Chapter 3
THREE
JESSICA
Kane hung up on me last night.
Why would he do that?
I lay awake until the early hours, going over it in my head. Did I say something wrong? Is that why he hung up? I thought maybe he’d send a text to explain but it became obvious as the hours ticked by that I wouldn’t hear from him.
I exit the steamed-up bathroom, freshly showered, towel wrapped around my body. At first, I don’t notice my snooping brother. He’s by the bedside table, scrolling through my text messages, a scowl on his face.
The moment I spot him, my vision tunnels. I stride across the small space to grab my phone. “What the hell are you doing?!”
He holds it up high. “You’re still fucking seeing him?”
I try to steal the phone back. “It’s none of your business. You don’t have a damn right to go through my phone.”
He holds it out of reach, looking down at me with a hard look in his steely eyes. If I’m not careful, my towel could unravel but I don’t care much about that right now. He’s behaving like a dick.
“What the fuck did I tell you, sis? This thing you’ve got going on with Ravencourt ends now. You’re not allowed to see him, you hear me?”
I stop trying to grab for my phone. What’s the fucking point? He won’t give it back until he’s said his piece. I cross my arms over my chest and arch a brow. “Or else? What are you gonna do?” I wave a hand around the room. “Lock me up?”
He gets in my face. “Maybe I fucking will.”
We glower at each other, and a muscle tics in his jaw. He points an accusing finger in my face. “Don’t test me on this, sis. Ravencourt is off limits to you.”
“You’re not my fucking dad.”
“I am the man of this house,” he roars. “Someone has to fucking look out for you and it’s not that useless drunk.” He turns and swipes a textbook off my bed, sending it flying across the floor. “Don’t for a fucking second believe Ravencourt wants you for anything else than an easy fuck.”
His words slice deep, because somewhere down inside, I’ve always felt as if I’m not good enough for anything.
He’s dragging those insecurities to the surface.
Tears well up and I cut eye contact, refusing to look at him again.
He can fuck right off if he thinks I’ll listen to anything he has to say.
He sighs, exhausted, and tosses my phone on the bedspread. “You can hate me all you want. It’s for your own good, alright? You’ll thank me later.”
I whip my head around. “I’ll thank you? I’ll thank you?! Are you for fucking real?”
His jaw turns to granite. “You know the rules. You’re from the Falls. He’s from the Heights. Do you think his family will welcome you with open arms? They’ll think you’re a fucking gold digger.”
“I don’t want his money,” I all but scream. “I don’t give a flying fuck!”
“Stop being so fucking naive,” he shouts back, voice deep with fury. “This isn’t some fairytale. The founding families are dangerous. I don’t want you wrapped up in their world.”
Oh, that’s rich.
Arms crossed, I suck on my teeth in disgust before shaking my head. He’s one to talk, isn’t he? Hypocrite. I shoulder past him on my way to the closet.
“I heard you’re looking to recruit.” I act as nonchalantly as I possibly can while sliding clothes aside to find something suitable to wear to lessons.
There’s a moment of silence, and then he steps closer, the floorboards creaking beneath his weight. “Who the fuck told you that?”
I inspect a hoodie. There’s nothing special about it: a faded band logo, and cut-out holes in the sleeves for my thumbs. “So it’s true?”
“Tell me who the hell is running their mouth.”
I spin around. “No, you don’t get to tell me that you don’t want me involved in their ‘dangerous world’ when you’re out there doing illegal things. It’s not one rule for me and one rule for you.”
“Someone has to pay the bills around here. You don’t seriously think I keep us afloat working in that damn garage, do you?” He points in the direction of the door. “You don’t think you and your sister get to finish college because I change oil and tires, do you?”
Tears fall freely now as I turn my head away. He’s so much taller than me, and as he runs a hand through his blond hair and swipes a lamp off the dresser beside my closet, I feel small and helpless.
“Fuck!” he roars. He sounds... defeated, and when he turns back to me, his broken expression cracks me open. For a second, I feel ashamed.
Ashamed for staying up all night, fretting about a boy from the Heights.
A founding father’s son.
We’ve got far bigger problems.
Besides, my brother is right; Kane doesn’t care. I’m a fun novelty, but he’ll never take me seriously. To him, I’ll always just be another girl. Someone he fucks for a while, another notch on his bed frame, before he moves on to a more suitable girl in his league, someone his family approves of.
“Don’t make me into a villain,” my brother says, dipping his head to look me in the eye. “Don’t do that. We’re family. We’ll always look out for each other.”
I don’t want to look at him. He chucks my chin and says, “Hey, you can’t stay mad at me forever.”
I’ll give it my best shot. He knows I’m stubborn. That’s something we have in common.
Despite his best attempt at lightening the mood, my tears continue to fall, and he pulls me into his arms.
My brother smells of the ocean mixed with motor oil and rubber from working long hours in the garage.
It’s the best scent in the world, aside from Mom’s pancakes. I love that he always smells like he got off work and drove straight to the cliffs.
When I hug him, it’s like we’re sitting by the cliff’s edge, side by side, watching the sunset.
“I won’t see him again,” I whisper. It’s for the best anyway. It’ll only lead to heartbreak.
My brother rests his chin on my head, rocking us side to side. “You’ll find someone better.”
“How? You won’t let me date?”
“That’s not true,” he says, chuckling. “I just roughen them up a little.”
Untangling myself, I head back over to my closet. “You scare them all away.”
He looks proud of himself as he watches me pull clothes off the hangers. I want to smile, but I school my expression.
“You need to stop cock-blocking me.”
My brother’s face turns green. He walks out, muttering under his breath about how I should never mention dicks around him again or he’ll be sick.
Snickering, I lock my door behind him. He’s too easy to rile up. As I drop the towel, my gaze locks on my phone.
A part of me hates to admit my brother is ever right. In fact, I want him to be wrong. For once, let him be full of bullshit.
But the truth remains: Kane is bad news, and I need to stay away, for both our sakes.
Maybe he can fuck around and treat it like a fun game, but I can’t. Because I don’t want to fall deeper. I’m scared I’ll drown.
Outside the lecture hall window, wasps buzz around a wasp trap hanging from a branch. Some have found their way inside the small opening and are unable to get back out. I almost feel sorry for them.
One is on its back, floating in the fruit juice, kicking its little legs. Another struggles to crawl up the inside and soon loses its grip, dropping back into the juice. Now there are two kicking their spindly legs.
“Hello? Earth to Jessica?” Rain says, clicking her fingers in my face, and I drag my gaze away from the view outside. It’s a warm, sunny day.
Rain waves her hand in front of my face. “Where did you go just now?”
“Nowhere.”
She leans in conspiratorially. “Is this about Ravencourt?”
“What?” I squeak. “No! Of course not.”
“Are you sure?” She pops her pink bubble gum, ignoring the look the teacher aims in our direction. “You know, you’ve refused to talk about what happened that day at the cafe when he showed up.” She’s watching me carefully. “He seemed confident he’s your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I snap, wishing she would just let it go already. She keeps dropping little hints that she wants to have this conversation. I don’t.
She holds up her hands. “O-okay. Fine. No need to bite my head off.”
I sigh, slumping in my seat. “Nothing is going on between us. Can you just trust me on this?”
“Sure, whatever you say.” She pops her gum again, leaning on her elbow. “But you’ll have to tell me the full story sooner or later. I want the deets.”
The teacher chooses that moment to address us, sliding his rimmed glasses higher on his nose and clearing his throat like a croaky frog. “Rain. Jessica. Ladies. You seem hellbent on disrupting my lesson. Anything you’d like to share with the rest of us?”
Rain turns to face him, blowing a bubble bigger than her face and popping it with her nail. “Nothing, sir.” She gives me a pointed look. “Nothing. At. All. And that’s the problem.”
“There’s nothing to share,” I whisper-hiss. Thankfully, the bell rings, and I push my chair back.
Summer is already waiting for us in the hallway, a stack of books held to her chest. She smiles, pleased to see us, but it soon falls when I spin around on Rain.
“What about you? Who were you texting last night on the ride to the cliffs?”
Rain gets that flighty look about her when she’s keeping secrets. “I wasn’t texting anyone.”
U’huh. She’s lying through her teeth.
“You were texting all night,” I point out.
At least until she got too intoxicated and fell asleep on my sister.
“Not all night.” She scoffs.
She fails to realize that we’ve known each other since we were in diapers. I know when she’s hiding something.
The same can be said for you, a voice whispers in my head.
We start walking, turning the corner. “At least I didn’t kiss someone,” she says.
I pull to a sudden stop. What the hell? She knows? I glare at Summer, who turns bright red. She’s the only one I told about that kiss.
“You told her?”
“No,” Rain says. “Megan Martin saw you.”
Of course, she did. Who else?
I start walking again, tasting something bitter on my tongue. That girl never shuts her mouth. If there’s even a whiff of gossip, she’s all over it like a fly to a pile of shit, embellishing the truth until it’s barely recognizable.