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“Look how cute they are together,” my mother beams.
“How are you liking Briar Academy?” My father asks, changing the subject.
“As far as schools go, it's good. I really enjoy being on the island.”
“She is super smart, acing my class this term, unlike someone else I know.” Emory says, and I want to wipe the smug look off his damn face. Cyrus places her hand on my leg and starts rubbing her thumb in a soothing way that alleviates the rage in my body.
“Since I share a room with Diesel, I’m more than happy to help him with his homework.”
The meal finally comes out. The one thing I love about meals with Mum is that she doesn’t like a million courses. It's mains and dessert. While my parents are here, they hire full time staff. The server brings our food and places it down in front of us. I hope Cyrus likes steak because my father does, and every time we have a family dinner, it’s always steak. I wish he would fire up the BBQ and do something more casual.
My mum keeps casual dinner conversation flowing like a good host. Cyrus leans into my side and whispers in my ear.
“What did the steak ever do to you?”
I look down at my plate, and I have massacred my food. “Sorry, being in the same room with them brings out the worst in me.”
“Once dinner is over, maybe you could take me for a walk to see that jetty.”
Thank god dinner moves quickly. Cyrus asks where the bathroom is, and my mum takes her. I wait until they have left the room to turn my attention back to the three men at the table.
“What the fuck are you playing at?!” I seethe, looking at my father. Sax just laughs.
“Cousin, you know exactly what he is doing. It’s the same thing he has always done. If you fuck up, one of us gets to bang the girl. It’s that simple, and if you get too loved up and decide to throw the fights to declare your undying love, well I will be there to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Stop talking, Saxon, your cousin knows exactly what I’m doing. Playing dumb doesn’t suit you son.”
“Would it kill you to just let me have one thing? I’m too damn scared to have feelings for anyone anymore. So you win there after what you did with Belle.”
“Oh, Belle,” Sax pipes up. “I must admit I did like playing with her.”
I lose my cool and launch myself across the table. Silverware flies everywhere and my mother screams at my father to stop me as she enters the room. Sax laughs as I wrap my hand around his throat.
“I should fucking kill you.”
Emory pulls me off Sax, and I shove him away, but he grabs my arm and pulls me in close.
“I’m not your enemy, and the sooner you realise that the better,” he whispers before he lets me go. I look up at Cyrus standing in the doorway wide-eyed before moving closer to the table. Fuck, she just witnessed all of that.
Surprise, surprise, my father gets a call and excuses himself. My mother runs after him this time, and I can see the irritation on her face. She hides it well, but my father is about to get his ass handed to him.
Cyrus sits back in her chair and looks at me, I take my seat back beside her and give her a look that says, this is our chance to leave. “What?” She asks, shrugging her shoulders. “I want dessert, your mum said there was ice cream.”
Emory laughs from across the table, and Sax makes a lude comment about licking the ice cream from her body. I wait to see how she will handle it while the server brings out the bowls and new silverware. Cyrus waits for them to leave–she grew up in this life, and she knows the drill. When the door swings closed, she turns to face Sax.
“I don’t care what you did in the past or how you managed it, but hear what I have to say, I won’t sleep with you, and I will not even entertain the idea of liking you. So whatever plan you and your uncle have concocted, you can think again. Men like Malcolm do not scare me, they use blackmail to get through this life.”
Sax goes to open his mouth to speak, but Cyrus cuts him off. “Don’t talk because I don’t want to hear it. You can spout the fact Diesel is using me, but again, I wasn’t born yesterday. What we have is between us, and not you, or even you,” she adds, looking at Emory. “Don’t have a say in the matter. Now, if you will excuse us, I think I want to eat my ice cream down by the water.”
She pushes her chair back and grabs the sundae glass the ice cream has been served in and a spoon, turning her back to Emory and Sax. I quickly do the same and follow after her in awe that she just schooled them and summed my father up in one go.
“I think I underestimated you.”
“People always do. I might have been sheltered from this life, but I’m not an idiot. I know how to read people. It’s what us women are taught to do, or at least the ones who don’t want a husband three times our age that throw money at us to just be quiet and look pretty.”
I lead Cyrus down to the jetty we used to use a lot over summer as kids. Sax and I were close, once upon a time, before we were old enough to realise we were each other's competition in this family. My mum would bring us down here, and we would spend hours jumping into the water, laughing and having a good time.
It all stopped the year we turned thirteen and started attending Briar Academy. The very first fight was when we really realised that my father was pitting us against each other. We thought he would use us to show everyone that Briars would wipe the floor with anyone who tried to beat us.
