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“Even though she specifically told you she didn’t want this.”
“That’s enough,” he hisses. “Stop trying to ruin it.”
“Me? You want me to stop ruining it? Un-fucking-believable. Are you really that clueless?”
He stares at me for a beat before the waiter reappears and puts an end to our slanging match to take our orders.
“Remi, I know your birthday isn’t officially until Friday, but with Cole’s first game and the party I’m sure you’ll all attend after, I thought we should celebrate tonight. So, without further ado. Happy birthday, sweetheart.” James hands over a perfectly wrapped box.
She’s forced to remove her hand from my leg, and I reluctantly let her go, although I miss her calming touch the second her heat leaves me.
“Oh wow,” her eyes go wide, “I wasn’t expecting anything. Thank you so much.”
“You don’t even know what’s inside yet, baby,” Sarah coos, nodding toward the box eagerly, hinting to the fact that she’s well aware of its contents.
We all watch in silence as Remi pulls open the ribbon and slides the top off. She pulls back the tissue that hides the contents before she gasps. “Oh my goodness, James. I can’t. This is too much.”
“Nothing is too much, sweetheart. You deserve it and more.”
We all watch with bated breath as she reaches in and pulls out what has her so shocked. The last thing I expect to see when her fingers emerge is a fucking car key.
A tornado begins to swell within me. He bought her a fucking car. I risk a glance over at my brothers, who are also staring at it in utter disbelief.
For years we go without anything, not even a fucking phone call. I might be the only one out of the three of us who’s turned eighteen so far, but I didn’t get a fucking car. All I got was a fucking OD’d mother and a fucked-up life.
Remi’s hand trembles as she places it on the table. She glances my way, her eyes burning into my side of my face as my stare remains on the key.
This is total fucking bullshit.
Is this why he wanted us here? So he could rub everything we don’t have in our faces? Are we really that unworthy? That unlovable?
That meaningless?
“That’s not all.” James eyes the box again, and Remi hesitantly looks inside.
She pulls out an envelope. Assuming it’s just a card, I sit back and try to work on my anger not getting the better of me. This is the last place I need to lose my cool with James, but I’m balancing on a very thin edge right now.
As expected, Remi pulls a birthday card from the envelope, but it’s not until something falls from it that I see red. My head spins and my fists clench.
“James, no. I can’t accept this.”
“You can and you will. It’s for the college of your choice.”
“This is fucking bullshit.”
Gasps sound out around the restaurant as my chair goes toppling back and all eyes turn on me, but the only ones I see are his. The lying motherfucker who’s trying to ruin my life with his manipulation and lies.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Remi
I can’t breathe.
The entire restaurant is watching us, a mix of disgust, curiosity, and surprise swirling in their eyes.
Ace is looming over me, anger rolling off him so dark it’s palpable. I reach out for him, staring into his eyes and willing him to calm down. “Sit down, Ace, we can talk about it.”
There’s no way I’m accepting a car and the check off James. It doesn’t feel right, none of it does, and my heart sinks for the three boys around the table who look gutted.
