TOREN
I rinse my mouth out with water and try ignoring the sound of their conversation outside the door, but it’s fucking pointless. I hear every word. I suck in a steady breath, then open the door. The three of them are too focused on their conversation to notice me as I step out. I’m about to move toward them when I spot something in the room across from me. I feel a pull toward it. It’s a strange feeling, but I surrender to it and step inside the bedroom, only to have my jaw hit the floor.
It’s a girl’s room!
I look around, take in the sight of everything as I make my way toward the dresser and lift one of the photo frames. I gasp at the sight of Xaden smiling and looking so carefree and happy, but when I see the girl standing beside him my whole world tilts on its axis. I stumble backward and drop the frame to the floor as I crash into the bookcase, causing the books to fall and hit the ground.
Xaden comes rushing into the room with a murderous look on his face. “What the fuck are you doing in here?” he roars. I open my mouth but no words come out. I drop my gaze back to the frame on the floor in utter disbelief. “Answer me!” he yells.
I start shaking as I lock eyes with him. “Who… who is she?” I ask, barely above a whisper.
Xaden’s face blanks of all emotion but I see the fire burning in those gray eyes. Masen and Cas stand in the doorway. My brother looks stunned while Cas looks… worried.
“My sister.” His answer is void of all feeling.
I shake my head trying to wrap my head around what I’m seeing and hearing. “Where is she?” I breathe out.
Hatred burns in the look he gives me. “You didn’t just take my best friends from me that night, you took the one fucking person from me that meant everything to me! You fucking killed Emery.”
The air evaporates from inside me, my head begins to pound like a stampede of wild animals running through it. I drop to my knees and clutch it between my hands as a blood curdling scream tears out of me.
“Come on, we need to go,” Kellan shouts over the music.
Kenna pouts and stomps her foot. “But we don’t want to go, we’re having fun.” I hum my agreement and cross my arms over my chest after I toss the car keys to my brother.
“I can’t drive anyway. I've had too much to drink,” I add to drive my point home.
“You had two beers!” Masen volleys back.
I roll my eyes. “Well, that is two too many, so I guess we’re staying.”
“Tor, we have to go. I just got a weird call from Dad telling me to come home. I think something happened.” The fight drains out of me at the concern in my brother's tone.
“Is Dad okay?” I hurriedly ask.
“I don’t know, we need to go!” he snaps.
“Where’s Cas?” Kenna asks.
“He’s grabbing our shit and will meet us at Masen’s. I told him Toren was gonna drive us there,” Kellan says as we all rush toward Masen’s Cyber truck. I call shotgun and hop in beside my brother, leaving Kellan to climb in the back behind Mase and Kenna behind me. Masen starts the car, then slaps his cheeks and shakes his head. My eyes widen as I lean over and grip his arm, forcing his focus on me.
“You’re drunk, you can’t drive.”
He pushes my hand off him. “I’m fine, Toren. I only had a couple.” Masen puts the truck in drive and peels out of the lot. My stomach is in knots of worry. I pull my phone out of my pocket to text my dad, only to find a missed call and text from him.
I open the message and frown.
Dad - Send Masen home now. Stay with your friends and don’t come back home yet.
“Why does Dad want you to come home alone?” I ask my brother, then suck in a sharp breath when he jerks the wheel. “Masen!” I scream.
“Shut up, Toren. I’m fine.”
“Mase, you should pull over and let me or Tor drive?—”
“I’m fine, KennaDee. Would you both just shut the hell up! The car can drive itself. I don’t know why it jerked the wheel.”
Kellan snorts. “It’s not the car, it's the driver.”
