twenty-six
Vivienne Delacroix
“The competition’s only three weeks away,” Chaz says. “If you’re serious about being on the team, you really shouldn’t miss any more practices.”
“I only skip the ones at your house,” I point out.
“Right, but that’s twenty percent of them,” he says.
“Well, maybe we can have them at my house instead,” I say. “Sebastian doesn’t like the thought of me going to your house after school.”
“Seems a little controlling,” Chaz says, raising his orange brows. “Do I make him that insecure?”
“He’s not insecure,” I say, annoyed that Chaz thinks he can criticize Sebastian the way he criticized me every time I brought up his relationship with Krissy.
“Really, Viv,” Chaz says, reaching over to cover my hand with his. “What do you see in that guy? He’s so immature.”
He nods to the other side of the room. Beyond the dance floor, where a dozen masked couples are dancing, Sebastian and his friends are goofing around next to one of the food tables. Billy—who’s wearing a batman eye mask that looks like part of a Halloween costume—is throwing grapes in the air, and Sebastian’s catching them in his mouth. The Dolce boys let out a big whoop when he dives and bites yet another one out of the air.
For a second, I see what Chaz must see. A bunch of unrefined, dumb jocks clowning around and acting like idiots who don’t know how to behave at a party.
But I don’t see Sebastian that way.
“He’s fun,” I say, plucking Chaz’s hand off mine and shoving it back toward him. “Not everything has to be serious every second of the day.”
“Well, as long as you’re not getting serious,” he says.
I glare at him. “Is that really your concern? You have a girlfriend, don’t you?”
“Yes,” he says, glancing at the end of the room, where Krissy’s emerging from the restroom. “I just can’t imagine what you have in common with that neanderthal.”
“Believe it or not, we actually find things to talk about,” I say, sliding off my stool. “Which is more than I can say for you and me. Have we ever had a single conversation that wasn’t about school, or college, or our future careers?”
“What else would we talk about?” he asks. “We’re in high school. That’s our life right now.”
“I don’t know,” I say, throwing my hands up. “Music, and sunglasses, and pizza toppings, and fashion, and cheesy horror movies, and whether aliens exist.”
A rumble of thunder interrupts, and we stare at each other until it’s passed.
“I already know you don’t like any toppings on your pizza except cheese, you don’t like scary movies, and you listen to country,” he says. “Is that all you talk about with him? That’s shallow. I know you deeper than that, Viv.”
“And you still went out with someone else,” I say, my throat tightening.
“You broke up with me,” he points out. “That’s the only reason I’m with her.”
I walk away just as Krissy arrives at the table. I’m done crying over him. I’m done explaining myself to him. It doesn’t matter if he understands why I like Sebastian. It only matters if Sebastian understands.
And I’m not sure that he does.
By the time I reach them, a crowd has gathered, cheering them on. Finally, Sebastian misses a grape, and they all boo him and start to disperse. I step up behind the wall of Dolce brothers just in time to see that Rob is still next to Sebastian.
“Want to tell me what’s going on?” he asks. “Why aren’t you with Viv? What’s the point of you being here if you’re not making her look good?”
“Come on, man. I said I’d be her date, and I’m here. You gonna be up my ass about it all night?”
“Hell yeah, I am,” Rob says, glaring at him. “As long as you’re dating my sister, that’s exactly where I’m going to be.”
“Dude, relax,” Sebastian says, picking up a cup with ice and drink remnants in the bottom. “You don’t trust me with Viv? You act like I’m some asshole you don’t even know.”
“You’re an asshole I know real fucking well,” Rob says. “Which is exactly why I don’t trust you with her, and why I’ll keep reminding you to keep your hands off her as many times as I need to.”
“You don’t think I’m good enough for your sister?” Sebastian demands.
He actually looks a little pissed, and I decide to intervene before the miserable weather outside carries over into the party inside. Maybe that’s why Sebastian was so irritable. It’s been cold and rainy out for days, and if he’s anything like my brother, being cooped has him going stir-crazy.
“Of course he doesn’t think that,” I say, taking the glass from Sebastian. I slip my hand around his arm and give it a squeeze. God, his muscles are nice. I can’t remember what Chaz’s arms felt like anymore. I’m not even sure he had them at this point. Sebastian has eclipsed all other guys in my mind.
“Actually, I do,” Rob says quietly. He stares down Sebastian, but his words are for me. “It’s fine if you want to play this little game for your ex, but don’t forget it’s a game. Because he won’t forget for a second. Everything is a game to this clown.”
“I take my team real fucking serious,” Sebastian says, stepping up on my brother. “So let me remind you, I’m your fucking captain, and you’re on the team because of me.”
“I’m on the team because I worked my ass off and earned it,” Rob says, not backing down. The other conversations around us have died as people turn to watch. I squeeze my eyes closed and will my brother not to blow our cover over this stupid ego trip. If anyone heard him saying it’s just a game, they might guess, and if it gets back to Chaz, I’ll never live it down.
“Let it go,” I plead, but they both ignore me.
“Try to cut me out and see what happens,” Rob challenges. “The season’s over. You’re done. I still have another year. And don’t forget, I’m a Delacroix. Things tend to go our way in this town.”
“So you’ll cry to daddy, and he’ll get you minutes?” Sebastian asks. “Which one is it, Rob? You worked hard and earned your spot, or your name earned it for you? You can’t have it both ways.”
“I’m a founding son,” Rob says. “This is our town. We can have it any way we want.”
A whole crowd has grown around us now, and a chorus of “hell, yeah” and “tell him” rings out from several Darling onlookers. There are plenty of people here who aren’t from founding families, but a large percentage in attendance are, and most of them go to Willow Heights or graduated from the private school in the past few years. They’re up for a takedown of their rival team’s captain.
But I’m not.
My pulse is pounding. I stand straight and make my voice firm. “Rob. Stop being an asshole.”
“Not until this clown understands,” he says, not even looking at me. “I’m a Delacroix. And so is my sister. We take that shit seriously. So don’t go thinking you’re going to get away with anything. My sister’s not like that.”
“I know what she’s like,” Sebastian says quietly, his arm tightening on mine. “I know what I have. I’m not going to fuck it up.”
“Then keep your fucking hands off her.”
“I’m not the one who’s lost sight of what’s going on,” Sebastian says, giving him a warning look. “Chill the fuck out. I don’t need a babysitter. I’m not stupid, Rob.”
“You sure about that?” Rob asks, leaning back on the table and gesturing at the Darling house where the party is being held. This is only one story of one wing of the giant manor house. “Look around you, Swift. This is the kind of guy she belongs with. This is the kind of family we come from. Where do you come from?”
Sebastian’s jaw clenches. “You know where.”
They stare each other down, and I let my brother’s words sink in. By now I’ve gathered that Sebastian doesn’t hire private tutors because his family isn’t as wealthy as ours. But he said he was volunteering at the Founders Ball with some of the football team, and he never acted overly impressed when he came to our house. His friends may be wild and vulgar and reckless, but after being with uptight Chaz for so long, it’s been nice to let loose and have a little fun.
Looking back on it, though, I realize the guys working the ball that night weren’t just football players who didn’t make the guest list. They were the rougher side of the team—the ones he hangs out with all the time. Ones who could probably use the money and weren’t volunteering at all. They were working.
When he joked about living on the other side of the tracks, I thought he was just teasing because I’m a founding daughter, the way he does when he calls me Princess. Robert mentioned once that Sebastian doesn’t even have a car, though. It’s not like we go on real dates where he comes to pick me up, and I like driving, so it doesn’t bother me. I never even really noticed that when we hang out with his friends, we always ride in their cars. But now I notice—and it hurts.
Not because he doesn’t have money, but because I realize how little he’s shared with me.
We’ve been together for months, and he’s barely shared the first thing about his personal life, and I had to pry the information out of him. Unlike with Chaz, when I cared about what kind of family he came from, Sebastian’s family situation hasn’t mattered to me. His lack of a car hasn’t mattered. I was having so much fun I didn’t care, and both of us knew from the start that it was temporary. If it wasn’t going to last, what did it matter if he lived on the other side of the tracks, or his friends ran with gangs, or he didn’t have a dad?
But I can see in every line of his face, from his clenched jaw to his brows drawn together in fury, in every muscle of his tensed body that it matters to him—a lot.
“You know what, I don’t need this,” Sebastian says suddenly, stepping back. “I’m out of here.”
I grab his arm. “Where are you going?”
“To a party on my side of town where the only kind of assholes are the ones I can stick my dick in.” He turns to walk away, leaving my heart torn down the middle. Did it really mean so little to him that he’d go find some girl at a party the same night he leaves me here?
“Hey,” Robert barks, shoving Sebastian in the back. “You think I’m going to let you walk away after you disrespect my sister like that?”
Sebastian stumbles forward onto the dance floor, and a collective swell of excited voices rises in the crowd. I glance around for someone to put a stop to this, but everyone’s watching with rapt attention. The music cuts off with the sound of a record scratch, and the room falls silent as Sebastian slowly turns back. His hands are balled into fists, and his face is red with anger, his breath coming quick.
“You gonna hit me when my back is turned?” he asks, like he’s clarifying what just happened to himself as well as Rob.
“I guess I am,” Rob says. “Just like you’ve been hitting it when my back is turned.”
“We told you what was up,” Sebastian grits out.
“Yeah, but see, I think you’re full of shit,” Robert says. “I don’t believe your little arrangement for one second. You may have said you were pretending to date to make her look good, but I think you’re really pretending it’s fake so you could nail my sister without me kicking your ass.”
I can’t breathe.
Before I can even comprehend that my own brother just outed us in his anger, Sebastian swings. His fist connects with Robert’s jaw, and my brother stumbles backwards. A roar of excitement goes up as people start pushing to get closer, egging on the two as Robert takes a shot back at Sebastian.
“I knew it,” Krissy crows behind me. “I knew you couldn’t land a football player!”
I cringe, refusing to turn and acknowledge her. It doesn’t stop her.
“The fact that you’d fake it just to try to steal my boyfriend is the most pathetic thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” she howls, braying like a donkey.
I fight to swallow, turning slowly to face her at last. Dread sinks inside me before I even see that Chaz is right beside her.
“Really, Viv?” he asks, shaking his head and looking at me like he’s never been so disappointed. “I severely overestimated you.”
A thud sounds, and I turn back just in time to see my brother gain the upper hand as the two roll onto the dance floor. Robert slams his fist into Sebastian’s face, and Billy jumps in and knocks him off. A scream sounds, and it takes me a second to realize it came from me. Sebastian after a half dozen too many drinks may be an even match for my brother, but Billy’s a gang member. He probably has a weapon, and if not, he’s still been in dozens of fights, while my brother has maybe been in two fist fights in his entire life.
“No,” I cry, running toward them. Before I can get there, Joseph Darling jumps in to aid my brother.
Someone grabs my arm, stopping me from breaking through the circle of spectators to where the boys are trading blows. “Let them work it out,” Theo says. “You’re just going to get yourself hurt.”
“Who the fuck are these kids?” Justin Darling bellows beside me, shoving through the crowd.
“I think that’s Billy Gunn,” Jacob says, staying on his brother’s heel. “The pool boy.”
“Billy Gunn who fucked your mom,” Billy yells, laughing and stumbling to his feet, blood pouring down his face from a cut in his eyebrow.
I sway on my feet, but Theo catches my elbow. “Want to go sit down?” he asks. “I can grab you a drink on the way.”
“That’s my brother,” I say, pulling away. “And my—Sebastian.”
More Darlings join the two shoving their way through, and they break into the center just as the Dolces force through on the other side of the circle. They stare across the fighters at each other.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Justin demands. “I told you, this party is for Faulkner’s elite only.”
“None of these Yankee punks have an invite,” Jacob says. “Get ‘em out of here.”
“I got my invite right here,” Tony says, holding up his fists and dancing on his toes like he’s ready to start a boxing match. “Come and check it, pussies.”
“You heard him,” Justin says, cracking his knuckles and stepping forward, followed by all five of his brothers who aren’t already fighting. “It’s time to take out the trash.”