25. Elliot
ELLIOT
“Cheers,” Lauren’s dad says, clinking his glass of whisky against mine.
“Cheers,” I mutter, trying not to sound as pissed off as I feel about this.
It’s like he knew…
Tonight was all planned. The eight of us were heading out of town for a group date.
Only a few months ago the concept would have made me shudder. But now… I was so fucking excited to be able to step out together, hand in hand without constantly looking over our shoulders to see if we’ve been caught.
“Scott was just telling me how much he’s looking forward to having you join him at university in September. Just a few more exams. Hey,” he says, elbowing me in the arm. “I know Lauren is looking forward to you joining them as well.”
A calculated smile spreads across his face as if he can picture his and my father’s plans all falling into place.
I have no idea how long they’ve been scheming for me and Lauren to get together, but something tells me that it’s not a recent development.
It’s not a surprise. Every single minute of my life thus far has been meticulously planned out for me. Of course the woman I should be dating and then ultimately spending my life with has been too.
Bitterness twists up my insides.
I could be with Abigail and our friends right now.
But no. I’m stuck here having to pacify my father’s friends instead.
My phone burns in my pocket.
Abi hasn’t responded since my message apologising that I couldn’t see her tonight. I didn’t realise Tally had already told her the plans. After she got done railing at me, I made her promise to try and convince her to go with them.
The last thing Abigail deserves tonight is to be left alone in her dorm room.
But I also know how stubborn she can be if she doesn’t want to do something.
The thought of her sitting alone in her dorm eats me up inside.
Fuck. This isn’t how it’s meant to go.
“I’m looking forward to moving onto the next stage of my life,” I lie through my teeth.
Honestly, the last thing I want to do in September is to be Scott’s little bitch again.
He may not be the Scion leader, not yet at least, but that isn’t going to stop him from attempting to rule us like the sick and twisted dictator he is.
Just like he did during his time as an Heir at All Hallows’.
As if he can sense my hate-filled stare, Scott turns from his conversation with Mum and Zoey and focuses his cold, hate-filled eyes on me.A wicked smirk curls at his lips before he kisses his girlfriend’s temple and makes his way over.
He nods at Lauren’s dad before talking directly to me.“Talking about me again, little brother? Anyone would think you miss me.”
I force a smile that I really don’t feel. “I wouldn’t exactly put it that way.”
Lauren’s dad excuses himself, leaving both Lauren and me in Scott’s firing line.
“So,” he starts. “How are you two getting on then? From what I’ve heard, you’re not nearly as close as our old men were hoping for.”
“Well, not everything revolves around their schedules.”
“They won’t be very happy to hear that, little brother,” Scott sneers. “What’s holding you up? Most guys would be all over a pretty little thing like Lauren here.”
“Some things can’t be rushed. Not that you’d know anything about that.”
Scott tsks. “Anyone would think Lauren isn’t your main focus right now.”
Ice rushes through my veins at his words, the dark glint in his eye sure doesn’t help.
“I have exams, Scott.” I try to keep the tremor out of my voice. “Those are my priorities right now. I’d hate to disappoint Dad with my grades.”
He studies me closely, it’s almost as if he can hear the lie in my words.“Oh no,” he finally says. “You really would not want to do that.”
My heart slams against my chest as our eye contact holds. His threat pressing harder on my shoulders with every second that passes.
“So how are things at school?” Scott asks. “Fully focused there, I hope.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. Excuse me,” I say turning my back on my brother and marching in the direction of the kitchen.
It’s not until I walk through the door that I realise my mistake. Our parents have hired caterers for this event and there are staff everywhere.
Thankfully, they’re ones I recognise and the moment the boss looks up she smiles warmly at me.“What can you get you, sir?”
I shake my head. “I’m fine, thank you, Mona. Just needed a few minutes,” I confess.
“Ah, well, I’ve got exactly what you need for that.”
As I take a seat at the breakfast table, she fusses around filling me a plate of goodies.
“Thank you,” I say when she places it down in front of me.
I don’t get the first canapé to my lips before a shadow falls over me. My stomach knots that either Scott or my father have followed me, but when I glance up, I find Lauren standing there.
She looks beautiful in a rich purple dress. But it doesn’t matter how good she looks, I will never want her.
“Escaping already?” she asks, quirking a brow.
“I don’t want to be here,” I mutter under my breath.
“You and me both,” she confesses, less concerned about being overheard than me. “Come on, let’s go and enjoy these elsewhere.”
Picking up the plate, she gives me little choice but to follow her when she makes a beeline for the French doors leading to the garden.
She studies the patio for a beat but quickly decides it’s not where we’re stopping before kicking off her heels and marching across the perfectly cut grass.
She doesn’t stop until she gets to the old oak tree at the very bottom of the garden, then she slips behind and disappears.
With a smirk, I follow her knowing full well that no one will see us from the house here. Not that it matters if they do. Our fathers probably wish nothing more than for us to be sneaking around together.
My heart twists painfully. I don’t want him to think that I’m following his orders. What I need to be going is marching into the house and telling him to get fucked.
My hands tremble just thinking about it.
I’ll do it. I will.
I’ll sever everything with my family if it means I get to be with Abigail.
They have nothing that I need.
They can take my trust fund, my car, my place at Saints Cross University. I don’t need any of it.
“What’s going on? You’re more on edge than usual?” Lauren asks after swallowing her first canapé.
With a sigh, I lower my arse to the ground beside her.
I debate how honest to be with her for all of three seconds. I’ve no reason to believe that I can’t trust her after what we’ve already been through together.
“I want out.”
“Out?” she echoes, her brows pinching. “Oh… Oooh. Shit, Elliot. That’s… Shit.”
“Yeah,” I muse, agreeing with her ineloquent response.
“You have a plan though, right?”
“Uh…”
“Elliot,” she chastises. “You can’t go into something like this and not have a plan. They’ll all eat you alive.”
“Fuck,” I breathe, leaning forward and dropping my face into my hands. “I just want her, Lauren. I don’t want any of this bullshit. I don’t care about any of it.”
“I know. I get it. But as much as they like to pretend we have some kind of choice, you know as well as I do that it’s bullshit.”
“I don’t care, Lauren. I’m done.”
“And yet you’re sitting here still doing exactly what you’re told,” she points out helpfully.
Sucking in a deep breath, I watch as the sun sets behind the trees in the distance praying for some kind of divine intervention that will give me all the answers I need.
“Your father will never let you walk away.”
“I know,” I mutter, already terrified about what he will do.
“She must be one very special girl for you to risk all of this,” she muses, continuing to eat the contents of the plate without offering me one. Not that I could eat anything right now even if I wanted to.
“She’s everything.”
“I hope it all works out for you, Elliot, I really do.”
“But?” I ask, aware that despite the fact she’s stopped talking, she hasn’t said everything she’s thinking.
“But… it’s never going to work. You’re an Eaton. Your father and brother won’t let you go no matter how good your plan is.”
“We’ll see,” I say, sounding a lot more confident than I feel.
Silence falls between us and I finally pull my phone from my pocket to discover what I already knew.
Abi still hasn’t responded.
She read my message but hasn’t reacted at all.
My fingers itch to send another, to ask if she still went with the others but in the end, I put my phone back to sleep and shove it back into my pocket.
Deep down, I know she hasn’t gone. I know she’s sitting alone and miserable in her dorm room.
I also know that it’s all my fault.
“We should get back,” I say reluctantly.
“Why? They might get all excited that we’ve slipped away to fuck.”
I glare at Lauren. “I want to get out, not to get in deeper.”
She shrugs, getting to her feet and brushing the crumbs from her dress.“Shall we?”
Reluctantly, I follow her back to the house feeling anything but ready to spend long, painful hours listening to my father schmooze his associates and watch Scott lick his ass like the perfect dutiful son he is.
Mum catches my eye the second we walk back into the formal living room, and she offers me a soft, apologetic smile.
But it does very little to calm the riot happening inside me.
“Ah, here they are,” Scott says obnoxiously, ensuring that every set of eyes in the room turn to me and Lauren. “Having a little alone time, were you?”
I shake my head, but it does nothing to deter him.
“You know, when you’re finally with me at uni next year, you’ll be able to have all the time together you want.”
“Can’t wait,” I mutter.
The rest of the night is just a continuation of the same. Scott pokes at me every chance he gets and more often than not is congratulated in a way by our father who finds the whole thing amusing. I mean, who wouldn’t enjoy having your golden child embarrass your failure of a son in front of everyone you spend your life trying to impress?
It makes me sick.
All of it.
By the time I manage to escape, the only thing I’ve managed to achieve is to confirm in my mind that what I’m going to do is the right thing.
I can’t continue my life like this.
As I drive back onto the All Hallows’ campus, all I want to do is go to her dorm. But knowing that I have nothing positive about the future to tell her, I turn right and head back to the Chapel instead.
Abi wants to hear that I’m making progress. All this sneaking around and hooking up in the shadows is killing her.
I want to tell her that it’s done, or at least not lie that I’ve got a solid plan.
But I can’t.
We’re not even official yet and I’m already fucking it all up.
With my head bowed, I push through the ancient front door and make my way up to my room with my skin itching with disgust for myself and my actions.
I hate the way they make me feel. The way they make me question everything about my life.
There are only two things that give me any kind of relief.
And the best one isn’t here.