Revile

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

brISTOL

Can a man be more annoying than Beast has been for the past week?

He’s driving me insane. I mean, I can drive myself, but he’s refusing to let me drive my car.

He claims it’s a death trap in the making.

All week he’s driven me to work, escorted me to my office, came by at lunchtime, and picked me up in the afternoon.

My boss found this hilarious when he came in from court yesterday to find out what his brother had been doing.

I want to kick them both, but I can’t. I’d probably end up hurting myself in the process.

Every day he’s taken me home, the two of us ate dinner together, talked, and he’d make me laugh.

We’d end up on the couch, me snuggled into him while he laid on his back, me between him and the cushions.

Most of the time, we ended up making out.

He didn’t push further than that, like the first time when we’d been interrupted by my mother and sister showing up.

Afterward, he’d take me to the bedroom, where we’d sleep.

The one good thing about Beast sleeping next to me is that I haven’t had a nightmare. This I thought, was a good thing.

With all of that, I still feel completely confused by him.

What’s with the sudden change? I don’t get it.

When we first met, that friend line was drawn between us, and he made it known.

He knew that I wanted him, but because of the rules the club has, he never went there.

This, I got, doesn’t mean he didn’t baffle me with his flirting and then giving me the cold shoulder as well.

Now, he’s all about touching and being with me, yet there’s a part of him holding back. I can sense it. It’s in his eyes. The demons there still have hold of him, and I find myself wondering about what darkness lies within his mind.

Tonight’s a party at the clubhouse, and Beast informed me that we would both be going to it, but I hate to break it to him, I won’t be able to attend.

My dad called and invited me to dinner with him and Ben.

Said the three of us needed to talk about a few things and said my mother would not be in attendance.

I found this confounding, considering the dinner party is tomorrow.

“Bristol, do you have that file for this afternoon’s meeting ready?” Everett asks, drawing my attention from the screen to see him standing in the open doorway, leaning against the frame.

“Yes, it’s right here,” I answer, grabbing the folder he’s speaking of and handing it to him. “Also, I’ll be leaving early today if that’s okay.”

“My big brother picking you up like he’s done every day this week?” He smirks and steps forward to take the file.

“No, he doesn’t know I’ll be leaving early, and I’d like to keep it that way.

I’m being picked up by a car my dad’s sending for me,” I retort, refocusing on the computer screen and the schedule I was working on for next week.

I’m trying to stay ahead of schedule and make sure I’m ready for the next week.

“Sounds like that should be interesting.”

I’m not so sure of that. I want to know what my dad needs to talk to me about, but at the same time, it scares me. It could be about anything.

“Well, this should be interesting then.” Chuckling, he heads back to his office. “Have a good time, and I’ll deal with my brother. Maybe he’ll actually stick around to talk to me.” Closing the door behind him.

I stare at the closed door, wondering what he meant by that. Granted, Beast refused to even speak to my boss. He just hurried me out of there.

An hour passes by, and I close down my computer, grab my things, and make my way down to the front. I’m surprised to find my brother leaning against the back of a black Town Car.

“What are you doing here?” I ask once I’m close enough not to have to shout.

“Dad sent the car for me first at the office, we’re evidently riding together. Do you know what this is about?” Ben asks, his brow arches up and over his sunglasses.

“No, just that he wanted dinner with the two of us, and he would send a car for me this afternoon. You haven’t spoken to him?”

“Not really, it’s been busy at the office, and he hasn’t been in this week.

” Ben steps away from the car and opens the door for me to climb in.

He follows suit and closes the door. The moment the doors close, the car pulls away from the curb.

“So, tell me how you’ve been doing. How’s living in a house you bought and paid for without using the trust fund? ”

“I love my house, Ben, and I worked hard to get it. You knew I wouldn’t use the money in that account.

I also didn’t want to deal with Mom being her typical self, which she came to my house and did Monday night.

” Rolling my eyes, I cross my arms and settle into the seat cushions as the driver makes his way from my place of work to wherever he’s taking Ben and me.

“Oh, trust me, I heard about her coming over and you having a criminal in your house,” Ben snorts. “There’s something to be said about the way Mom acted and spoke. She was out of her mind, furious.”

“Good for her,” I mutter on a sigh.

“Yeah, Giselle called me to give me a heads up and warned me to keep Lexie away from Mom. She doesn’t know about the two of us yet.

Still thinks that I’m courting Vivian.” I’m surprised by the fact our sister called Ben and told him this.

Why couldn’t she have done this for me? Ben reaches for my hand and gives it a squeeze.

“Elle also told me what your friend said before leaving your house. She really wants to take him up on the offer, but she’s scared. ”

“Why?” I don’t get what she’s got to be scared about. She’d be free of the asshole she’s married to.

“That’s for her to share, Bris, but you know if you were to actually talk to her without looking at her like you were judging her, she might feel like she can talk to you.”

Ouch. That hurt.

“I can’t help it. The way she is with Mom . . . always by Mother’s side, with that husband of hers, constantly ridiculing me, how can I not judge?”

“I see your point as well,” he remarks. “It sucks being the middleman between the two of you. I hate what the woman is doing to both of you. Fuck, I don’t even care to be around the insufferable woman, but I do it to be able to check in on Elle. She can’t always call me. Ronnie monitors her calls.”

“Of course, he does,” I scoff. “He’s a dickhead with more than enough issues to go around.” Before Ben can speak further, the driver pulls into the driveway of a house I don’t recognize. “Where are we?” I ask as the driver comes to a stop.

“Don’t know but we’ll find out,” Ben says, opening the door.

As I slide out of the back seat, I spot my dad coming out of the front of the house.

“Ben, Bristol,” he calls out, arms open, a huge grin on his face.

“What’s going on here, Dad?” Ben demands, getting right to the point.

“That’s why I asked you both to dinner,” Dad remarks. “Come on in, dinner is on the table.”

I look to Ben, and he does the same. Neither of us speaks as we follow our dad into the house. It’s not a big house like the one he shares with our mom. It’s more homey, lived-in, cozy perhaps. It’s more like my house than anything.

The three of us take a seat at the table, and I’m surprised to find it’s all home-cooked food and not something prepared and served to us.

“Did you cook this?” I blurt without thinking.

“That I did.” Dad chuckles and starts filling his plate. “I needed to talk to you all, and I figured why not tell you all here.”

“You’re leaving Mom, aren’t you?” Ben asks, cocking a brow.

“I am.” Dad nods. “I filed the paperwork yesterday to get the ball rolling.”

“Isn’t she going to get half of everything?” I ask, worried about what’s going to happen to him. He doesn’t deserve to be put through a nasty divorce.

“Dad’s prenup covers him,” Ben answers for him, nodding. “Glad to hear you’re finally doing it.”

“Wait, I’m confused and feel like I’m missing something,” I state, waving my hands wildly in front of me.

“Your mother, when we got married, had to sign a prenuptial agreement, one my mother had drawn up, stating that if there were any reasons for divorce on your mother’s part, no matter the circumstances, she would not receive a penny from me.

That reasoning could be anything. You know your grandmother was ruthless and made sure to word the agreement so that I would win over her if it came down to it.

Your grandmother never really liked your mother as it were. ”

“Whoa.” I lean back in my seat and stare at my dad, finding it hard to believe what I’m hearing. “So, you’ve moved out of the house. Are you giving it to her?”

“It’s the only thing I’ll allow her to have. She won’t be getting a dime from me. The only money she’ll have is from whatever she has that isn’t connected to me. I won’t be giving her anything.”

“What’s the reasoning you’re using?” Ben asks.

“I’m using the fact that she’s screwing around on me and trying to access control over Bristol’s trust fund, claiming she’s not of the right mind, which is total bullshit.”

“I’m sorry?” I swear I must not have heard him correctly.

“Tell me you’re joking,” Ben sneers.

“Afraid not.” Dad sighs, taking a bite of the fluffy mashed potatoes. “I got a call from one of the other firms to inform me. After I hung up, I made a call to JE Boise.”

“You called my boss’s dad?” I gasp, eyes wide.

“I did.” He nods, giving me a sad smile. “But that’s not the JE Boise I’m speaking of. You know him as Beast.”

“How do you know Beast?” My dad seems to be full of surprises today.

“I went to school with his father and knew exactly who your mother was ranting about. I called JE, and he gave me his son’s number. In fact, he should be here at any time now.”

Oh my God. He can’t be serious.

“You told him to come here?” I utter, trying to breathe.

“I did. If we’re going to protect what’s rightfully yours, we need all hands on deck, and that includes Beast and anyone else he brings along with him,” Dad states and looks to Ben.

“And before you ask, the reason I didn’t just tell you to drive over here is because I don’t know if your mother is having you watched.

She’s clearly going out of her mind, and I’m protecting you the best way I can. ”

“What about Giselle?” I whisper.

“That’s being taken care of,” Dad remarks, nodding.

“As we speak, she should also be on her way here. When I spoke with Beast, I asked him to see to getting my other daughter safely away from her abuser.” The grimace that crosses his face hurts me.

“I’ve not done right by the three of you by allowing your mother to control so much.

But I intend to fix all of that the best way I can.

Your sister called me and said she needed help.

Told me that Ronnie beat her for the last time, she couldn’t take it anymore.

She asked if I could talk to you about getting your friend to help her.

I went ahead and asked him myself while I spoke to him. ”

Guess that would explain why he wasn’t at the office during lunch today.

All of this is a lot to take in, and my head is reeling right now.

Sitting back in my chair, I allow all this information to sink in. Everything in my world is changing, and I don’t know how to handle it all.

The rest of dinner is done in silence, all of us waiting, allowing everything to set in.

My stomach tightens, thinking about seeing Beast again.

Here I thought he, and I would be arguing later when I got home.

Instead, my dad asked for him to help with our family issues, and that’s not something that I thought would ever happen.

Why would he do that? This whole situation is more than I can handle right now.

Finding out everything I have so far, my dad leaving mom, Giselle finally leaving Ronnie, and, of course, my mom trying to claim I’m not in the right frame of mind. God, I can’t handle anything else, but I’ve got a feeling there’s more to come.