by Mary Martel
"Dash will be just fine," I replied breezily, like the shit he'd just spewed out at me hadn't struck me deep and I wasn't bleeding out on the inside. Dash had been seriously upset downstairs, and the urge to run down and hug him was overwhelming. The thought of him being upset with me in any way was almost too much to bear.
Quinton rocked back on his heels and shook his head angrily. "Eat your fucking lunch before it gets cold," he snapped at me while running his hands through his short, dark brown hair. "We can talk this out while you eat."
My eyes widened in shock, because that sounded a whole lot like he was giving in. And Quinton Alexander never did that, not when it came to important things that mattered to his family. He was the protector of the group, it was his job to take care of us, and it wasn't simply a job to him. He lived for it.
He dropped the plate down on the counter beside me and bent into me. His hands went to the backs of my thighs and I was lifted up clean off my feet. My hands rested on his shoulders while my butt was dropped down onto the counter. He scooted me back to where I'd be comfortable and then his hands left me and he turned away from me. He picked up his own plate and leaned his hips against the island across from me.
For someone who claimed we would talk it out while we ate, he did absolutely zero talking. Instead, he watched me with a thoughtful expression on his face while he ate every single bite of food on his plate. Since he didn't talk, I figured my best move at this point would be to follow his lead, so I copied him and picked up my burger. I took a bite and dropped my plate back down on the counter.
I jumped down off of the counter and moved to the fridge. I dug out the mayo, dill hamburger pickle slices, and a ziplock bag with a sliced up tomato in it. Using a butter knife I got out of the silverware drawer, I pried off the top bun and slathered mayo on top of the melted cheese. I unscrewed the pickle jar and fished out a small handful of pickles. I piled them on top of the mayo and screwed the cap back on the jar. I pulled out a thick tomato slice from the plastic bag and slapped that down on top of the pickles. Then, for good measure, I slathered some more mayo onto the bun before plopping it back down on top of my burger. I put everything back away where I got it from, except for the butter knife, which I rinsed off and left in the sink. Later I would put it away in the dishwasher with our plates and the rest of the dishes Quinton dirtied while cooking lunch for me.
I hopped back up on the counter and put my plate in my lap. I picked up the burger and lifted it to my face. Before taking my first bite, I glanced up at Quinton to find him staring at me in horror. "The only thing that would make this even more awesome than it already is at the moment, which I'm sure is an insane amount of awesome already, would be if it had some onion rings on it," I informed him, and took a giant bite out of the burger.
"Mmm," I groaned happily. Really, I loved food. And I had been right, it was definitely awesome and onion rings would have made it even more so.
"Jesus, you're a weirdo," Quinton muttered under his breath.
I didn't care, he could think whatever the hell he wanted. It tasted good and that was all that mattered. He could plain Jane his food all he wanted, and if that worked for him then good for him. It didn't work for me. Sometimes he could be such a snob and I felt sad for him because of it.
I finished my burger, but could only eat about half of the pasta salad before I had to call it quits and set the plate back down on the counter beside me. Quinton rinsed his plate off and left it in the sink before coming over to pick my plate up. He ate the rest of the pasta salad off it and then rinsed my plate off in the sink.
"You know they're going to freak out if you do this, right?" he asked me quietly without bothering to look at me. "They will see it as an act of betrayal and they will all be pissed. They might say some unfortunate things to you that will stick with you long past when you come back with Romero, and I don't want that for you. But, what's more, I don't want that for them. After everything Annabell put us all through, something like this could tear them apart. And then, when you come back, it will be so much worse for them because they will feel horrible for not having trusted you in the first place. It's going to be messy."
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
He was...
Quinton Alexander was giving in. He was going to let me do this because he really did trust me.
"Quinton," I whispered in a choked up voice, not even beginning to comprehend what was happening here.
"I’m down for damage control when you get back, baby, but I need you to know before you actually go through with it that it might be horrible for you when you get back for a while. Is going to get Romero worth it to you? Is it more important than your relationships with them? You need to ask yourself these questions, because what you decide to do next is going to change everything. Make sure you know what you're doing before you make that choice."
He was right, absolutely, about all of it. They were going to hate me while I was gone, and every single one of them who wasn't in on it would feel an immense amount of hurt and betrayal by my actions. Until it was over, that is. Then they'd likely feel an immense amount of guilt. But I thought it would be worth it if it worked out in the end.
So, really, I didn't even have to think about it.
"It'll be worth it," I said with confidence I actually felt, because I believed in myself and what I was about to do.
Finally, Quinton looked at me. His eyes were full of pride and something that bordered on the edge of possession. I shivered and my nipples immediately hardened. Thankfully, I'd taken the time to put a bra on, so hopefully he wouldn't notice.
"That's what I thought you'd say," he rumbled in a voice thick with emotion. "Make your phone call. I want it on speaker so I can hear what he says, but I won't interrupt and I won't speak. Then we'll break it to the others together. I've got you, all the way, I've got you. And, Ariel?" He paused and his eyes grew intense, heated, maybe even a little angry. He waited to speak again until he knew for sure he had my full, undivided attention.
"Yeah?" I choked out, the look in his eyes scaring me.
"Don't you ever fucking question my loyalty to you or whether or not I trust you ever again after this, because I won't react well to it. I'm warning you right now, don't ever do it again."
I shivered again, this time for an entirely different reason as a chill raced down my spine. He was dead serious and he meant those words like he'd never meant anything before.
I nodded my head sharply, once, and ran from the room.
I understood him completely. Boy, did I understand him.
"Hello, child," Adrian cooed happily. "To what do I owe the honor of hearing your lovely voice over the phone?"
I stared at my cellphone on the island countertop and ignored Quinton looming over me as he glared down at it. Even the sound of Adrian's voice gave me the creeps, but I imagined it enraged Quinton. No amount of pretty jewelry would ever make what Adrian did in our home right in Quinton's eyes, and I couldn't say I blamed him for feeling that way because I felt much the same.
I cleared my throat and lied as sweetly as I possibly could. "I've been thinking... you know, about what we talked about before during that dinner at your house..." This part actually wasn't a lie, because I had been thinking about it a lot lately. "Well, maybe I was too hasty with my response."
Utter silence through the phone. I didn't speak as I let my words and the meaning behind them sink in.
"You... do you want to join us?" he asked in a carefully hopeful voice. "I never dreamed..." He swallowed loudly, loud enough to be heard plainly over the phone before hesitantly whispering, "After my outburst at the Alexander residence, I thought that would be the end of our amicable relationship and it crushed me. Now, I know I apologized for my behavior and tried to make up for it, but I know the female mind and how it works. I had no hope for us to have a friendship again. No hope."
Good grief!
I cringed.
Had he really thought we'd been some sort of frie
nds? Was he crazy or delusional or something?
"Now you've given me my hope back, sweet child." His voice shook with some kind of emotion I didn't want to try and name, because I was sure it would scare the shit out of me.
Quinton squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.
"I'll send a car for you tomorrow and we will perform the ceremony immediately after your arrival," Adrian practically purred. "I would send one sooner for you, child, but we won't be ready for you until tomorrow afternoon. It's just not possible, because these types of things take a certain sort of finesse, if you will. And I'll need to let the other covens know of your decision and that the Council will soon have its very first female member. We'll need to whip together a celebration of a sort, one they're all invited to."
Oh shit, this was moving way faster than I had anticipated. It was almost as if he'd been waiting for the day I phoned him to tell him I wanted to join, because he seemed to know exactly what to do once he'd gotten over his initial shock.
"Uh, Adrian."
"Now, now, child," he said in a rush, cutting me off. Probably worried I would change my mind. "Don't you worry about a thing. And don't you worry about informing Quinton about the party or the ceremony. I'll take care of all of that."
Party? He had to be joking. I wasn't calling him so I could party with him and his creepy buddies. The things I was willing to do for my family and loved ones...
"I'll call Quinton right now and let him know in case they wish to join us tomorrow to celebrate you making history."
He had to be crazier than I'd ever thought if he believed for even one second any of my guys would want to join him in celebration. I didn't correct him. There was no point. Later he'd get it though.
"I'll text you tomorrow when the car is supposed to be there for you. Don't you worry about a thing, Ariel, and just so you know, you're making the right decision. I promise you, you'll see."
"Thank you," I murmured, not really meaning it at all.
"Speak to you tomorrow," he said and disconnected the call.
"Well, that was odd," I muttered. "It's like he rushed through the whole thing and couldn't wait to get off the phone with me. What the hell?"
"What the hell is right," Dash growled irately from the doorway.
I whipped around as my hand flew to my chest. Dash stood in front of me and he wasn't alone.
If I thought the firing squad from earlier was bad, I hadn't seen anything yet.
Fuck my life.
Chapter Thirteen
You Can’t Be That Dense
Well, now at least I'd been saved the trouble of having to go find them to share the not so good news. I could get this unpleasant business out of the way now, then pack and hide out in my room until Adrian contacted me tomorrow to let me know my ride was on the way to scoop me up.
Sounded like a good plan to me.
"Why don't you sit down," Quinton suggested mildly, like this was any normal conversation and not something we'd both been dreading.
"Don't tell me what the fuck to do, man," Dash snarled, and I noticed for the first time since he'd walked in here that his hands were fisted tightly at his sides and he was white knuckled so he must have been doing it for a while.
"Ariel, please tell me this is a joke," Tyson whispered, and there it was. That look of betrayal and horror in his eyes when he stared at me was like a punch straight to the gut. And a painful one at that, the most painful one I'd ever taken.
I opened my mouth to defend myself then snapped it shut. There was nothing I could say to him that would make this any better or would make him hurt any less. It was what it was and I'd made the choice to follow through with it, so that was exactly what I was going to do.
I wrapped my arms around my middle protectively as I looked him straight in his soulful brown eyes. I couldn't look away from what I saw staring back at me, like a freaking car wreck on the side of the road. I bit my bottom lip, chewing nervously on my lip ring.
If he kept looking at me like that, I'd cry for sure.
Quinton had tried to warn me that this part would be hard, and though I'd believed him, I had also thought the end would justify the means. I thought I could hack it and Quinton had trusted me. If I failed now, it would be me letting down the both of us.
"Hey, guys, I was—" Julian began as he walked into the apartment Dash and I shared within the house. He caught the vibe as soon as he stepped through the door, and asked carefully, "What the fuck's going on here? You guys look like someone died."
I cringed at his poor choice of words.
"Someone might as well have," Tyson spat out without taking his eyes off of me. I flinched but refused to look away. "It's like déjà fucking vu up in here. We already had one bitch barge their way into our lives and threaten to destroy it, you fucking know it all and yet here we are." He threw his arm out at his side and waved his hand dismissively at me.
His voice hitched, and hearing it broke something inside me. I let the tears fall free. There was absolutely no stopping them now.
"Tyson," Quinton clipped warningly. I wanted to tell him to shut up, we knew this had been coming.
"No, Uncle Quint. Not this time. You didn't defend the last one, you don't get to defend this one." Tyson swiped angrily under his eyes and I realized I wasn't the only one crying. That made it all the worse. "We let her in, all of this time. What's this going to do to our family? I didn't listen to you last time, I was so damn stupid. Fuck, Ariel. Annabell almost crushed us but you, you're going to be the thing that breaks us. Congratulations, you're a bitch. I don't know why the fuck you'd finally have sex with me just last night if you were planning on leaving me as soon as something better came along, but I wish like hell you would have left me the fuck alone. I don't know what they offered you to convince you to join them, but I hope whatever it is you choke on it."
My lips trembled as my body began shaking violently. This was worse than anything I could have possibly imagined, and it was obvious he hadn't heard the entire phone conversation.
He sneered at me and my heart broke. Without a backward glance, he turned and stormed out of the apartment. His feet thundered down the stairs and he slammed the door down there so hard that the one at the top of the stairs rattled.
Before I could compose myself or prepare for it, Dash turned on me, and if I thought my heart had been broken before, I had sorely been mistaken. I would find out what a broken heart truly felt like with one boyfriend down and another one standing here ready to go.
"I don't even know who you are and I don't think I want to. It feels like we let a snake in our house that's been slowly wrapping itself around our necks this whole time just waiting for the moment to strangle us. And that snake is you."
"Dash," Julian whispered in a horrified voice. "Stop it right now. Just shut your damn mouth, you have no idea what you're talking about, and I can promise you, brother, you're going to regret this later. You and Tyson both are going to regret this later, and it's going to fucking eat at the both of you. Mark my words."
Now I wanted to tell Julian to shut up, because he was going to blow my cover and ruin everything. It would all be for nothing if he blew this now.
Dash glared at Julian, the look so dark it scared me. "Fuck that and fuck her."
And with that he left the same way Tyson had. The door at the top of the stairs even rattled behind him.
My knees buckled and I reached out to grab a hold of the side of the couch so I didn't fall down to the floor. I felt positively sick to my stomach.
"Ariel," Julian said in a strangled voice as he reached out for me. I stumbled back a step, away from his outstretched hand. "Please, honey, he didn't mean it. Neither of them meant it. They don't know what's going on, and they would never do anything to hurt you."
I shook my head from side to side in denial. I knew that, I really did. But knowing it and hearing it were two very different things.
"The twins," I choked out. God, what would happen when they found o
ut? They had abandonment issues, and both had made me promise to never leave them. They would see this as the ultimate betrayal and it would rip them apart. Why hadn't I thought about this sooner, why hadn't I thought about all of the consequences before?
And now that I was thinking about them, could I still go through with it?
I had to, because for Dash, I imagined I could do anything, even when he acted like he hated my guts. That was okay, it had to be.
"Do you know what bothers me the most about this?" I asked in a quiet voice that shook with emotion. Neither of them answered me, they both stared at me with wide, stricken eyes. "They didn't even bother to ask me why. They just automatically assumed I'm just like Annabell and that was that. How could they think that of me after all this time? Have I ever once so much as even acted anything like her or given the impression I'm anything at all like that nasty woman? No, no fucking way. Yet they both acted like it was the easiest thing to swallow, like they had been just waiting for me to turn sour on them. How messed up is that?"
If I was being honest with myself, that hurt me more than actually seeing them hurting. Selfish, I knew, but I was allowed to be selfish every now and then, especially given what I was about to do. But, seriously, how could they so easily think the worst of me? Tyson and I had just shared something beautiful together and he'd told me he loved me, something he told me all the time.
I knew she'd hurt him very badly, but I thought he'd gotten over it. Had I been wrong about that? Should I not have slept with him? Did this mean he still had feelings for her and was projecting his bullshit with her onto me?