“You’re seriously with this guy?” Gus asks, scowling. “He’s a disrespectful asshole, and you deserve better.”
“Like you, I suppose,” Ryder roars, wiping blood from the end of his nose.
“Too fucking right,” Gus retorts, as Gage goes to his brother, pulling him back and whispering in his ear. “I don’t fucking care, Gage. I want nothing to do with that fucking douche anyway.”
“Can we just get out of here?” I plead with Mike, and he looks to Ryder.
Ryder pulls me to him, kissing me hard on the lips, and I want to knee him in the balls for having the audacity to try and “claim” me to prove some point to Gus. I rip my lips from his, shoving at his chest. “Don’t fucking kiss me. Don’t even fucking look at me. I’m so mad at you right now.”
“Me!” he yells. “What the fuck did I do?”
“C’mon, man,” Scott says. “Just leave it. This is gonna be all over social media within the hour.”
“Like I give a fuck.” Ryder slings his arm around my shoulder. “C’mon, baby. Let’s go fuck in the limo.”
Gus pushes past his brother, planting himself in front of me. “You don’t have to leave with him, Zeta. I’ll make sure you get home safely.”
Ryder shoves me out of the way, punching Gus in the mouth before he’s had time to protect himself. Gus completely loses his balance, making a grab for the table as he falls to the floor. The table wobbles, and the contents slide over the edge, landing on top of him. “Oh my God!” I crouch down over him as glass shatters everywhere. “Gus! Are you okay?”
“We’ve got this, Zeta,” Gage says, lifting me up and over the broken debris. “I think it’s best if you just get him out of here.”
“I’m so sorry, Gage.”
“You have nothing to be apologizing for. Go. I’ll get Kayla to call you tomorrow.”
Mike has to practically drag Ryder out of the place while Scott escorts me outside. I tuck my chin into my chest, avoiding the cell phones being held aloft as we leave.
I’m beyond livid when we get into the limo, so when Ryder turns and glares at me, I slide down the seat, as far away from him as I can get, sitting on my hands to stop myself from punching him. The car glides out into the traffic, and tension is thick in the air. Micah unscrews the cap on the whiskey, and Gar lines up some more coke. I shoot daggers at them as Scott lets out a tired sigh.
“Oh my God, Gus! Are you okay?!” Ryder mimics my words and my tone of voice as he whips the bottle of whiskey out of Micah’s hands, emptying the contents down his throat.
“Do not even start with me right now, Ryder,” I fume, crossing my arms over my chest and glowering at him.
“Me!” Ryder shouts. “You’re the one who was fawning all over that asshole.”
“Excuse me?” I scream, uncaring we have an audience. “This all started because you were treating me like one of your whores!”
He sends me a scathing look, his eyes roaming my body. “Well, if the cap fits.”
Tears stab my eyes, but I force them aside. I will not cry in front of him.
“Screw you, Ryder. You’re a horrible drunk, or maybe it’s all the drugs in your system fucking with your brain, but if this is what your lifestyle does to you, then I want no part of it.”
He swigs out of the bottle, and an ugly sneer twists the corners of his mouth. “No problem, honey. There’s a line of girls waiting to ride my cock, and they wouldn’t give me this shit.”
“Can you stop the car, please.” I lock eyes with the driver through the mirror.
“Zeta, don’t,” Scott interjects. “If you don’t want to come to the after-party, I’ll stay in the limo with you and see you back safely.”
“Let her fucking leave if she wants to,” Ryder spews, waving his hands about, whiskey sloshing out of the bottle, over his pants, and down the front of the seat. “Hey, you!” he shouts, leaning forward and pointing at the driver. “Pull the fuck over.”
“Ryder, I really don’t think you want—”
“You can get the fuck out too, Scott, if you’re gonna continue acting like a boring cunt,” Ryder snaps.
“Fine by me, dude,” Scott clips out.
The car glides to a halt at the sidewalk, and Scott opens the door quickly, not waiting for the driver to come around. He offers me his hand, and I let him help me outside.
