Chapter 6
6
MALICE
I ’m pacing inside my place when there is a knock on the door. Pissed that it could be Rue coming to shove another mistake in my face, I yank the door open. It’s the sheriff.
“Malice.”
“Sheriff Hanson.”
“Do you mind answering a few questions, son?”
Why would I mind? I’m not guilty of anything other than moving the party to my parents’ house. I stand off to the side and gesture for him to come in. I offer Sheriff Hanson a drink.
“Thanks, but I’ll take a pass, being on duty and all.”
Did he think I was offering him booze? Jesus H. Christ, what kind of dumb fuck does he think I am?
We sit at the kitchen table. I’m silent and antsy. He’s quiet and contemplative. The silence stretches on. Finally, after what seems like minutes, he asks a question.
“Kids are telling me you didn’t show up until later. Did you not hear the fire trucks, boy?”
What he means is shouldn’t I have given two fucks?
“I had the music blasting, sir.”
Honest to God truth. Plus, the windows in this house are super thick.
He taps his fingers on the table. “Malice, there’s talk you have a contentious relationship with your parents.”
I smirk. Where does everyone get this idea that I have a bad relationship with my parents? They’re hardly around for me to make something good go bad.
“Doesn’t every teenager?”
He sighs, and it’s heavy. He wishes I cared more. Done with the conversation, I stand and walk to the door. I open it and wait, hoping he gets the message. He can pay me another visit when the authorities determine the cause of the fire. It was probably an electrical fire that started in the office. Mom warned Dad before about having too much stuff plugged in.
It doesn’t help that Mom shares the office with him and has her long list of electrical devices, including an ancient lamp she had shipped from Greece.
That house has two huge offices, yet they prefer to be in the same space. Talk about being role models for romance. Except their love won’t spare me an ass-chewing from my dad.
Sheriff Hanson walks over and lingers in front of the open door. “Have you called your parents?” There’s hope in his voice.
“Yes, sir. They should be here right about now.”
On cue, my father steps into the porch light. Calm expression. Unhurried stride. Beneath the calm, he is seething . I look past his shoulder. Mom isn’t anywhere in sight. I turn my back on my father and Sheriff Hanson and occupy myself with repositioning the overstuffed pillows thrown haphazardly on the couch. Mom bought them for me to help “liven up the place.”
She’s disappointed in me again. It’s the reason she sent Dad to do the talking. Or more like reaming. He says a few words to the sheriff before he slams the door shut and lashes out at me with his words.
“You are done, Malice. Pack up your shit and find a different place to crash.”
“You’re throwing me out?” I straighten and pivot so fast; I swear I get whiplash and tweak my fucking back.
“Yes, I am. You’re eighteen. A grown man who needs to understand there are consequences for his actions.”
“Actions?” I stomp over to him. We are toe to toe. Eye to eye. “What actions? I did nothing wrong.”
“You hosted a party when we made it clear before we left. No fucking parties. You brought a girl home when we made it clear. No fucking around.”
“I’m eighteen,” I say, throwing his words back at him. “A grown man that has every right to screw around.”
“Then do so when you have a place and a job in case of unplanned consequences.”
“You’re holding a girl’s pregnancy over my head? I told you she wasn’t my girl.” The girl wasn’t mine. The baby was.
He jams his fingers through his hair. “I don’t give two fucks anymore, Malice.”
My father’s never gone as far as to throw me out on my ass. I pace.
No way will I crash at Seven’s or Trace’s place. I’ll gag having to see Seven and Leigh make out daily. And Trace and Sorrow? I can’t go through watching the predator circle the prey. That’s how Trace sees Sorrow. She is weak, and he’s strong, but the joke is on him. I watched her walk out of the hospital. That girl is so strong with what she’s been through, she’ll bring Trace to his knees if he’s not careful.
Yeah, I can’t stand to watch my guys fall for girls I would never in a million years picture them with. Not when my libido is in the shitter.
Sure, I brought a hot-as-fuck girl home, but when it came time to do the dirty, my cock didn’t rear up for action. Nothing. Nada. Thank fuck Cassie ate up the explanation that my medication was messing with my libido. High blood pressure runs in my family, getting us at an early age. What a bunch of bullshit, and I’ll go straight to hell for telling lies.
“What do I need to do to stay?”
“Agree to an intervention.”
My mom walks in and closes the door behind her. She is dressed in black slacks and a sapphire blouse that brings out the blue in her eyes. Her deep brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail. My mom looks young for her age and is beautiful inside and out. Too bad she hasn’t been around much. I miss her smile.
“I’m glad you and the others are safe, Malice.” Relief is in her voice. “Dad and I are disappointed,” she said, her words strained to my ears. “We left, confident we could trust you to keep an eye on the house and to keep your promise.”
“Mom.” I step towards her, longing to tell her how sorry I am for being a disappointment, but the words aren’t coming out. Why can’t I say them? Is it because I’m not one? Everything I’ve done has been to make them proud, yet they’re never around enough to acknowledge my hard work.
Then why work hard at all?
My dad steps between my mom and me.
“Do you agree to whatever we ask of you, Son? If you do, what happened tonight will be water under the bridge.”
“A clean slate? No more holding a girl’s pregnancy over my head? I can do whatever I want after graduation, including choosing another college? Or not going to college at all?”
If I’m agreeing to give up my soul, I might as well get something in return. My dad pulls at his collar. Mom fiddles with the clasp on her bag.
“This isn’t a negotiation, Malice. Take the intervention or leave.”
“We trust you’ll do what’s best for you. We accept.”
Thank fuck.
Dad throws his hands in the air. “Ruby. Love .”
I hold back my smirk. Love makes people do crazy batshit things, and my mom loves her only child to no end.
“Stone, let it be. The fire is stressful enough for Malice to deal with.”
Dad sighs. “Fine. Son, meet your intervention.”
Mom walks over and opens the door. My worst nightmare come true is standing on the other side.
Rue walks in with two suitcases. “Thank you for giving me a place to stay. Where should I put these?”
She’s polite and charming. Damn her. “What the hell is she doing here?”
“Malice, Rue is your intervention. She’s your babysitter, Son. Where you go, she goes.”
Where I go, Rue goes? Uh-uh. “You forget something. She goes to a different school.”
“Not anymore,” Mom says. “I called in a favor. As of this Monday, Rue will be attending Cambridge High. She can catch a ride with you.”
I point my finger at Rue. “There’s not enough room in my GT-R for a big troublemaker like her.”
“Now, Son?—”
“Did you forget the bad rep she has? The sheriff detained her for stealing. She spent time in juvie for assault.”
Rue looks away, but I don’t miss the flush of red on her cheeks. My gut clenches. Shit, I’ve gone and made the situation worse. I’ll make it up to her, but now isn’t the time. I can’t have her anywhere near me. Thinking about her drives me crazy, but living with Rue under the same roof will be insanity and chaos.
“Are you firing Rue?” Dad asks.
“If that’s an option.”
“It’s not,” he says.
“She can stay elsewhere and still keep an eye on me.”
“Rue also needs a place to stay.”
“With one of the most promiscuous guys in Cambridge?” I say.
My mom gasps.
I wince. “Sorry, Mom. It’s not true.”
The relief on her face… “Malice, where Rue was living isn’t safe. She explained everything.”
Not safe? What the fuck? I give Rue my most intense stare down. She shrugs. I clench my jaw. So help me, I will get the truth from her. “What about it was unsafe?” I ask my parents.
“That’s between us and Rue,” Mom says.
“How about I rent one of those fancy trailers and park it alongside the garage? For good measure, I’ll hire a bodyguard who will keep her safe.”
Dad grunts at my ideas and, taking Rue’s suitcases, he heads for the stairs. “I’ll put these in the bedroom on the right.”
Rue hurries after him and takes them back. “I can do it. Thank you though.”
I roll my eyes. What a suck-up.
“I’ll set these up there and be right back to sign the papers.”
“What papers?” I look after Rue.
“Rue’s employment contract. Her official title is Malice-sitter.”
For real? Dad takes my disgust the wrong way, misinterpreting it as a hardship. It’s not. Rue is an inconvenience I would rather not deal with now or ever.
Dad’s face softens, and he clamps his hand on my shoulder. “We don’t like coming down hard on you, but what happened went beyond breaking your promises.”
“Isn’t letting a girl stay with me breaking the same promise again?”
“Rue is no ordinary girl.” His fingers dig into my shoulder. His eyes search my face. “She is Riley’s little sister. Midnight is fond of Riley, and that fondness extends to Rue. There will be no messing around with the Lee girls, you hear?”
“Will Rue get fired if I do?”
“Do you want to risk getting pummeled by Midnight?”
I’m a moody son of a bitch. What I’m not is mean and vindictive. “No.” I drop the idea of getting Rue fired.
“You could’ve gotten hurt.”
My dad’s concern doesn’t ease my dark mood.
Does it matter? I want to ask, except asking will clue my parents that not everything is right with me. I detest their hovering more than I do their keeping their distance.
A movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention. I turn. Rue is standing on the bottom stairs. She’s wearing a faded red T-shirt, jeans shredded at the knees, and a ratty pair of Chucks stained with dirt and grass streaks. Her hair is tucked behind her ears, the inky strands cascading over her shoulders. The tips hit above the small of her back.
When I last saw her, she was with Red. He held her against him in a way I’ve imagined holding her countless times after running into her at a party or hearing Red run his mouth off about what a troublemaker Rue is with her wild streak and attitude. For shit’s sake, the moment he put his arm across her shoulders and kissed the top of her head, I had to get the hell out of there. Otherwise, I would have driven my fist into Red’s face for poaching on what’s mine.
What’s mine?
Jesus.
Rue isn’t my girl.
Not that I want her.
I don’t want Rue Lee.
I don’t want a girl who doesn’t fit into my future and will only bring discord into my family. But what will Red think of Rue staying with me?
I zero in on the girl in question.
Narrow face. High cheekbones. Her eyes are so dark; they are black. A mouth that can talk dirty one moment and sweet the next. She has a pert nose I like to bop with my finger just to see her sexy-as-fuck eyes widen.
Rue is easy on the eyes, but that doesn’t mean I’ll give her a pass for intruding in my life. By the time her employment is through, she’ll wish she had never approached my parents with the idea of “babysitting” me.
Yeah, this is Rue’s doing. Unlike Riley, Rue doesn’t have a bleeding heart. She is heartless and ruthless, seeing my misfortune as an opportunity to get from me what she didn’t get two years ago—an apology.
Ain’t happening. In my eyes, there is nothing to be sorry for. But why do I have the feeling I should get down on my knees and beg Rue for forgiveness?
“How long does she stay for?”
“Until the school year is over,” Dad says.
“That’s seven months!”
Mom sets her hand on Dad’s arm.
Dad backtracks. “When you clean up your act.”
My mom pulls two pieces of paper from her bag and hands them to Rue, followed by a pen. Rue signs both and gives one back to my mom. Mom steers Dad to the door. “We have a flight to catch, Stone.”
Back to Oregon. They moved whatever business negotiations they were working on from the Bay Area to Portland, which is why they arrived so fast. Prior to that, they were overseas for Mom’s business.
“Of course, dear.” He sets his gaze on me. “Rue is instructed to send us weekly reports. Clean up your act, Malice. Do more in life than the minimum.”
Do more in life than the minimum? Had they been around for more than half the year, they would see that I work my ass off. Schoolwork doesn’t come easy for me, and playing ball at my top-notch best takes discipline and dedication. Two things that have fallen to the wayside now that the season is over.
What’s on my mind lately is wondering what I should do with my days now that my boys are occupied with something other than chasing skirts and causing mayhem.
I walk over to the kitchen and pour a drink. Rue must have the superpower of lightning speed. She’s at my side, taking the glass of whiskey out of my hand.
“You’re not legal to drink, pal.”
“I’m no pal of yours, and good luck keeping me in line, sweet thing,” I say next to her ear.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Get in the way of my fun times, and there will be hell to pay.” I reach for my glass. She sidesteps me and pours my drink down the sink.
“Do your best, Malice.”
“Oh, I will.”
“Ooh, I’m shaking in my shoes.”
My gaze shoots to her feet. Her shoes are ratty, but her small feet are cute as fuck. And her feet are moving toward the front door.
“Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling. I’ll send my first report next Sunday.”
“Thank you for offering your services, Rue.”
“Of course. I would do anything to help Malice. My sister adores him.”
She bats her long lashes, and I nearly vomit in my mouth. I know I’m the last guy on Riley’s mind. I walk my parents out.
“What will happen to the house?” I ask Dad.
“It stays the way it is until the authorities are done with their investigation.”
“Once that’s done?”
“Your mom and I will deal with it when we get home.”
“When is that?”
“The end of the year, Son. There’s a change of plans. Mom has business in Italy.”
Mom owns and runs an online home furnishing business and boutique. She pulls me in for a hug. “I love you. We’ll FaceTime tomorrow.”
“Sure. I love you too.”
I let go, and she slips her hand into my dad’s. They make their way back to the charred house using the flashlight app on his phone.
A surge of guilt crashes over me. I knew better than to leave people unsupervised in my parents’ house, and for what? I kid myself into believing Cassie would help me forget the one girl I cannot get out of my head.
And now here she is, living under the same roof. But I’ll be damn if I go down that dead-end path. Rue deserves stability, and I am far from stable.