Page 8 of Lost King

I take my seat at the large dining room table, and Parker sits down directly across from me with his parents sitting to his right. We all serve ourselves and conversation flows between my parents and the Stewarts'. With my appetite suddenly gone, I block out the voices around me and absently push my food around my plate. I can feel Parker's beady gaze on me. He makes my skin crawl, and I hate him.

Prom night was one of the worst nights of my life. After the dance, Parker drove us to Nash Curtis' house. Nash was the star baseball player at our school and was hosting the after-prom party. Parker was the perfect gentleman all through the dance but once we got to the after party—gone was the doting date. I asked him to show me where the restroom was, only he didn't. Parker led me upstairs to an empty bedroom where he proceeded to force himself on me. Thank god he'd had a few drinks. His drunkenness worked in my favor, and I was able to fight him off. I will never forget my victory and his cries of pain when I grabbed a handful of his balls and twisted. I would be surprised if he'd be able to reproduce after that.

Afterwards I ran down the stairs and out of the house. I ran four blocks all the way back to my house. Both my parents were working that night and didn't see me when I came home at two o'clock in the morning with a ripped dress and a tear streaked face. But Easton was. My brother didn't go to prom, and he was laying on his bed with his door open when I came up the stairs. He rushed up to me and took my face in his hands. I saw the rage in his eyes when he took in my appearance. Easton didn't even ask me what happened. He knew. In fact, he had warned and begged me not to go out with Parker. I was blinded by my crush on him though. Easton kissed me on my cheek, walked back into his room, grabbed his car keys, and walked out of the house without a word. I knew what he was going to do. My suspicions proved true when I returned to school the following Monday and saw Parker's left arm in a cast, and he had a black eye along with a busted lip. We never spoke of the incident, nor did we tell our parents.

"How is Easton these days?" Mr. Stewart asks. Lifting my eyes from my plate, I look to my father to see how he responds to the question.

"Easton is still toying around with that little band of his."

"It's not just some little band. East of Addiction just signed to a major record label and is currently on tour. They happen to be amazing. You would know that if you bothered to go see them."

"Emerson, did you know Parker recently made partner at his father's firm?" My mom asks drawing the conversation on to a different subject when she sees my father squirming in his seat.

Looking over at Parker I decide to play along as I plaster a fake smile on my face. "Good for you, Parker. What kind of law do you practice?"

"Criminal law," he responds.

"Oh. That's right up your alley then. You know, defending rapists and all." I honestly cannot believe I just said that and by my mother's gasp she can't either.

"Emerson!" she snaps. "What has gotten into you today?"

"What's gotten into me is every time I come home to see you and Dad you pull shit like this," I say cooly pointing at our guest across the table. "Now if you will excuse me, I've lost my appetite." Standing, I toss my napkin on the table and ignore the stunned look on everyone's face, and for once I am proud of myself. As I make my way out of the dining room and up the stairs, I pull my phone from my back pocket to call an Uber. I'm going home—tonight. No sooner do I make it to my room I get another text from my brother. I know he's checking up on me.

East: Well?

Me: Dinner was a nightmare. Mom invited the Stewarts'.

I'm not surprised when my phone rings two seconds after I press send.

"Hey," I answer my brother.

"Was the motherfucker there?"

Sitting down on the edge of my bed, I sigh, "yes."

"Son of a bitch! I guess that pussy needs another reminder about staying away from you. I think I'll break both arms this time," Easton grinds out.

"You don't need to do anything. I'm a big girl now. I can handle pricks like Parker."

"I know you are, Em, but you're my baby sister. I always got your back."

"Yeah, I know you do, East. And you're older by only two minutes," I chuckle trying to lighten the mood.

"Doesn't matter. Older is older," he says and I know he's grinning behind the phone. Seeing headlights shine through the window I look out and see my Uber is here. "Look East, my ride just pulled up. I'm going back home tonight. I'll text you when I get there, okay?"

"Alright, Em. I love you."

"Love you too."

Disconnecting the phone, I grab my overnight bag from the dresser and do a quick work at gathering my stuff from the bathroom. Walking down the stairs, I can hear the murmurs of my parents and their guest still talking in the dining room. I don't bother going back in there to say goodbye. At this point, all I want is to get back to Polson; where I belong.

Chapter Five

Quinn

Liam called last night, and as promised I got myself up this morning and made a run to the other side of town to check out the bike for sale he was thinking about buying. The kid has good taste. A Dyna super glide is an excellent choice for a guy his size. It will make riding more comfortable. Needs work, but the kid is willin' to put in the hours to have somethin' to call his, and you gotta respect that. Nothing like knowing you put the time in to make your ride custom. After helping him load it onto the trailer he borrowed to haul it home, I congratulated him on his new ride and jumped on my own to head back towards the clubhouse. I love mornings like today. The air is crisp with the changing of seasons, and the Montana sky is the perfect shade of indigo blue making the mountains and the sea of green pastures look like a painted canvas as I cruise down the road.

I'm fuckin' stoked because later today the club is throwing a patch in party for Grey. I think we all knew the moment he started prospecting for us he would make the cut. Once Logan told me that Bella mentioned Emerson would be coming to the party it made the celebration that much sweeter because tonight I'm going to end all this dancin' around. It's time to stop avoiding what we both want.