“I know you’re angry and blame me.”
He turns to face me fully and runs a hand through his hair. “That night changed more than the lives of the people that were involved. My advice, don’t trust everything you hear. Xaden is a crooked son of a bitch and doesn’t trust anyone, but he isn’t the guy your brother and Kellan make him out to be. When shit hit the fan, Kellan and Mase ran. Xaden stood in the center of it all and refused to back down until he figured out what really happened.”
My eyes widen, I reach out and grip his forearms. “He knows what happened that night?” I ask in a rush.
Cas shakes his head. “If he had all the answers, we wouldn’t be here right now.” He draws back, then nods his head toward the beach before walking away and leaving me standing here alone. I wrap my arms around myself and try to gather the courage to walk down and face the people from my past. This is the one place both towns can interact and not risk hurting each other. Sure, they make jibes and try to incite a fight but no one has ever crossed that line.
I’m not the same girl I was. I’m not the Toren Kellar who hides in her brother’s shadow anymore. I’m a wisp of the person they all knew. I have nothing and no one. Cas is putting on a big show of being forgiving but I know he hates the sight of me. He tries to be out as late as possible so he can avoid crossing my path. Masen and Kellan have done nothing to try and help me adjust to being home. My father dumped me in Stormsend and left me to fend for myself. I hate to admit it but the only person who has actually been there and tried to force me to live again is Xaden.
He may be the devil in human form and have rumors about how cutthroat he and his family are, but never once has he shown me the monster that lurks beneath the surface. He is forcing me to own who I am without remorse.
“You look lost, Tink.” I close my eyes and inhale through my nose as I feel him stand beside me.
“I thought you were off brooding somewhere?” I clap back, keeping my gaze ahead.
“This place used to be a sanctuary for me and my boys. We’d come here to blow off steam and pretend to be anyone but ourselves.” Hearing him be so open and forthcoming for the first time, I turn to face him. His penetrating gaze is already on me and tracking my every move like a predator. His eyes shine with the ghosts of his past and the urge to wipe the sorrowful look from his face is too compelling.
“What’s so wrong with being you?” I whisper.
“You never knew who I was before that night. You lived in your ivory tower thinking fairytales were real and some prince would rescue you from your gilded cage.” His words bite into my flesh and I feel his unrestrained judgment like a freight train. “You were the prize of Somerset. Any guy who bagged you got the nod from the future senator and to be close to your golden boy brother.”
“I’m not a prize to be won. I am a person, Xaden.”
He shakes his head. “No, you’re a bargaining chip. Want to know why your brother didn’t give his best friend the all clear to fuck his baby sister’s brains out?” I reel back and gasp at his crude words, but he doesn’t give me a chance to answer before continuing, “Keeping you pure and untouched by anyone around here meant you could be sold off to the highest bidder, so your daddy could gain favors.”
“Fuck you!” I snap. Not deterred by my outburst, he steps forward until our chests touch. In a show of power he wraps an arm around my waist possessively, like he has a right to touch me whenever he so pleases.
“Learn the truth by seeing. Hearing lies allows them to become the truth.”
“You make no fucking sense!”
“Every moment of your miserable life has been a lie. You’re cattle ready to be slaughtered, Tink. Daddy dumped you on my doorstep for a reason and I plan to figure out why that is. You think you know who I am because you’ve heard stories, but I’m much worse than that. If I find out you had a hand in any of this, I’ll tear you apart with my bare fucking hands.”
His threat hangs heavy in the air. I know with certainty that he means every word he has said. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t even have a fucking phone, Xaden—” He releases me, cutting off my reply, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a phone and tosses it at me. I fumble to catch it before it hits the ground.
“Now you do. Enjoy googling yourself, Tink. Try to avoid the memes though, they went overboard with those.” I stand here staring after him as he makes his way to the party like nothing happened.
I pull my gaze from his retreating form and stare down at the phone. I debate doing exactly as he suspected and look up my name on the internet, but when my stomach plummets I know this isn’t the place or the time to do that. So, I stuff the phone in my pocket and decide to join the party.
I keep my head down the whole way and try to blend in with everyone so I don’t draw attention to myself. I spot the keg in the back and scrunch my face, I’ll never drink again after… I push that thought away and focus on the pop up table that has a punch bowl. I make my way toward it, trying to stick to the outskirts of the people. Before I can make it to my destination, someone steps into my path blocking me. I take a deep breath and slowly lift my head, only to lock eyes with the boy I thought would be my future.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
TOREN
“Hi.” The sound of his voice has the air rushing out of me. As I look up at him now, I don’t see the beauty I saw before. Kellan could once suck the oxygen from a room and capture my sole focus, just seeing him would brighten my day.
Now, all I see when I look at him is my past. So much pain and regret.
“Hey.” I try to sound indifferent but even I can hear the hurt that laces my tone.
Kellan sighs and runs a hand through his hair, then brings a red Solo cup to his lips and takes a gulp. I scrunch my face. “What?”
I shake my head. “Nothing,” I answer meekly.
“Are you judging me for having a beer?” The accusation in his tone is clear.
“No. It’s your choice?—”
