Chapter Twenty Four
Maggie
I’m picking at the steak tartar in front of me with absolutely no appetite. Maybe that’s because Miles has been staring at me all night and attempting to play footsies with me under the table. I could literally throw up with how cringey this guy is. No wonder his parents feel the need to set him up. He’s twenty-five years old with no prospects. Most men get married, or at least engaged, right after graduation. Not Miles, though, and it’s not hard to see why.
His mother and mine are talking about some charity function they are running together while his father and Harry discuss business. Honestly, I’m not even sure what either of them do. I really don’t care to know either. It’s all the same in the Brethren. Oil, medicine, real estate, consumer businesses…that’s it. That’s all there needs to be to create an empire that rivals anything the new world has ever seen. At least that’s the bullshit we’ve been taught since birth.
The older men stand up and move towards Harry’s office while my mom and Bethany move into the kitchen, pouring a glass of wine as they gossip. That just leaves Miles, Bridgette, Brad, and me at the table. I’m not sure why they were dragged into coming. It’s not like they had to be here to witness this painful set up. Harry said he wanted ‘our family’ to dine with theirs. Whatever.
“So, Margret, want to show me your room?” Miles asks with a hopeful smile.
I can’t help but snort and shake my head. My god, this shit has got to stop. Glancing around to make sure Harry isn’t near, I lean forward.
“Look, Miles. You seem nice, but I’m gay. I’m not attracted to men. I’ll never be attracted to men, so…yeah. Sorry.”
He frowns for a moment before he shrugs, a small smirk replacing his disappointment.
“That’s kinda hot. Maybe I can watch you hook up with a girl sometime. We could get a girlfriend when we get married.”
Bridgette makes a disgusted sound as she shakes her head.
“Take a hint, dude. She’s never going to fuck you. At least not willingly,” she says, running a judgmental gaze over the lanky guy.
“He would never do such a thing, Bridge. Right, Miles?” Brad chimes in, going all big brother on him.
Miles pales as he shakes his head quickly.
“No! Never!”
I kinda like having a big brother. The sister I could do without, but it is what it is.
“Good. Why don’t I show you around,” Brad says, getting up from his seat beside Miles, practically hauling him to his feet as he ushers him upstairs.
Brad casts a look down to me and I mouth to him, ‘thank you.’ He gives me a small smile and a nod before they disappear up the stairs. My eyes come to the side where Bridgette is sitting. We glance at each other before looking away. Then, somehow, we find ourselves meeting each other’s eyes again. She is the first to break the silence, though.
“Well, he seems to be a real winner. He looks at your sexuality like a kink. Good luck with that,” she huffs.
I lift an eyebrow to her.
“Yeah, good luck whittling away at the Asher tree. Or was it Jeremy Stroughton? The way I hear it, you’re fucking them both.”
Her eyes widen at that as she lowers her voice.
“Who told you that?”
Wow. So it’s true. I was just bluffing. Fucking typical.
Shaking my head, I take a sip of my wine.
“Did you know Stroughton asked Skyla out on a date the other day?”
Bridgette’s brows cave in as she looks at me.
“Says who?”
“I was there when he asked her. She didn’t end up going with him, so you might still have a chance.”
She lets out a disgusted noise. “Are you saying if I’m going up against Skyla Parris for a man, I’ll lose?”
“You lost Asher,” I say, rubbing salt into that wound just for the hell of it.
Her face tenses, but she doesn’t look nearly as hurt as I anticipated. Interesting.
“We’ll see. When he figures out she’s fucking around with his best friend, he might feel differently.”
I’m instantly set on edge with that. How does she know that? Oh yeah, did I mention? Not only is Skyla hooking up with Asher’s uncle, but apparently his best friend, too. Not that I’ve gotten all the details, but he took her out for a date the other night and he’s been on her like glue ever since. Honestly, she thinks she’s so subtle, but she’s not. Clearly. Which is a dangerous thing. If the Brethren doesn’t tolerate queer relationships in any form, not sure how they will handle a polyamory situation, because I think we all know that’s where things are heading. They’d all be dead by morning if Christopher or any of the other Elders found out.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I hiss.
“No?” She challenges. “Liam is pussy whipped. He follows her around like a lost puppy. To classes, to lunch. He’s even stopped hanging out with Asher. I think it’s pretty obvious what’s happening.”
I laugh like she couldn’t be more off, while making a mental note to beat Skyla’s ass, because I do not want to see my best friend buried in a shallow grave, or worse, mysteriously missing forever.
“I won’t deny that Skyla is hooking up with someone who is not Asher, but are you really sure it’s Walcott?” I ask with a smug grin.
She narrows her eyes at me like she’s trying to sniff out the lie.
“Bullshit. She’s not into women.”
“Neither were you, but as you remember, I can be very…persuasive,” I say as I rest a hand on her bare thigh.
It’s meant to be a tactical move, something to put her on edge and drop the topic. I didn’t realize she wasn’t wearing any stockings with her skirt, though. Didn’t realize my hand would land on her silky bare thigh. Didn’t realize my heart would start beating out of my chest at just a single touch of my hand against her. It’s a bitch that my body hasn’t gotten on board that we hate Bridgette Brenton. In fact, I think the traitorous thing is still halfway in love with her.
Her suspicion eases, as a whole new emotion I can’t quite name comes to the surface. We stare at each other for a few moments, suspended in time, before she closes her eyes and shakes her head.
“Tell me the truth, Maggie. You’re…you’re with her?”
The tone she uses cracks something inside my chest. Like she’s pleading for me to say no. Like she’s begging for it to not be true. Does that mean she still feels this…pull, too? For a moment, I want to give her that. I want to tell her that she is the realest thing I’ve ever felt in my life, and even though I hate myself for it, I still think of her every goddamn day.
This moment isn’t about me, though. It’s about protecting my friend. So, I lie.
“It’s nothing serious. She’s just experimenting.”
Hurt passes over Bridgette’s face as she shoves my hand off her thigh and rises to her feet. She doesn’t say a word, just grabs her purse and storms out the door. I hear her car fire up before tearing out of the driveway. Staring at my untouched meal, I stand as well, grabbing my things to leave. I’m sure I’ll catch hell for not sticking around, but that’s tomorrow’s problem. Right now, I just need to be alone.
“Hey,” Brad says as he comes down the stairs. “Where are you going?”
“Home,” I say. “Where is Miles?”
“I put him in front of a video game. I don’t think we will see him for an hour at least.”
I nod. “Nice work.”
He doesn’t smile or acknowledge my words as he opens the front door and guides us outside. Once the door is shut, he crosses his arms over his chest.
“What happened?”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Between you and my sister? Who hurt who?”
I lift an unimpressed eyebrow.
“No one hurt anyone.”
“Bullshit.” He scoffs. “Ask anyone who has been in a room with you two for the last month. There is hurt practically suffocating the air. So, did you hurt my sister, or did my sister hurt you?”
I open my mouth to say I’m not doing this. Or I don’t want to talk about it. Something. For some reason, though, this loveable teddy bear stoner breaks down my walls and I feel a tear fall down my cheek.
“She hurt me,” I whisper brokenly.
He flattens his mouth together with a small nod.
“I figured. Do you want to talk about it?”
I shake my head.
“Do you want her back?”
I hesitate for a moment before shaking again. We’re too toxic. She’s too…we just…no. I can’t.
“Damn, that sucks,” Brad says.
“Why?”
“Not to manipulate or anything, but I’d never seen Bridge so happy as she was this summer, and I know that had everything to do with you. Our dad is a piece of shit, as you can tell, and she never knew our mom. You…it was like you healed some shit in her or something. I really thought you guys were gonna make it.”
“Nothing lasts in Salem,” I say morbidly.
Brad’s face falls as he nods his agreement because it’s true. There is a reason there are only a handful of original wives and mothers still around. My mother is an anomaly, and it’s only because she married the kindest man she possibly could have. Had she married Harry twenty-three years ago, she’d probably already be six feet under. That’s just the terrifying reality of life around here. Women are seen as dispensable, only good for children and arm candy. It’s fucking disgusting.
And people wonder why I want nothing to do with men.
It’s too bad I couldn’t just marry Brad. I feel like we’d have a chill open door marriage, and he’s quickly becoming a really good friend. Think it would be too taboo to do a switch-a-roo with my stepbrother?
Probably no more so than fucking my stepsister all summer.
“I’ll see you later,” I say as I begin walking down the front steps.
Brad nods. “I’ll tell them you got the shits.”
I choke out a laugh and shake my head.
“Whatever you gotta do, man.”
He laughs and heads back inside as I slide into my car and head to the university. Fucking Brad. Love that guy.