Chapter 6 #2
After a beat of silence, I return to the situation at hand, careful to keep my tone neutral. “How did you explain it to Harley?”
She glances at me before looking away again, clearing her throat once more.
“Ash told him what happened that night. Harley grilled him at the hospital while I was still having brain scans to see how much damage had been done, and Ash told him the truth. He just… didn’t tell him it’s been going on for years. ”
I decide then and there that I’m going to stop being shit at girl talk and learn how to do this whole best friend thing properly.
The wobble in her voice is killing me, along with the misery she’s very clearly in, and it’s not that hard to figure out something I can do for her, even if it feels like a drop in the bucket. I get up and hug Avery.
She startles, because she knows just how hug-adverse I am.
For a second, I think I’ve fucked this all up, but then she hugs me back so tightly I hear my bones creak.
It takes no time at all to figure out that I probably needed this hug just as much as she did, and I hook my chin onto her shoulder while she clings to me.
Clearing my throat, my voice still comes out thready. “I’ve got an idea or two on how I can help you… if you’ll let me.”
She nods, and it’s the only green light I need.
I’m going to take out both Joseph Beaumonts one way or another.
I’m studying in our room after classes have ended for the day when my phone buzzes with a text.
It’s obvious that’s it’s Avery, she’s the only person who texts me, but she’s supposed to be at one of her million dance classes.
I thought with how intensive they are that she wouldn’t have time to even glance at her phone.
911. Coffee. Ballet.
I’m on my feet in an instant, my textbook tumbling out of my lap and snapping shut on the hardwood floor with a dramatic thud .
I’m not sure why bringing a coffee to Avery at her ballet class is being considered an emergency, but I can figure that out later.
Our conversation about her fucked-up father this morning has had me on edge all day, and my mind immediately goes into overdrive.
I’m picturing Joey attacking her, or an assassin, maybe a kidnapping.
Is our room bugged?
Dammit, it’s been weeks since I swept the room, and I clearly need to do another thorough search the second I can, especially if we’re going to be discussing anything Beaumont family-related in the future.
I’d been studying in my pajamas, so I throw a sweater over my Vanth shirt while the coffee machine works its magic.
I dodge curious looks and leering seniors as I sprint to the dance studios, my hand steady on the reusable, glass coffee cup.
Avery had it personalized with ‘Dictator in Power’ after I’d told her about my sniping with Harley over our history assignment last year.
I can’t look at it without bursting out laughing.
Someday, when I tell her who I am, I want one with a wolf on it. Two very different, but very deadly, predators.
When I make it to the gym, I expect to find a crowd or a dead body or something.
Instead, Avery is leaning against the wall by the doors to the dance studios scowling at her phone.
Somehow, despite hours of rigorous training, she looks exactly the same as she did when I last saw her, which is literally model-perfect.
I don’t even want to think about how homeless I must look next to her as I hand her the coffee.
She doesn’t even quirk an eyebrow at the state I’m in, which means she’s pissed . “Harlow Roqueford is a dirty, pathetic bitch who needs a reality check. She’s going on my planner for next week. You in?”
On her planner. That’s Avery’s way of saying she’s going to start a campaign. Currently, we have Joey, Rory, Lance, and Annabelle on her planner, and I don’t feel like we’re getting anywhere with most of them. Well, why the fuck not?
I shift to lean on the wall beside her and say, “Definitely. What do you want me to do?”
An asinine voice, one I loathe to hear, interrupts us. “How about you take your dirty, trash self back to where you belong? In the slums.”
Great. I look up to see the woman of the hour standing over us with her hands on her hips. She’s wearing a sports bra and leggings are so tight that I can see not only her lack of underwear but also the fact that she has a landing strip. Pass the bleach, I want to die.
Avery’s eyes drop thirty degrees in temperature, and she becomes a marble statue, cold and unyielding. “Harlow, if you’re going to speak to us, can you please put on some underwear? I can see your gaping vagina trailing down your thighs from here.”
Sweet merciful Lord, I nearly choke.
Harlow doesn’t flinch. She flicks her hair over her shoulder and shrugs at Avery. “You think you’re untouchable because you’re a Beaumont—well, guess what? Your own brother wants you dead.”
It’s like listening to a child who simpers and pouts.
I roll my eyes and Avery chuckles, her voice sweet and soft while hiding shards of broken glass. “I’m well aware of Joey’s thoughts on me. I do live with him, you know.”
Harlow’s eyes flick to me. “You called in your little guard dog? How much are you paying the trash to watch your back?”
Avery takes a long sip of her coffee. Long enough that Harlow begins to twitch. She wants Avery’s full attention, her ire, to dig underneath her skin. She wants to scare the Ice Queen of Hannaford and knock her off the top of the social ladder.
She’s so stupid.
Avery finally tilts her head at Harlow, a knowing smile on her lips that must be eating the bitch’s ass.
“Are you trying to win Joey’s affection by attacking me?
Because that would make you brain-dead and pathetic.
Joey doesn’t have affections, he just wants to get high and fuck as many different girls as he can.
You’ll never keep him. It baffles me to think of a reason why you would want to keep him. ”
The doors to the studios open and students pour out.
We get a few curious looks and Jessie, one of the girls I’ve sat with in choir, gives me a shy wave.
I smile at her, looking as though I don’t care about the spat happening in front of me when that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Knowing what Joey’s planning is a top priority, and whatever this idiot can tell us will surely help.
I should probably feel guilty for not attempting to warn her about the danger she’s really in, but I don’t.
She can fucking rot for all I care, and if that makes me a monster, so be it.
Harlow’s mouth slides into a smug, over-the-top smirk that makes her look deranged. “He’s rich, hot, and he has a huge dick. What more could a girl want?”
I gag. I can’t help it, it happens before I can lock it down. Avery pats me gently on the back like it’s totally normal, and her mouth quirks upwards.
Annabelle steps up beside Harlow and I tense.
She’s wearing a pale pink leotard and tights, her legs look like they go on forever.
As much as I hate to say it, I can objectively see the appeal.
“Well, Harlow. If I gave a damn about you in any way, I would tell you I think you’ve picked the wrong Beaumont brother on all of those accounts. ”
Avery sighs. We share a look as Harlow scoffs and turns on Annabelle. “Why pick the boy when you can have the man?”
Annabelle laughs right in her face. I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole and now I’m stuck in Wonderland watching two very different forms of evil battle it out. It’s surreal and highly entertaining.
“Oh, Harlow. Joey has to ask Senior for everything; Ash doesn’t. Joey is a tweaking, stringy mess with his little habit; Ash isn’t. And I know for a fact that Ash has a good three inches on his brother.”
I’m kind of horrified at myself, but I’m stuck between being jealous and curious at what Annabelle is saying.
I also feel a nervous giggle starting in my chest, and I need to shut that shit right down.
Avery has scrunched her nose up in disgust, and that helps me get my head on straight.
Conversations about your brothers’ dicks must be gross. Poor Aves.
Harlow sneers at Annabelle. “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, Easy A?”
Annabelle only shakes her head with a smile, not as good as Avery’s but Harlow must be sick of seeing them by now. “Sweetheart, I have seen more photos of you on a dick than any other girl at this school. Don’t mistake which one of us is the whore.”
I stand up and tug Avery to her feet. This is getting redundant, and I don’t want to hear anything else about Ash’s sex life…
or, God forbid, if something about the other two gets thrown into this.
Avery slips her arm into mine, and we head back to our room.
When we stop so Avery can unlock our door, Annabelle calls out to us, and we find her huffing at the end of the hall as if she’s chased us here.
Avery scoffs and rolls her eyes. I’m tempted to ignore her, but she’s on Avery’s planner, and we might be able to use whatever she’s here about to destroy her.
After staring her down for a solid minute, I finally give her a curt nod.
Avery ignores her completely in favor of heating up some of the weird soup with kale and fish she’s currently obsessed with.
I make a face at the smell and pull a tub of ice cream out to soften.
Annabelle looks around curiously. It occurs to me that Avery never lets anyone but the boys into our room.
“Where did Blaise sleep when he was here?” says Annabelle, eyeing my bed like it carries diseases. I snort at her and Avery laughs.
“Summers, he slept wherever the hell he wanted to like he always does. What’s it to you, anyway?”
Annabelle crosses her arms and looks down her nose at me. “I’m here to ask you two to stop interfering in my relationships. It’s none of your business who I’m dating.”
Avery huffs out a laugh. “I think we all know you’re not dating any of them, and you never have. Try again, Summers.”
The reality check bounces off of her without so much as a scratch. “Semantics. I’m asking you both to butt out .”
I don’t like her tone, and if I don’t get some sugar in me soon, she’s going to learn just how sharp my knife is.
I grab a spoon and share a look with Avery.
She’s got her phone out and she has someone on the line, but Annabelle can’t see it from where she’s standing.
“What my family does is very much my business, and I’m not having an illegitimate child born to some gold-digging, teenage girl who wants to spread her legs and spend someone else’s money. ”
Annabelle sighs and rubs her arms. She doesn’t look like the pretty, confident girl I’d first seen with Blaise. She’s tired, angry, and desperate.
“Whatever. Let me have Blaise. His parents like me because I don’t encourage his stupid music, and he’s not your family. Get the Mounty bitch to stop tutoring him and I’ll leave Harley and Ash alone.”
My head practically spins at her calling Vanth Falling stupid, and it’s probably the only thing that stops me from cussing her out.
Avery takes it better, tutting at her. “I thought you loved Harley? Didn’t you tell him that?”
“I do, but my family is going under, as you well know, and I don’t want to end up on the streets. If he had access to his inheritance, then I’d be fighting for him. I can’t wait around while he figures out how to get the money back.”
I shove a huge spoonful of ice cream into my mouth so I keep my cool.
There are a thousand good reasons to pick a guy.
I can think of plenty of reasons why I would pick Blaise, Harley, or Ash, even while they hated me.
But picking one over the other because of money is disgusting.
Saying Harley isn’t a worthy choice makes me sick.
Avery sets down her soup and glides past Annabelle to open the door for her, a clear dismissal. When Annabelle doesn’t move, Avery gives her a predatory smile.
“I don’t make promises to anyone but my family. Get out of my room and remember who you’re speaking to.”
When the door is locked behind Annabelle and Avery is back sitting with her soup, I arch an eyebrow at her.
“Ash, Harley, and Blaise are all my family. You’re my family. That’s it. I’ll be damned if that bitch touches any of them again.”