6. Ivy #2
He’s even tugged me along by my wrist like the sexy Neanderthal he tends to be, but he always seems to go out of his way to keep his distance from me.
Is that an honorable respect or it’s just more proof of how undesirable I am to him?
The small, but scarce, moments we’ve been in close proximity have all ended with him disappearing on me for long periods of time.
“Oh, don’t mind me,” she says with a sly smirk as she slowly struts into the room. “You know, my cousin is known as the sexiest beast with a sniper-sharp mind.”
“Is it? Good for him,” I say dismissively, wanting to change the topic, due to the sudden surge of something ugly in my chest, but the girl doesn’t stop.
“He makes girls go crazy for him. For a drop of his attention, they would do anything, and I do mean anything! Even dignified women from all over the world, all willing and eager!”
Another sharp pang blasts in through my chest.
Of course there are girls out there that lust after him. A whole world of them, apparently.
And if even his cousin knows this, God only knows how he responds to those girls.
Does he touch them the way he’s never touched me?
“Why are you telling me this?” I demand.
“To gauge your reaction, and boy is it telling!”
“Actually, I’m shocked that there are girls who find your asshole, grumpy-as-hell cousin hot.”
Suddenly a trilling sound fills the room.
I turn back to look at the girl. She’s keeling over with laughter.
“Oh my gosh,” she says in between breaths with a smile on her face that transforms her into a gorgeous head-turner full of life, completely different from the almost dead expression she had before. “I’ve never heard anyone insult my cousin before.”
To this, I frown. “Why?”
“Because people tend to be fond of the breath in their lungs when they interact with him, even if he’s not close by,” she says with a smile. “But not you, apparently.”
“Well, your cousin is an asshole.”
“Again, you’re in his room.”
I look to the left where Jackson’s mutilated bloody body was, and I sigh. “Maybe this is the only room available?”
“This alone is an eight-bedroom penthouse. He’s likely inconveniencing himself by showering in one of them right now.
Why would he do that for anyone if not for some special someone?
” she questions, her voice carrying the weight of something elusive.
“Against my cousin, everyone loses. So now I’m wondering which you are. ”
“Excuse me?”
“Of the list of gold diggers—of which I do respect the hustle—and hopelessly in love delusional little girls that lust after my cousin and his vast wealth, where do you stand?”
I scoff. “What makes you think anything about Emmett moves me?”
She smiles knowingly. “So, you’re delulu.”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, from the way you fearlessly called him an asshole, I already knew you’re not after his wealth, but then the way you were paying attention to the tidbits about him showed me that you are hungry for information about him, as if you’re discovering a whole new world.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Well, that and the way you suddenly looked jealous when I mentioned my cousin’s scandalous non-affairs.”
“Jealous?” I choke out a laugh, placing a hand on my chest. “I’m not jealous!”
“And you’re also not a good liar.”
Oh crap.
After all these years of being in an unrequited abyss, I don’t even know how to behave.
“You seem like a perceptive and intelligent girl, so I won’t bother lying to you,” I start. “I was delulu.”
“Was?”
“Yes.”
Silence falls in the room.
I expect her to mock me or say something snarky, but her demeanor changes.
“There’s a visceral reaction that takes place when girls break out of their delusional cocoon,” she says as she starts walking in my direction. “Let’s call it the painful journey of reclaiming one’s self-worth and identity.”
Stunned, I look at her.
For so long, I lost sight of myself, so much so that even though I really hated the fact that everyone knew I had a crush on Emmett, a part of me still didn’t mind it because it meant he knew how I felt.
And if he knew, then one day he’d admit that he loved me too…
But now, not only did he make everything clear with me, he’s actively making strides to get rid of me.
“Am I that obvious?” I whisper, a wave of sadness washing over me.
“You’re fighting not to be, which makes it easier to fish you out.” She smiles sadly. “And I heard you curse him out a while ago.”
“Oh no.”
Did she hear everything?
“No, I didn’t hear everything,” she says with a disappointed smile. “I was quickly taken to the apartment downstairs by his goons.”
I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Not to worry, babes, he isn’t doing so well himself,” she says, gesturing over her shoulder. “I’m Scarlet Lily Easton, but you can call me Scar just like everyone close to me.”
Scarlet Lily Easton.
Up close like this, she looks a lot like Emmett’s mother.
“Did I pass your screening test?” I say with a smile.
She smiles. “See, not everyone would be aware that I was testing your character. Most people would’ve taken everything I just said as me being rude.”
“You were being rude,” I point out.
“Was I? Never noticed.”
We both laugh at that.
“I’m Ivy Marie Irving, since we’re giving each other our full names and all.”
“Oops, that’s a habit of the trade.” She says blushing slightly. “The Easton name is a power-packing wrecking ball.”
From what Vaughn told me the other night when I met him, I’m only discovering that what I thought I knew about Emmett was literally a drop in the ocean.
I wonder if Astraea and the guys know. I’ll have to text the group chat later or just go straight to the gossip extraordinaire himself. Noah knows everything about everyone.
“Is your cutthroat approach a part of your family traits as well?” I walk over to the rack of clothes.
Scar chuckles a bit. “What do you think?”
“I think the Easton Family more than just possesses a wrecking ball in power but also in leaving lasting impressions on people.”
“Ahh, we try our best in that department,” she says with a smile and we both laugh.
“Your family is so secretive and extremely…”
“Dangerous,” she finishes.
I glance back at her, the hairs on the back of my neck rising. “Am I in danger?”
“Well, the truth is, anyone that has ever tried getting close to my cousin is automatically in danger. Heads have rolled before. Limbs have been severed. Blood has flowed, and he has never cared."
A shudder jolts through me as an ominous feeling blooms in my chest.
The night I met Emmett is a permanent fixture in both my dreams and nightmares.
Emmett’s blasé outlook on life and death chills me to the bone. And I don’t like thinking about it either.
“He doesn’t care, but the security around this place tripled,” Scar says.
“Is that supposed to mean something?”
Scar stares at me for a beat, not saying anything. Then she shakes her head. “Never mind.”
“I notice you haven’t mentioned his name since,” I say, changing the topic. “You just call him cousin.”
“That’s because if you speak his name, you’ll summon… well, you know the ending.”
I can’t help but laugh at this.
“Are you saying he’s the d?—”
“Shh,” Scarlet rushes to cut me off.
We look at each other and then burst out laughing.
“I like you,” I tell her. “I have a feeling we’re going to be fast friends.”
“Friends?” She looks down at her shoes. “I can’t say I’ve ever had any before. Not genuine ones, at least.”
My throat starts tingling.
“I never thought I’d have real friends ever.
I always believed there was something wrong with me,” I start, a ball of bleeding nerves bundling up in my stomach.
“But someone once told me that if you ever have a friend that’s willing to sit with you in the silence or suit up with you for war, then you’ve been blessed beyond measure in this life. ”
Scarlet looks at me seriously.
“I’ve long since dismissed that kind of hope,” she whispers. “But I can’t deny, somewhere in me is still a desperate little girl, wanting to pinkie swear with a close friend that we’ll be together forever.”
I realize then that there is more to Emmett’s cousin than meets the eye.
The sadness in her eyes is not really about not having friends, but there’s a sense of loss that comes for deep loneliness.
“Well, so long as you’re willing to be on my side and not your cousin’s, then I’ll dedicate my pinkie fingers to you.”
“Gosh, both of them?”
“Do you want the toes too?”
“Why not? Don’t tell me you’re stingy!”
Again, we laugh, giggling like teenagers.
For a moment, I forget all about Emmett, my misdeeds, marrying Vaughn, and what awaits me.
For a moment, guilt and pain make way in my chest so I can breathe a little.