Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
My fingers reach for the shirt, buttoning it from the bottom one, all the way to the top.
The tattoo on my chest is still in the healing process, but the flesh isn’t nearly as red as it was during the first two days.
With a sigh, I button the shirt completely, adding a deep blue tie that my mother insisted I wear for tonight.
The blazer follows suit, and I take a final glance in the mirror. I put on the shoes, then leave my bedroom, the door closing behind me. Mom and Dad are waiting in the entrance area, with Dad tapping his foot against the marble floors impatiently.
“Where the hell is Astrid?” Dad’s voice carries through the home, and I shrug as I step closer to them.
“She’s getting herself and Nina ready. You know what she’s like, it’ll take her an hour.”
Dad groans, rubbing his face. Mom chuckles in response. “I’ll go and check on them.”
“And hurry up,” Dad adds. “We’ll be late!”
“Do we care about being late?”
He gives me a pointed look. “It’s your mother’s fault we’re going at all. If it were me, I’d prefer spending time at home.”
“Why are we going, again?”
“Because your mother had no better things to do than try to get into a verbal spat with Valeria Sloane. And she fell for the provocations, too. So, now, we’ll have to go, and smile through this god-awful night.
If one good thing can be drawn out of this, it’s that we’ll get an opportunity to speak to a lot of important people. ”
I keep my mouth shut and nod instead. I know that the reason we’re in this mess is because of me. It’s only after I’ve seen the damage to my family’s reputation that the tape has caused that I truly started regretting getting involved with Ellie in the first place.
The first night I came home after Sophia leaked the tape was a nightmare. Everyone was shouting, blaming everyone and everything. I can’t even imagine the havoc my mom would wreak if she knew it was Sophia who leaked it.
Though, it doesn’t matter anymore. Dad’s been able to do a lot of damage control, which I think isn’t what Sophia wanted. She went nuclear, and she’d hoped to see bigger, worse consequences.
“Finally,” Dad sighs, straightening up and smoothing his tie.
I turn around to spot Mom, Astrid, and Nina walking down the stairs. Astrid and Nina are matching in color, and hairstyle. But the little one is so giggly and bubbly that it instantly warms my heart.
When she spots me, she runs straight towards me, ignoring mom’s warnings to be careful. I bend down, picking her up and plopping her against my hip. Her hands come to my cheeks, and she giggles.
“Hi, there, Bubbles.”
She giggles again. “Hi! You look very pretty!”
“Not as pretty as you,” I kiss her forehead. “Shall we go?”
Dad nods, and opens the door. The cold weather from outside hits immediately, and I rub my hand over Nina’s back, trying to keep her as warm as possible. Two cars are waiting in the driveaway, one for Astrid and me, the other for Mom, Dad, and Nina.
“Come, sweetheart,” Dad extends his arms for Nina. She only huffs and turns her head away, holding me tighter.
“It’s fine,” I chuckle. “She can ride with us.”
“Be careful with her.”
I roll my eyes and open the door of the car. Nina crawls into the middle seat, struggling to get into the car seat, with Astrid and me on each side of her. I chuckle, buckling Nina up in her seat, making sure everything’s secure and strapped properly.
As soon as the car hits the road, Nina busies herself with the glitter in her dress, chatting mainly to herself, playing around. Astrid, on the other hand, turns to look at me, giving me a scrutinizing glare.
“Are you going to behave tonight?”
“Knock it off, Astrid. I’m not a child.”
“Yes, but you also do very childish things. The last thing we need right now is for you to act out.”
I clench my jaw, looking out the window. “You should be focusing on yourself and your little dalliances.”
Although I’m not looking at her, I can physically feel her go rigid. She’s silent for a couple of moments, and I flick my eyes to meet hers. She’s like a deer in headlights, unsure of what to say.
“Uh, what?”
“Uh, what?” I repeat her words, mockingly. “I know you’ve been seeing a certain someone you’re not supposed to be seeing.”
Astrid’s eyes go wide.
I love my sister, but she’s not the best at keeping secrets.
Especially when it’s something as big as this.
She’s always told me the smallest details of her life, and the only reason I can think of for being so secretive this time around is that the man in question is either one of my friends or someone she’s really not supposed to be seeing.
If it’s one of my friends, it’s not Kenzo. That one has been obsessed with Grace for years, and I highly doubt an obsession as great as that would just diminish.
“How did you know?” She breathes out.
“I know you like the back of my palm.”
She bites the inside of her cheek. “Are you mad?”
“Mad? No.”
She blinks, then leans back a little, looking me up and down a handful of times. “You are not mad? Are you sick?”
“Why would I be mad? You’re old enough to make your own decisions.”
“Yeah, but it’s Sawyer Sloane.”
My entire body goes rigid, and it’s as if someone has dropped an entire bucket of iced water over my body. Slowly, I drag my eyes away from Nina, taking them back to Astrid. Instantly, she realizes her mistake — and her face pales.
“You… what?” I breathe out, trying to keep my rage at bay. “Have you fucking lost it?!”
“Heh, Soren said a bad word,” Nina said, looking up, giggling.
“I’ll give you a cupcake for breakfast tomorrow if you don’t tell Mom and Dad.”
She grins. “With extra sprinkles?”
“Fine, with extra sprinkles,” I kiss the top of her head, then turn back to Astrid. “Seriously, Sawyer?”
“You said you knew!”
“I thought it was someone like Aiden!”
Astrid gags. “I’d rather die alone than ever touch that manwhore. I wouldn’t touch him, even with a ten-foot pole.”
“That’s beside the fucking point,” I hiss, hands clutching into balls on my lap. “Are you insane? Sawyer? Out of everyone in this world?”
“He’s so good to me.”
“I don’t give a shit, Astrid,” I hiss. “Do you understand what this means? The moment Sophia finds out about this, she’ll fucking ruin you!”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m not scared of Sophia, Soren.”
“Are you really that stupid? The girl smashed my knee with a sledgehammer, and leaked my sex tape because I messed with her grades! What do you think she’ll do to you when she finds out you’ve been seeing her brother?”
Astrid pauses. “She was the one who leaked it?”
“Not the point,” I groan. “What about Mom and Dad, Astrid? They’ll kill you if Sophia doesn’t get you first.”
She looks down at her lap. “I know it will disappoint them. I know, Soren. But…”
“No buts,” I cut her off, voice harsher than needed.
Astrid flinches because I’ve never spoken to her in such a manner before.
Guilt fills me, but this needs to be done, and I’ll do all the apologizing later on.
“End it with Sawyer before anyone finds out. If you don’t, I’ll be the one telling Mom and Dad. ”
Her eyes widen. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would, and I will. There’s too much at stake here, Astrid. Our families have been on terrible terms for generations, and no matter how much you’re living in a fairytale world right now, nothing good will come out of this. Think about this, and then end it.”
Astrid swallows down her tears and looks away from me.
I focus on Nina for a while, still feeling the blood boil in my veins.
I know I’m being the biggest fucking hypocrite for telling her to end things with Sawyer, when I fucked Sophia not too long ago, but Sophia and I don’t have any emotional attachment.
And I’d rather fucking die than get attached to her.