Chapter 36 – The Story of Selene
Chapter Thirty-Six
BOWEN
THE STORY OF SELENE
I had to leave the Dupree family Christmas party that was raging in Uncle Ford and Aunt Peyton’s living room. And by raging, I mean, everyone was on a sugar high from Gramps’s Shirley Temples, as an intense white elephant gift exchange ensued.
But I couldn’t stay.
Griffin’s college girlfriend, Selene, was giving me the willies. Maybe I was imagining it, but the chick had been here for forty-eight hours, and I swear, there wasn’t a single time I’d glanced her direction that she wasn’t unabashedly staring at me.
Maybe I was the problem. I wouldn’t know she was staring if I didn’t look at her in the first place.
But it’s like those blackhead extraction videos—you know you’ll regret watching, but you physically cannot look away.
Not that Griff’s girlfriend looked like a gnarly clogged pore.
She didn’t. Most guys would probably find her attractive.
Jet black hair and eyes to match, she was extremely proud of her creamy complexion, and…
curves. The complexion she kept bringing up.
The curves? You could just tell by how tight her shirts were.
Almost a second skin, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.
It was so bad that my normally chill mother was struggling to keep her mouth closed.
If Selene hadn’t been with Griff, I still wouldn’t have been interested though. First of all, she was a brunette, and I’ve had a lifelong thing for blonds. And second, I liked girls who let you guess a little. Didn’t show it all to the entire world.
I could’ve gotten a drink in the kitchen, but it was still in Selene’s line of sight. So I opted for the pantry tucked behind the kitchen—bigger than my childhood bedroom.
I ran the water until it was cold, filled a glass, and guzzled it down. Then I filled it again, just needing a minute.
But when I turned around, I knew I wasn’t going to get one.
Selene was three feet from me, blocking the singular exit, dark eyes sparkling like a black widow who’s waited patiently and finally snagged their prey.
“You keep chugging water like that and you’re gonna have to head to the bathroom.
” Why did her voice sound seductive as she mentioned bodily excretion?
She nibbled her bottom lip, taking a step closer, eyes hungry.
“Which is down the hall, by the bedrooms.”
I stared at her, certain she was not implying what I thought she was implying. But everything in her body language said that’s exactly what she meant.
“Uh. Yeah. I’m good.” I flipped around to wash my glass, hoping she’d take the hint. But I should’ve known better than to turn my back on a spider with silk on her fingers.
Suddenly, her arms were winding around my chest. “You know,” she purred in my ear. “I only asked my friend to introduce me to Griffin so I could get to you.” What? “I wouldn’t have had to make all this effort if you would’ve responded to my DM’s.”
Freaking viper! This was exactly why I didn’t check my DMs unless it was someone I knew. Girls were nuts. But I’d never had this happen in person, on family property. Which is why I was frozen, panic trying to choke me out.
I was only sixteen at the time and way in over my head.
Griffin was going to be so hurt when he found out. He’d just told her last night that he loved her. She’d reciprocated immediately. I knew because he’d come in my room and fell on my bed all dreamy-eyed while he went on and on about it.
Just then she gripped the front of my dress shirt in her fists and yanked up, untucking it from my pants. I stared in horror as her hands slipped down, down, down, heading for no man’s land.
I grabbed her wrists, stopping her. Then I threw her hands off and turned to face her, tucking my shirt in. “You need to back off. Now.”
I thought she would too. Anyone with any self-respect would have.
But as she licked her lips, I realized she didn’t have respect for anyone. Not me, Griff, or herself. And definitely not for my family who’d opened their home to her.
“Come on.” Her laugh was light and playful, like tinkling glass.
Deceptively beautiful. “You and I both know that’s not what you actually want.
” Her eyebrows waggled seductively. “I’ve seen you watching me.
” Before I could respond, her fingers slipped up into my hair and she came up on her tiptoes, crashing her mouth over mine.
I ripped my head back, palming her face with my hand. “Because you’re freaking creepy.” I shoved her head back, hard.
She stumbled, jaw dropping. “How dare you?”
“How dare I? You have some serious nerve.” I stepped past her, wiping my mouth. “You should probably head back to the house and grab your things. You’re going to want to leave before I tell my family what you just did.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s your word against mine. Who do you think Griffin will believe?”
My head bobbed, my lips pressed together letting her think she’d won.
For a half second, until I pointed to the camera in the corner with the blinking red dot.
Then to an identical one in the opposite corner.
“Next time you decide to put your hands and mouth all over your boyfriend’s brother, make sure you don’t do it at his famous uncle’s house. Ford takes security very seriously.”
All the blood drained from her face and she staggered back.
I strode away like I was tough, but in reality, I felt like I might vomit. As soon as I was out of the room, I jogged through the kitchen, heart trying to explode out of my chest.
I hovered at the edge of the living room.
My mom must’ve sensed my anxiety because even as Uncle Ashton was stealing a pair of SpongeBob Fruit of the Looms from Theo—causing an entire Dupree family uproar—Mom’s eyes snapped to mine.
She hopped up from the couch so fast my dad’s arm fell against the cushion, slapping himself in the side. Then he was on his feet too.
“Bowen, what’s wrong?” Mom asked.
I shook my head and hurried down the hall.
They followed me toward the library. Once we were inside and my dad shut the door, I groaned, wrapping my arms around my head, wishing I could vanish.
“Bowen, baby.” Mom pressed a hand to my cheek. “What’s going on?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to cry. But I couldn’t help it. As tears leaked from my eyes, she pulled me into her arms. “Hey, just tell us. Whatever it is, it’s okay.”
Safe in her embrace, I let the story tumble out.
Dad looked like he was going to be sick.
“I hate my life.” I sobbed, my forehead resting against my mom’s shoulder.
“Don’t you say that,” Mom’s arms tightened around me. “You have a great life.”
“No. It’s t-terrible,” my voice cracked. “Can I just never go in public again? We can fake my death and I’ll live quietly on the farm.”
“Hey, now,” Dad said, rubbing a hand over my back. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You can’t help it that I gave you such a pretty face.” He was trying to make me laugh. But I couldn’t.
Mom’s fingers traced along my neck. “I’m so sorry.”
I heard Dad blow out his breath. “At least you’re not Griff.”
At least you’re not Griff.
Those words only made it worse. I loved Griff. Looked up to him in everything. Would’ve crawled across a hot desert to get to him if he needed me to. But no matter how hard I tried, it felt like the devil himself was trying to rip us apart.
I sniffed. “Why does this keep happening?” Because, yep.
This wasn’t the first time a girl Griffin liked came after me.
It was the third. But it was the first time it had ever happened on Dupree turf.
And it was the first time it had happened with a girl Griffin had dated more than a couple of times.
“Because girls nowadays are insane.” Dad sounded disgusted.
“Only ones whose parents aren’t doing their jobs.” Mom huffed. “Sophie wouldn’t act like this. Or Maddie, Jane, or Belle.”
“True,” Dad conceded. He rubbed a hand over his mouth and looked at me. “You said the cameras got it though?”
I wiped my eyes. “Yeah.”
Dad heaved a sigh and cuffed me on the shoulder. “Go on back to the party. Mom and I will handle it.”
It was Selene.
When the dust settled, Uncle Ford’s pension for putting cameras everywhere saved me. But it damned me too. As Griff watched the replay, something came over him that I’d never seen before: a coldness trying to mask the hurt.
Yes, Selene was on the next Greyhound bound for Baltimore but the damage was done.
Griff said he didn’t blame me. But bitterness doesn’t scream—it whispers. It winds in the dark and grows teeth. After that, nothing I did was right. Every move I made, every time I breathed, he found something to criticize. And soon enough, the space between us wasn’t space anymore. It was a chasm.
I still loved the heck out of my brother. I always would.
But somewhere down the line, I think he stopped loving me back.