asked you before, you always blew us off. And after our conversation last night, we figured you didn't want to go," she said.
"Well, I want to go out tonight. William thinks it's probably good for me anyway with everything that's been going on," I said as I stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button to the 1st floor.
"William? Is he a new boo thang?" she asked and giggled.
I smirked and rolled my eyes, stepping off the elevator when the doors opened, crashing into a hard chest. "Shit!"
"You all right?" a deep voice asked. I looked up into the eyes of an older man with fair skin and salt and pepper hair, his face clean shaven. He wore a form fitting suit, a suitcase in hand as he looked at me with concern.
I gave him a small smile. "Yeah, sorry. I guess I wasn't paying attention," I said, bowing my head as I walked past him.
"Who was that?" Rebecca asked.
"Some guy that was getting onto the elevator as I was getting off," I said, walking out of the building.
"Oh, good. I thought something happened," she said with a light sigh. "Anyway, about this William character—"
"He's not my boyfriend or any guy of interest if that's where you're leading," I said with a smirk as I walked out of the office building and into the humid air outside. "He's my new therapist."
"Is he hot at least?"
"He's my therapist, Bec. You know, I don't fuck every guy I lay my eyes on," I said, just as I passed a shirtless runner on the street. He grinned at me, looking over his shoulder at me before he continued running. "Well, at least not every guy."
She laughed. "Whatever, you liar. I'll get the details out of you once I get a few drinks into you. So, we haven't decided where we wanted to go. Anywhere in particular?"
"Why not the club down the street from my place? Then we can all get ready at my house like old times."
"Ugh, you always have the best ideas," she gushed and I nearly cringed. Even though we weren't in high school anymore, these women still hung on to my every word. It made me wonder what possessed them to do that, but I'd be stupid to ignore what their potential reasons were.
What anyone's reason was to try to be friends with me.
My family was one of the richest families in the city. Being connected to them would put the world at your fingertips. A call from my oil tycoon father could get you any job you wanted, membership into any private country clubs, and even elected into office. A call from my fashion designer mother could get you on a runway or modeling in magazines, maybe even in commercials. There were so many people who tried to befriend me or date me just to get into my parents' good graces. So many people trying to use me to get internships or climb higher up the ladder of life thanks to my parents. Maybe that was why I was such a bitch. I made people work for my friendship because I was so sick of being used and only seen as a golden ticket. With the number of people that used to try to befriend or date me back in high school, it made me wonder if their parents sent them to school with the main objective of "getting in with Sevyn." But because of who my family was, it resulted in a lot of ass kissing, even from people I called my best friends.
"Well, um, just tell me what the other girls think and call me back, okay?" I finally said.
"Yeah, for sure. Give me a few minutes, though. I have to walk Louie and I'll give the girls a ring!" she exclaimed.
"Okay. Talk soon," I said and slid into my black Corvette. I tossed my purse and phone into the passenger seat with a sigh and started up my car. While I couldn't forget my problems, the least I could do was at least drink until they didn't matter anymore.
"Mom? Dad?" I called out when I walked into their house. Their oversized mansion overlooked the ocean, the sounds of the crashing waves filtering through the house. Everything looked the same as it always had, white, sterile, and cold. It was fitting though, as it perfectly explained how my parents were toward me.
When I was little, I didn't spend much time with my parents. I was usually left with the nanny while my parents were out playing politics and making the Langdon name something to be respected in this city. Anytime I did see them, it was over a quiet dinner where no one would talk. They'd left me unsupervised during my teen years, not intervening until I got in trouble or did something that would shame the family name somehow. Maybe it was another reason why all that shit I did to Logan happened. Maybe I just wanted my parents' attention.
Maybe I wanted them to actually love me. For someone to love me.
"Sevyn?"
I turned to see my mother walking toward me with a small smile on her face. I will say that after I was found innocent in Logan's death, it weirdly brought my family together. We had to go through a lot of family therapy sessions, and they'd been trying to be a better support system. Things were still awkward sometimes, but I was glad they were trying, which was a lot better than what I thought they'd do considering their track record.
My mother was beautiful as usual, not looking a day over thirty thanks to all her trips to the plastic surgeon and bi-weekly Botox touch ups. Her long, dark hair cascaded down her back in soft curls, her baby doll face caked on with make-up as it usually was. Even when I was little, I couldn't remember a time my mother didn't wear makeup. The only time I saw her without makeup was in old pictures from when she and my father first started dating, and even then, she was probably still wearing concealer. She looked like the many models that strutted along South Beach, her thin body clad in a bikini and cover up. She pushed her sunglasses up into
her hair and stretched her arms out as she got closer to me.
"It's such a surprise to see you! I didn't know you were coming. I would've made something for you," she said, hugging me tight.
"It's fine. I'm not going to be here long anyway," I said and looked around. "Where's Dad?"
"Business trip as usual. He left a couple of days ago," she said, just as a younger, shirtless man with swimming trunks that were low on his hips walked into the house with a bottle of beer tipped up to his lips.
I raised an eyebrow at my mom. "Um...who the hell is that?"
She looked over her shoulder and waved him off. "Michael, honey, I'll be out back in a minute," she said and waved him off. "That's Michael. He's the pool boy."
I frowned and folded my arms across my chest. "You mean your new fuck toy while Dad's gone," I replied, my voice flat.
She let out a light sigh and squeezed my shoulders. "Sevyn, honey, you know that things haven't been well with your father. We're together for the sake of the brand we created together—"
"So, our family is just a brand to you?" I scoffed and shook my head. "You know, I used to try to figure out why I'm so fucked up and all I have to do is come home to remind myself why I am the way I am." I looked around the soulless house, all the white and black furniture that made it feel more like a showroom instead of a home for a family. "Now I know why I hate coming here."
"Sevyn," she called out as I walked away from her.
I stormed back through the door, nearly shattering the glass door when I walked out of it and stomped back to my car. My mother was hot on my heels, her stilettos clicking against the driveway as she rushed behind me.
"Sevyn, would you wait a minute?" she called out.
"For what? Don't want to interrupt your cougar session," I fired back sarcastically.
"Your father and I haven't been in love for years," she admitted. "I told you that a long time ago. We're not getting a divorce, but we're not exclusive to each other either."
"So, you're just pretending then?" I asked.
She gave me a solemn nod. "We've been pretending for a very long time, Sevyn, before you'd even graduated from high school. We'd actually planned on telling you when we decided this, but then everything happened with Logan and you needed us to look like a united front."
"Well, thanks for not pretending anymore. At least I'm no longer in the dark with the rest of the public about the true status of my family unit," I said and got into my car, slamming the door behind me.
She watched me as I pulled out of the driveway and sped down the road. Now I definitely needed a night out. Aside from the Luther drama, I felt like my family and friends were the only constant thing I had in my life. Now that I knew my parents weren't even technically together, it was like half of my foundation was slipping away. After what my mom had said, I didn't even want to believe that my father was out on a business trip. Maybe he was with another woman. Maybe he'd made another family with another woman somewhere in the world. Maybe he had other children that weren't as fucked up as me.
"Sevyn, our perfect creation and the best thing to ever walk this earth," I said out loud. It was what my parents used to tell me whenever they were present in my life. But with everything that'd happened in my life, I wasn't perfect. I seemed to destroy everything and everyone I touched. If anything, I wasn't perfection.
I was destruction, bound to pull everyone down with the flames that consumed my soul. My entire existence was just the result of drunken mistakes, lack of supervision, and an "image" we had to uphold. I wasn't even surprised anymore. Nothing surprised me when it came to that sham of a family I had. If people knew what was underneath the privilege, money, and connections that came with my parents, they wouldn't want it that much.
Money and connections didn't mean shit when you couldn't buy love and affection from the people you wanted it from the most.
"Oh my God, I'm so glad we're going out tonight!" Allison said as she came into my home, lifting bottles of wine in the air. "And I brought pre-game supplies!"
I smiled. It'd been a long while since all of us had hung out all at once. Everyone was either busy with life or I was stuck inside my own head and was in no mood to be bothered. I had to admit that their lively voices and energy brightened up my place. Sarah, Crystal, Carrie, Rebecca, and Jamie all followed in behind her, all of them hugging me as they walked past me. Jamie held me a little longer behind holding me out in front of her.
"You look so good, Sevyn! It's been months since I've seen you. I'm so jealous of this tan you have going on," she gushed.
I gave her a small smile. "Hey, why live in Miami if you don't soak up the sun?" I said, though I hadn't been to a beach in months.
"So true, girl. We're gonna have to go tanning pretty soon then! I'm looking like Casper the ghost these days," she teased before she joined the others in the living room. I sighed inwardly as I closed and locked the door. Even though I did want to do something with my friends, I always hated this part of the meeting. Pretending to be fine was fucking exhausting. It was one of the reasons why I hated being around other people. It was always the same thing.
"How are you feeling?"
"How's therapy?"
"How's life?"
"What've you been up to?"
I couldn't answer truthfully. People never really wanted the truth because they couldn't handle it. If I told them I was depressed or anxious because of the recent deaths, they'd try to explain it away and make me feel as if my concerns weren't valid. If they knew I wasn't going to therapy as much as I should, the conversation would turn into another lecture. They definitely didn't want to hear that I'd hardly left my house lately and that my sun kissed tanned skin was bought at the tanning salon a few streets over. So instead, I smile and lie and pretend that I'm living my life to the fullest.
Like I always had to do.
"So, I kinda have to tell you guys something..." Carrie drawled as she smirked and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. When we all looked at her, she grinned. "So, a guy that I've been dating on and off is back in town. His friend is having a bachelor party, so they're going to be at the club tonight. And they’re all fucking hot."
"Carrie, it's a girls' night. We're hanging out with each other, not with your boyfriend and his friends," Allison said and rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, you're gonna want to meet these guys," Carrie said and pulled out her phone. Her finger touched the screen for a few moments before she thrust the phone out for us to see. "That's him and his friends."
"On second thought, when are we meeting them?" Allison said, wiggling her eyebrows.
I looked at the picture. The men were sexy as hell, all of them covered in tattoos.
"Wait a second," I said, taking her phone from her. There was a guy that looked extremely familiar, but I couldn't place where I knew him from. All of his skin that was visible was covered in tattoos, his body muscular and lean. His white t-shirt and jeans he wore fit him to perfection, his beard framing a sexy pair of lips that I wouldn't mind feeling on my body tonight. But there was something about his eyes that both scared me and pulled me to him like a magnet. I knew that I knew those eyes from somewhere and it was frustrating the hell out of me that I couldn't remember who it was.
"Sevyn?" Carrie asked. I looked up to see everyone staring at me.
"Sorry," I said, passing her phone back to her. "I thought I knew one of the guys."
"Which one?" she asked, looking at the phone again. I pointed at the guy and she grinned. "Oh, that's Eric. I think he'd totally be your type since you're into those bad boys."
I gave her a small grin. "I guess."
Sarah clapped her hands. "Well, what are we waiting for? If hot guys are gonna be partying with us, shouldn't we be getting ready?"
Allison poured us all a glass of wine before they all giggled their way to my master bathroom. And while I was excited about tonight, there was an overwhelming sense of dread that something was on the horizon.
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"Just relax and enjoy yourself, Sevyn. You'll be out with friends, so you'll be fine," I murmured to myself before joining my friends.
With everything that'd been happening lately, I could only pray that I was right.
LUTHER
I fucking hated clubs but loved the attention I got.
Club Toxic was packed despite it being a weeknight. Techno music pumped through speakers around the room, the base so deep that I could literally feel it in my bones. The air was hazy with smoke, the smell of cigarettes, cigars, marijuana and sweat all clashing together. The smell alone almost made my stomach turn. The club owner was right in calling it Toxic; the air in this place alone was deadly.
The older I got, the more I hated large crowds. It was too loud; and considering that my mind was already loud enough with its own shit going on in there, I didn't need anything else adding to it. It was no surprise when the single women all flocked over to me and my guys, batting their unnaturally long eye lashes at us and biting their bottom lip when they'd say hello. They paraded around us, dressed in skimpy outfits that gave me thoughts about whether or not I wanted to pull one into the bathroom to show them a good time. But unfortunately for them, I wasn't here to mingle or find a one-night stand. I was here for a specific mission and when I looked toward the entrance of Club Toxic, that mission had now just started.
The party goers were a combination of young adults from all walks of life. Many dancing couples either wore all black or a colorful ensemble; there was no in-between. My guys and I scoped the place before actually coming, blending in with our all black attire. My dark denim jeans and black t-shirt was snugly fit over my muscular form, a pair of black Converse on my feet. We all walked through to the back of the club in the VIP area, entering the roped off area for Curtis' "bachelor" party.
The Destruction of Sevyn (The Vengeance of Luther Book 1) Page 6