"You skipped school," he continued.
"You're on a roll today."
Gavin's eyes narrowed and his expression darkened. "Ebony, don’t force my hand."
Beyond annoyed with him, she lifted her hands up in annoyance and tried to step around him but Gavin shifted to the side. He had no intention of letting her pass. Frustrated, she pressed her lips into a thin line using all her strength not to yell at him.
"It's called free will, Gavin," her tone teetering on the edge of patience. "And just like you, who decided to wake up one day and completely change, I'm also deciding to do whatever the hell I want."
For the briefest moment a gleam of vulnerability shone in his eyes, but it was quickly extinguished. He ran a hand down over his face and closed his eyes before leveling her a hard look.
“There’s no change,” he said evenly.
Ebony jerked back and stared at him. “So, us barely talking? This weird silence between us? That’s nothing?” she pressed. Dared him to deny it.
Gavin's jaw tensed and his bright eyes flashed with irritation, which was actually fun to see. “You’re right," he said. "It’s me. I’ve been focused on…Sienna.”
The brief moment of joy was shattered at the sound of the other girl's name. A vague ache pulsed in her chest, widening the wound he already caused.
Ebony looked away. “So that’s it?" she asked, her voice lower than she intended but it was taking all her strength to keep the emotions inside from spilling out at once like a tidal wave. "You get a girlfriend and suddenly forget who you are?”
Gavin shrugged, his own expression cruelly blank. “Maybe. Maybe I just needed a distraction.”
A pain lanced at her and she couldn’t keep the vulnerability from slipping out. "What does that even mean?"
A muscle twitched in his jaw and she could practically feel his frustration crackling the air around them.
"You're...You're so fucking dense. The whole fucking world gets it but you," he seethed.
Ebony reeled back, shocked by the raw feeling in his tone. It felt as if he had just slapped her. Never did he talk to her like this. She stared at him warily, betrayed by the stranger standing in front of her.
She ignored the instant regret in his eyes and spoke before he did. "You know what. I'm done. I don't know why I care so much, you clearly don't,” she said, her throat painfully tight with the need to cry. “One day you were the most loving, wonderful person in the entire world and suddenly I'm nothing at all to you. Just some random girl."
Gavin gave her a tortured smile that matched the dark fire in his eyes. "God, I fucking wish."
Ebony turned away, biting her lip to replace the hurt his words caused. Somehow, she made it up the stairs to her room before the tears came down.
Chapter twelve
Anyone with eyes could sense the change in the Rosebank siblings. It was like deep black waters stretching between them, widening with every avoided look. Yet that didn’t deter anyone at the pool party. A chance to party at the Rosebank mansion? Yeah, no one was turning that down.
Cameron counted at least forty people in attendance, just a small portion of the senior class. People Gavin entrusted Ethan and Luis to hand pick. The criteria? Simple. People who didn’t annoy Gavin and anyone Ebony wanted. The last part was easy, because as popular as Ebony was, her friend group was remarkably small always reminding Cameron how reserved the princess of Stardust actually was.
Looking around across the massive pool to the other side, away from the blaring speakers and under the shade of a massive magnolia tree, sat a large cabana. Draped in white netting, it partially obscured its occupant but Cameron could make her out. He could see her dark legs against the white cushions and the flash of purple from her criminally small bikini.
Cameron wasn’t the only one looking. Even from across the yard, where Gavin was playing basketball with a group of guys, Cameron could see his glacial demon gaze drifting back to the cabana every few minutes. Noting her every shift of movement and keeping track of any guy who strayed too close. All the while Sienna, for some fucking reason Gavin's new girlfriend, desperately tried to stay in his line of sight cheering him on from the side of the court.
Cameron was lounging at the end of the pool, the water lapping at his chest when a brunette waded towards him. Her bright polka dotted bikini top barely covering her breasts.
"Hey Cam," her syrupy sweet voice demanded that he look at her.
Swallowing back an annoyed sigh, he complied, smiling. "Hi Shanel."
Having captured his attention, her eyes lit up even as she gave him a practiced pout. "You haven't called me in a while."
But you have called me, dozens of times.Was what he wanted to say but he just settled on a smile instead.
Shanel blinked and he could see her trying to think of something to say to capture his attention. "You want to go get something to eat." She pointed to the man standing under a large umbrella manning the outdoor kitchen in a black chef's outfit.
