He holds it up high. “You’re still fucking seeing him?”
I try to steal the phone back. “It’s none of your business. You don’t have a damn right to go through my phone.”
He holds it out of reach, looking down at me with a hard look in his steely eyes. If I’m not careful, my towel could unravel but I don’t care much about that right now. He’s behaving like a dick.
“What the fuck did I tell you, sis? This thing you’ve got going on with Ravencourt ends now. You’re not allowed to see him, you hear me?”
I stop trying to grab for my phone. What’s the fucking point? He won’t give it back until he’s said his piece. I cross my arms over my chest and arch a brow. “Or else? What are you gonna do?” I wave a hand around the room. “Lock me up?”
He gets in my face. “Maybe I fucking will.”
We glower at each other, and a muscle tics in his jaw. He points an accusing finger in my face. “Don’t test me on this, sis. Ravencourt is off limits to you.”
“You’re not my fucking dad.”
“I am the man of this house,” he roars. “Someone has to fucking look out for you and it’s not that useless drunk.” He turns and swipes a textbook off my bed, sending it flying across the floor. “Don’t for a fucking second believe Ravencourt wants you for anything else than an easy fuck.”
His words slice deep, because somewhere down inside, I’ve always felt as if I’m not good enough for anything. He’s dragging those insecurities to the surface. Tears well up and I cut eye contact, refusing to look at him again. He can fuck right off if he thinks I’ll listen to anything he has to say.
He sighs, exhausted, and tosses my phone on the bedspread. “You can hate me all you want. It’s for your own good, alright? You’ll thank me later.”
I whip my head around. “I’ll thank you? I’llthankyou?! Are you for fucking real?”
His jaw turns to granite. “You know the rules. You’re from the Falls. He’s from the Heights. Do you think his family will welcome you with open arms? They’ll think you’re a fucking gold digger.”
“I don’t want his money,” I all but scream. “I don’t give a flying fuck!”
“Stop being so fucking naive,” he shouts back, voice deep with fury. “This isn’t some fairytale. The founding families are dangerous. I don’t want you wrapped up in their world.”
Oh, that’s rich.
Arms crossed, I suck on my teeth in disgust before shaking my head. He’s one to talk, isn’t he? Hypocrite. I shoulder past him on my way to the closet.
“I heard you’re looking to recruit.” I act as nonchalantly as I possibly can while sliding clothes aside to find something suitable to wear to lessons.
There’s a moment of silence, and then he steps closer, the floorboards creaking beneath his weight. “Who the fuck told you that?”
I inspect a hoodie. There’s nothing special about it: a faded band logo, and cut-out holes in the sleeves for my thumbs. “So it’s true?”
“Tell me who the hell is running their mouth.”
I spin around. “No, you don’t get to tell me that you don’t want me involved in their ‘dangerous world’ when you’re out there doing illegal things. It’s not one rule for me and one rule for you.”
“Someone has to pay the bills around here. You don’t seriously think I keep us afloat working in that damn garage, do you?” He points in the direction of the door. “You don’t think you and your sister get to finish college because I change oil and tires, do you?”
Tears fall freely now as I turn my head away. He’s so much taller than me, and as he runs a hand through his blond hair and swipes a lamp off the dresser beside my closet, I feel small and helpless.
“Fuck!” he roars. He sounds... defeated, and when he turns back to me, his broken expression cracks me open. For a second, I feel ashamed.
Ashamed for staying up all night, fretting about a boy from the Heights.
A founding father’s son.
We’ve got far bigger problems.
Besides, my brother is right; Kane doesn’t care. I’m a fun novelty, but he’ll never take me seriously. To him, I’ll always just be another girl. Someone he fucks for a while, another notch on his bed frame, before he moves on to a more suitable girl in his league, someone his family approves of.
“Don’t make me into a villain,” my brother says, dipping his head to look me in the eye. “Don’t do that. We’re family. We’ll always look out for each other.”
