Sweet Ruin (Weybridge Academy #3)

Chapter 1

A chill ran down my spine as I watched my mom’s car crawling away. It wasn’t the biting air that made me shiver. Rather, it was the disquiet I always felt whenever I had to say goodbye to my mother.

I stood there even after her car had disappeared down the treelined avenue that stretched from the main school building behind me to the tall metal gates at the entrance to Weybridge Academy.

A light rain misted the air, but I hardly noticed it.

My mom had just left, and I wasn’t sure when I’d see her again.

It had been so good to have her at Weybridge this weekend, but it was hard to appreciate the fun moments we’d shared when our evening at the Halloween carnival had turned into a complete disaster.

William Hastings had threatened me, and Noah had punched my father.

Despite the past between our families, I’d always felt there might somehow be room for reconciliation.

But it was amazing how much could change in one night.

The burning-hot anger that now flooded my veins when I thought of Noah and William was impossible to deny.

I had no idea how I was going to stomach the rest of the school year seeing Noah every day.

I wasn’t sure how long I stood there staring down the driveway, but the rain was no longer spritzing the air.

Instead, it was falling in fat droplets, promising a stronger storm to come.

I finally considered moving, but it was hard to drag myself away.

Walking away meant admitting she was truly gone.

I missed my mom so much already. She’d been reluctant to leave today after everything that had happened last night, but Matthew had to return to New York this morning, and I would be back in class as normal tomorrow.

Life didn’t stop, and she needed to get home to her café.

Still, I wished she could have stayed. Everything felt so much easier to cope with when she was with me.

I started slowly traipsing my way back to the dormitories.

A few students ran past me, trying to get out of the rain as it started to fall even harder.

I didn’t join them though. A part of me liked the way it soaked into my jacket and drenched my hair.

It was something real when everything else felt so surreal.

When I reached the courtyard between the two dorms, I paused.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back to my room just yet.

There were so many things spinning around in my head.

Between my mom leaving and the events of last night, I needed to vent.

There was only one person I wanted to talk to right now, and I found myself turning in the direction of the boys’ dorm.

Wes probably didn’t want to hear me complain about my ex, but he was also one of the most understanding and calming people I knew, and I really needed one of his hugs right now.

I felt like they could cure even the deepest of emotional wounds.

When the door to his room opened, I crashed into his arms.

“Whoa,” he grunted, but he didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms tightly around me. He hugged me firmly and didn’t question me or let me go until I finally released him and took a step back.

“Isobel, are you okay?” His expression was serious as he reached out to grip my arms and look me in the eyes. I’d briefly spoken to him on the phone last night to tell him that I’d left the carnival early with my mom and Matthew as we’d had a rough night, but I hadn’t explained why.

“I’m okay,” I muttered.

“You don’t look okay. If I’d known you were this upset, I would have come to see you last night.”

“No, don’t worry. You didn’t need to come.” I let out a sigh and walked over to sit on his bed. “I’m just a bit upset now because my mom’s gone home.”

He nodded with understanding and joined me on the bed, the mattress dipping as he sat beside me. He carefully reached out and took my hand in his. “And last night? What happened?”

“It was terrible.” I took a moment to gather my thoughts before I continued.

“Noah’s grandfather cornered me in the parking lot and threatened me.

Then Noah and my father arrived, and everyone got in a massive argument.

I didn’t think it could get any worse, but then Matthew made some comments about Noah’s dad and…

” The words caught in my throat. Maybe if I didn’t say it out loud, it would be like it never happened.

“And what?” Wes squeezed my hand to comfort me.

“Noah punched my dad.”

“He what?” Wes’s eyes widened with surprise.

“Noah punched my dad,” I repeated. It didn’t feel any less surreal the second time I said it. I rubbed a hand across my face as a wave of exhaustion washed over me. “I don’t know what he was thinking.”

“He has been acting weird recently,” Wes said. “He had that fight on the soccer field the other night. But this… This is something else. What did your dad say to him?”

“Something he shouldn’t have. But I still can’t believe Noah’s reaction.” I looked down into my hands. “I feel so damn angry about it all. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I see him again.”

“You’ll do what Noah didn’t and what you always do,” Wes said, making me look up at him. “Take the higher road. You might be a LaFleur, but you’re also a Grace. Obviously, that’s a quality Noah doesn’t have.”

I gave him a small smile but then shook my head. “So, I’m supposed to just ignore it? He needs to know what he did was horrible.”

“Maybe he does,” Wes shrugged. “He might apologize next time he sees you.”

“Maybe.” I didn’t feel confident though. Not after last night. “I kind of want to punch him myself all the same.”

Wes chuckled. “Then go for it. He definitely deserves it. I just want you to do whatever puts a smile back on your face.”

As I stared into Wes’s eyes, it hit me just how lucky I was to have him.

He had been a good friend since the day I met him, but I had discovered he was an incredible boyfriend.

We’d only been officially dating for a week, and already my ex and my family drama were getting in the way.

Wes didn’t seem phased though. He just wanted me to be happy.

“And look, I might be biased,” he continued. “But my advice is just forget about Noah. He’s clearly got some issues, but he’s not your problem anymore. I’m your problem.” He leaned in close to whisper the final words in my ear, and I laughed at the tickle of his breath on my neck.

“You’re not a problem,” I whispered back. “In fact, I think you might be the solution.”

I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders a little as I looked at him.

Wes was right. Noah had been acting very strangely recently.

After his fight at the soccer match, I’d tried to comfort him, and he snapped at me.

But he later apologized. He’d blamed it on the pressure his grandfather was putting him under.

Maybe that pressure had gotten to him once again and he’d cracked.

It didn’t excuse what he’d done, but maybe he would apologize this time too.

“Got any other problems I can solve?” The low rumble of Wes’s voice tugged me from my thoughts. He was still leaning in close, and his brown eyes were sparkling.

“Maybe…” I replied, my gaze dropping to his lips. He grinned and started to move closer. Our lips were just about to touch when the door to the room burst open.

“Ugh, my eyes!” Sawyer cried out.

Wes grabbed a pillow off his bed and tossed it at his brother, but Sawyer easily dodged out of the way. “We weren’t even kissing,” Wes said.

“But you were going to.”

“Apparently not if you’ve got anything to do with it,” Wes complained. “I thought you were on team Wesobel.”

“Oh, I am. But only when I don’t want to be in our room.

” Sawyer winked at me before launching himself onto his bed.

It was a mystery how he managed to get comfortable considering the amount of clothes strewn across it.

Wes looked like he was about to storm across the room, pick up his brother, and throw him and his dirty laundry out into the hallway, but I didn’t want him to cause a scene.

It was Sawyer’s room too, after all, and I didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable in it because of me.

“How was the rest of your night at the Halloween carnival?” I asked Sawyer before Wes could make his move to kick him out.

“Well, everyone loved my costume,” Sawyer replied, totally unbothered by the fact he’d clearly interrupted us. “It makes me wonder why I even go to the gym. Obviously, my Sawyer magic affects the ladies no matter what I look like.”

“Sawyer magic?” I laughed. In an effort to match Wes’s Thor costume last night, Sawyer had dressed as the overweight version of the character from Avengers: Endgame. Clearly, it hadn’t affected his confidence with girls.

“Yeah, Sawyer magic, it’s a thing,” he replied.

“If you were so happy with your costume, why did I see you running round the carnival half naked?” Wes grunted. He was still glaring at his brother but seemed resigned to the fact he was here to stay.

“Well, I left my costume on for the dunking booth, and it got wet. It was so heavy I had to ditch it.”

“You walked around the carnival shirtless?” I asked. “It was so cold last night. Are you crazy?”

“It wasn’t that cold, and I had a cape,” Sawyer replied with a shrug. “Do you mind if I put the TV on? The guys are all watching some movie in the common room, but there’s a game on I want to watch.” Yep, Sawyer wasn’t going anywhere.

“I was just about to head off anyway,” I said.

“You don’t have to leave.” Wes looked disappointed.

“It’s okay. I should get back to my room. Cress might be wondering where I am.”

He followed me as I walked to the door and gathered me up in a warm hug. “Sorry about Sawyer. Let me know if you want to hang out tonight,” he said. “I can come to your room, or we can go for a walk. Whatever you want, I’m here.”