Prince of Pain (From the Ashes #3)

Prologue

Ryder

Six Months Ago

“ Y our girlfriend’s here,” Peter chuckled as he dropped the playing cards onto the table before pushing back from his seat, giving me a knowing look. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

I didn’t have a girlfriend, and I never would. Peter had just been stuck in this shitty rehab facility with me for the last couple of months, so he saw who came to visit me more than others.

My family visited as often as possible, but it was difficult because the center wouldn’t allow my mom to bring all nine of my dads with her each time, let alone my siblings.

The only person I’d seen regularly without fail had been the one girl who should’ve been running the fuck away from me.

Well, I should’ve been running from her, I wasn’t sure who was more toxic at this point.

I glanced over my shoulder towards the patio doors that led inside to the front desk, my eyes landing on Tempest Hendricks as she walked towards me, swinging her hips in a tight leather mini skirt with a netted shirt that only had a black bra underneath.

Her black stilettos clicked loudly on the floor as she opened the door and stepped outside, her tempting blood red lips kicking up into a smirk.

“Hey, Ry.”

My dick jerked from her voice alone, and I mentally scolded myself for my lack of control. We weren’t friends as such, but we kept each other's demons at bay when it was needed.

Memories plagued me of her bleached blonde hair wrapped around my fist as I slammed into her from behind, and I shook my head slightly to clear them as she sat in Peter’s vacated seat across from me.

“Hey. I didn’t know you were coming today,” I smiled, my eyes raking over her shamelessly.

I was stuck in rehab for fucking myself up on too much alcohol and drugs, so being around the female version of myself was a bad idea. We understood each other though, and I continued to be drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

She placed her elbows on the table, leaning forward with a light chuckle. “Did you have plans?”

“No. You were here on Tuesday, so I didn’t think I’d see you for at least a week. How’s Luna?” I asked, hating how her face screwed up into a nasty scowl.

“Do you love her or something? Why do you give a shit so badly?”

“Jesus, Temp,” I huffed, crossing my arms against my chest. “Sue me for worrying about her after what I did.”

“Everyone’s making a big deal out of nothing. She’s just fucking sensitive,” she spat, and I fought not to roll my eyes. Her younger sister was one of many things that set her off.

Luna was like family to me. She was soft, naive, and people had a habit of walking all over her. She’d been my sister Riley’s best friend forever, and they’d started dating a couple of months ago.

She was the reason I’d ended up in this place. Not because she’d demanded that I sort my life out, but because I’d been so fucked up on a random concoction of pills at the racetrack a few months ago, that I’d sexually assaulted her.

I’d been pushy, grabbing her ass and trying to convince her to go home with me because I was a goddamn mess. I’d scared the absolute shit out of her, and I was drowning in guilt because of it.

No girl deserved that, and as much as people kept saying it wasn’t like I’d raped her, that didn’t mean it meant less. I’d been in her personal space and ignored her when she’d told me to back off.

I’d never forgive myself for that, even if she had.

She was way too fucking sweet, and as much as I wished she hated me for what I’d done, I was grateful that she was happy to see me getting the help I needed.

I would see her in a little over a week and could apologize to her and Riley’s faces so they knew how serious I was about the hurt I’d caused.

It had taken a couple of months for Riley to calm down enough to agree to let me see Luna, understandably.

I leaned forward on the table like Tempest had done, giving her a stern look. “If Luna was uncomfortable with my actions, then that’s not her being sensitive. No one’s allowed to touch another person without consent.”

“It’s not like you asked before fucking me that first time.”

“The fact that you were naked on your knees while choking on my dick was a bit of a give away that you were okay with it,” I replied dryly. “When I ate your cunt before slamming my dick inside you, you were begging me to fuck you. I didn’t need to ask because I already had an answer. If you feel used and abused, tell me and I’ll apologize.”

“I definitely feel used and abused, but I’m not complaining. You know I like it when it hurts,” she purred, her eyes never leaving mine. “I bet you’ve never met a woman who can take it quite like me either. That’s why you came crawling back for seconds and broke your own rule.”

She wasn’t exactly lying. She let me do whatever I wanted to her, and she took it with my name spilling from her lips.

We’d fucked a handful of times now, and I couldn’t figure out why I kept going back to her.

I had all the girls in Ashburn Valley gagging for my cock, and most girls that stumbled across me from the surrounding towns too, like those rich Crestford and Kingslake princesses.

Rich girls loved defying their daddies and partying with someone like me who’d only break their hearts. It was the fastest way to get their parents’ attention.

I didn’t care who they were. I wasn’t going to turn down a wanting pussy.

“You mean the time that you climbed all over me at that party, whispering filthy shit in my ear about wanting to choke on my cum?” I offered, her eyebrow raising.

“You approached me, Ry.”

“I said hello. That doesn’t mean I’m obsessed with your cunt,” I snorted, glancing across the yard to watch two of the other guys playing basketball, continuing the conversation. “What brings you by today? Mommy and Daddy hurt your feelings again?”

“Don’t be a dick,” she huffed, making me grin.

“You make it so damn easy to rile you up. I get bored in here, so can you blame me?”

“Dad’s thinking about sending me away,” she said instead of the smartass retort I expected, drawing my attention back to her.

“He said that?”

Archer and Lexi were awesome parents. They were tough, and they sheltered both their daughters more than I thought was necessary. Where Luna had always been a shy kid and avoided big gatherings and dangerous shit, Tempest reveled in it.

To put it bluntly, she was the town whore.

I wasn’t judging. I fucked around like it was the oxygen I needed to live, but it was always different when girls did it.

She was the life of the party, well known for getting fucked up and having gangbangs, and she didn’t give a shit who saw her. I’d intervened a time or two when she’d been literally passed out and people were taking advantage of her, but apart from that, I let her do her own thing.

I cared, but I wasn’t a babysitter. I was also usually completely out of my mind on pills and in a sex haze myself, so I wasn’t always a better option of company for her.

We’d only end up in a drug induced fuck fest together.

She stared at her hands as she threaded her fingers together on the table, her brow creasing as she let her walls down for a moment, letting me see more than most people did.

“Apparently, Dad thinks I need some kind of reform school to teach me manners or some shit. I heard Mom talking to your dad about it.”

“Which dad?”

I shouldn’t have asked because I knew it was most likely Hunter. He was Tempest’s mom’s best friend.

Having so many dads made conversations like this confusing without throwing their names around.

“Hunter. He doesn’t think it would help, and he even said all it would do was make me resent them,” she sighed, her broken sky blue eyes hitting me in the chest like a truck.

Tempest and I were both drowning in our own misery, and every time we got closer to each other, we’d sink further. I wanted to help her, but how could I when I couldn’t even get my own life together?

“Maybe stop attacking your sister and arguing with your dad. I’ve seen you coming down from a high, Temp, and you’re a fucking psycho when you get like that,” I said carefully, her face pinching with hurt.

It was the one difference between our issues. I was spiraling despite wanting to be better, and she was happy to get through life with substances as her crutch, not seeing a problem with it.

“You’ve been here too long,” she joked lightly, but it fell flat.

“Good. It means it's working,” I scoffed. “You know when I get out, things will be different, right? I want to stay clean.”

She frowned, tilting her head with confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I won’t be partying and popping pills anymore,” I said confidently, a small smile on my face. “I need to focus on my future, which I can’t do when I’m throwing my life away. There’s more to life than partying.”

“Doubtful,” she shrugged, her shoulders tensing. “Fucking and partying is about as good as it gets.”

I hesitated before reaching across the table to take her hand, stopping her from tearing at the skin around her bright red acrylic nails that she’d absently been picking at for the past few minutes.

She instantly threaded her fingers through mine, hope filling her eyes like it always did when I was too fucking nice.

“Temp, I care about you, but you need to start caring about yourself too. You’ve admitted you’re miserable, and I’ve patched up your self-harm cuts multiple times. You spend more time hating yourself than anyone else ever could. You’re gorgeous, funny, and smarter than you give yourself credit for. I really wish you’d see that.”

She pulled her hand from mine, refusing to meet my eye. “You think you’re better than me now that you’re in this fancy facility? You’ll always be an addict and a playboy. This life-changing bullshit won’t magically fix you. We’re like broken toys, Ryder. It’s so easy for people to just throw us away.”

“I never said it would fix me,” I said calmly, leaning back to watch her while trying to figure out what was going on inside her head. She spent a lot of time suffering silently, and I hated that. “There’s nothing wrong with being broken.”

“People like us? We’re incapable of love. Our families look at us with pity and confusion, wondering where they went wrong. I’ve heard my own father say that about me, and I can guarantee your parents have said it about you at some point. You know what our futures look like?” she asked lightly, holding my gaze with no emotion. “Hospital trips, multiple rehab stays, and the fucking morgue. Might as well enjoy it while you can.”

She got to her feet and I forced myself not to do the same.

Tempest wasn’t my problem to fix, so if she wanted to self-destruct, then I’d have no choice but to let her and pray she made it out alive on her own.

“I’ll see you again soon,” she said despite the annoyance she was obviously feeling, and I simply nodded before watching her leave, her ass swaying as she went.

She’d be back within the next week, she always was.

Fifty-six days to go, then I was out of here, and I hadn’t been lying when I’d told her things would be different.

I’d do anything to stay clean.

Fucking anything.