Page 1 of Vicious Titan

1

Elliot

Red. That’s all I see. Victoria’s red hair. My mom’s blood spilling around her. My anger. All things red consume my mind.

It can’t be true, but it is. Victoria has been visiting my mom all along. My fingers grip the steering wheel, turning it sharply as I speed down the street leading to the Hastings’ house. She won’t be there, but Asher should be. I need to know if he’s known what his sister has been up to all this time. How she’s been visiting my mom—like she has any right to be there—and then lying to me about it. Victoria knew. She’d slept in bed next to me, watched me suffer through the nightmares, then went for a visit like we’re all one big happy fucking family.

Skidding to a stop in front of the house, I bail out of my NSX, slamming the car door behind me as I rush up the front stairs to the oversize red door. Slinging it open, I step inside the house instead of ripping it off the hinges as I’d prefer.

Trudging through the house, I head straight upstairs to Asher’s room, finding him perched on the edge of his bed, looking at his phone. He glances up to me as he says, “Hey, man,” before returning his attention to scrolling, oblivious to my current infuriated state.

“Did you know? Did you know what she was doing?” I yell across the room. Asher looks at me, his eyes searching mine, but he remains silent. “It’s not that fuckin’ hard—either you did or didn’t.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Asher stands and walks toward me, then stops, folding his arms across his chest, before widening his stance as he looks at me with unease.

“My mom. Did you know Victoria has been visiting her since day one?”

“No,” Asher says sternly, and I know he’s telling the truth, but I have to ask again.

“You really had no clue?”

“Nope. How’d you find out?” Asher asks.

How do I tell him the truth? Here I am questioning his loyalty while I’ve been screwing around with his sister behind his back. “It’s a long story.”

“I’m sure it is,” Asher says, letting out a frustrated breath as his hand rubs across his face. “You know Victoria tries to intervene whenever she can. Thinks she can fix everyone.”

“Yeah, well … she can’t fix this one.” Any of it. Not my relationship with my mom or whatever the hell has been going on between us.

Looking at the guy I’ve called my best friend for as long as I can remember, I’m thankful he’s a great friend even if I’ve been a terrible one lately. Luckily, Victoria showed her true colors before I did something stupid … like choose her over my friendship with Asher because I would’ve without a doubt. “I’m sorry, man.”

“It’s cool. I would’ve told her to back off, or at least clued you in, had I known.”

That’s not what I’m apologizing for, but I can’t bring myself to tell him the real reason because he might be pissed enough to walk away from me, and I need my best friend now more than ever. “I just want to forget all about it.” And her.

“I get it. Trust me.” There’s a lot of anguish behind his words, and I’m guessing it has to do with Quinn but I’m too scared to ask details. I’ve barely been holding it together since Quinn found out the devastating news about her father’s remains being located. It definitely stirred up the memories of the night I found my mom. Even with Victoria beside me, I’d hardly gotten any sleep the last few nights. Dread fills me as I realize tonight will be the first night in almost two weeks that I’ll have to sleep without her. Damn it.

“I’m gonna get out of here before she shows.” Because I still want to hold her near as much as I want to push her away.

“So, I’m guessing the two of you will be at each other’s throats even more now.”

“That you can count on.” Because even though my goal will be to avoid her, I know she’ll be around constantly, like she always has been and always will be. What the hell had I been thinking? That’s right. I hadn’t been, as usual.

Hurrying out of the house, I drop into my car. Speeding down the driveway, I head to my house—my prison. It had been bearable the nights she’d been there. I enjoyed having her around without having to sneak around and hide from everyone. At least now I’m free from the lie, the secrets, and the shitstorm that would’ve been. The only thing left to do is forget all about her—the way she felt, the way she tasted, the way she made me feel. Fuck. None of that matters anymore. If she’d been visiting my mom secretly and keeping it from me, what else had she been lying about? Regardless, it had only been a matter of time before she would’ve walked away from me anyway. And more than likely after sabotaging my friendship with Asher. Had that been her intention all along?