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I snatch one of the recruits who’s finishing his last shot. "Let's go, asshole. Time's up."
He struggles and stumbles to his feet, and I drag him out of the house and throw him toward the line. Color me surprised when he doesn't fall and takes off running. Not bad.
I watch him go and then step back inside the house and call out to the remaining stragglers. "You have two minutes to get your asses outside, or you're done. For good."
I turn and watch as Sebastian wanders slowly down the lantern-lined route, and I follow him. He's not getting out of this conversation that easily.
When he pauses, we end up side by side. "Look, everything that happened at that party was fucked up, okay? It didn't go as planned, not at all."
He glances over at me, his features partially hidden in the shadows from the low-lit lanterns. "How is your fiancée, Drew? Have you fucked her yet? Last I saw, she was ready to strip down in the middle of the ballroom in front of everyone. Hell, I bet she’d let me fuck her with you. Two-for-one special."
I clench my teeth and glare off into the dark so I don't take a swing at him. This has been his attitude the few times I've seen him since that night. "That’s over with. I made it clear to Spencer and to my father that I won’t marry her. He let it drop, for now at least. What are we doing here, man? Is this what years of friendship amounts to?"
Like a bow strung too tightly, he snaps, getting right into my face, his chest bumping against mine. The smell of vodka from his breath burns my eyes. “You fucked her and then threw her away in the most painful way possible. When she needed you most. My fucking sister. You expect me to be okay with that? You expect me to choose you over her?"
A snake of danger and pain slithers up my spine. I'm two seconds away from saying MY sister, but I don't. I lock the words down because I know that would only start a different kind of fight. "You didn't know she was your sister until a month ago. She's nothing to you. And I’m not asking you to pick me over her or saying that what I did was okay. I’m simply trying to figure out why you’re so pissed off at me."
He turns away from me with a shake of his head. "I might not know a lot about her, but she's still my responsibility, my ward. She’s my fucking sister, Drew, my sister. I’ve lost everything, and now I find out I have a sister, a relative that’s worthy of giving a fuck about.” His voice cracks with raw emotion, and I can understand his desire to protect her. Much like me, he’s never had anyone in his life who’s worth giving a fuck about. “Anyway, the right thing to do is to protect her, even if that means keeping you away from her. Even if she wanted to see you, which she doesn't."
I sigh, the emotions in my chest all churned up in a gut-wrenching mess. I can't even think about her these days without feeling sick. Not because of her, but because of myself. I’ve never regretted anything in my life as much as I do the way I treated her that night. I want her back in my life, yes, but not in the same way. I want more, something deeper, something… dare I say like forever. I’ve already come to terms with the fact that my father needs to be taken care of. I don’t know how I’ll do that yet, but I’m not giving up Bel for him. He’s unpredictable, and proving to him that she was nothing to me put the target back on me and off her.
No matter what, I keep going back to that night—to the betrayal etched into her beautiful features and the pain-stricken look in her eyes. I did that to her, and I hated myself for it. I haven't even been able to look at myself in the mirror since.
The only saving grace is that I haven't had to deal with my father much since then either. I'm worried if I spend longer than five minutes with him, I'll try to kill him, and I'm not quite ready to cross that bridge… yet.
"What do you want from me, Seb? I thought I was doing the right thing. I was protecting her," I whisper.
"Nothing. Neither of us wants anything from you. Give it up and leave her alone. That's the only way I'll be able to keep myself from putting a bullet in your head."
The world seems to freeze at his words, but the chill in his eyes tells me he's dead serious. I try not to show him my hurt, but it’s almost impossible.
"Are you fucking kidding? Were you not paying attention for the past couple of months? She belongs to me," I lower my voice and step up to him so we are only a few inches apart. "She is mine."
A hand snakes between us and presses me back. Lee inserts himself between us, clearly seeing the war brewing.
"Unless you two are going to make out, back the fuck up. It’s obvious neither of you is sharing what happened between the two of you at the party, but I'm done playing referee, trying to keep both of you from killing each other. Now, we have a job to finish here. Let's keep these assholes from dying of alcohol poisoning and frostbite. Otherwise, we'll have a different kind of problem on our hands. Then you two can go back to your respective corners of sulking and brooding."
That was the problem in all this. I have no plans to go anywhere. I let out a long sigh and swipe Lee's bottle of liquor from his hand. Bringing it to my lips, I take a long gulp and barely manage to swallow it.
I lift the bottle, peeking at the label.
"Fucking gin, Lee. Really?"
He eyes me as I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand as if that’ll get the terrible taste out of my mouth. "Hey, I don't judge your beverage choices, don't judge mine."
He snatches the bottle back and stands between Seb and I, his body acting as a shield. If Seb and I were really going to fight it out, Lee wouldn’t be able to stop us.
Our attention is brought back to the runners as the last of the recruits stagger out of the house, resembling that of drunk toddlers as they race across the lawn. Fucking finally. Only a little while longer until I can get out of here. Not that I have anything to look forward to after this. Bel’s locked away in an ivory tower, and I have no way of rescuing her.
I'm many things—a heinous villain, devilishly handsome, an asshole, and prick?—
but I’m not dumb. I’ve been watching Sebastian like a hawk, and I know he's got her stashed away at his house. It’s the only viable option. She’s not at the dorms or living in her mother’s house. I haven’t caught even a glimpse of her, and it’s that withdrawal, her absence that makes me snappy and irritable. Fuck me.
I could always break into the house. I’m not against that… I’d take a charge just to see her beautiful face again. I tried previously and was tossed out on my ass, but that was before. I’m sure they expected it then. As quickly as the thought comes to mind, I shove it away. I’ll save that as a last-ditch effort. I’m not quite at the end of my rope yet.
I pull my phone out and peer down at the screen. I’ve sent her numerous texts, but she only ever tells me to leave her alone or stop messaging her. I’ve even called. I can’t believe she thinks I’d be deterred by her telling me to go away or leave her alone. Maybe if I was a good guy, but I’m not. I’m Drew, the monster she picked to hunt her down in the woods. The man she gave her virginity to and showed all the dark corners of her mind to.
I’m not going anywhere.
