12. Lucas
12
LUCAS
Rage robbed me of speech as I stormed out of the bathroom. I’d heard the loud knock, Tori’s scream, and the arrogant words that followed. Kyle was standing in front of Tori’s bed, and I grabbed his arm and yanked him out into the hallway, fury providing fuel. I couldn’t even look at Tori—she’d come here seeking a safe space and I’d let this asshole barge in on her.
I dragged Kyle toward the kitchen. He took a few hasty steps to keep his balance.
Jayden appeared behind him, wearing only boxers and rubbing his eyes. “Jesus, where’d he come from?”
“He just burst into Tori’s room,” I growled.
“ My room,” Kyle corrected with a smirk.
Jayden swore under his breath and squeezed past us in the hallway to Tori’s room. After taking a quick peek inside, he pulled the door shut. God knew what she was thinking in there. To go from a dead sleep to this asshole standing there—she’d never feel safe in this house again.
Or with me.
Kyle shook my hand off and strode into the kitchen. He made a beeline for the coffeemaker, as if he still lived here. The anger coursing through my blood was making it hard to speak, but then Jayden joined us. “Dude, seriously—what the hell were you thinking?”
“What? It’s my room.” Kyle kept repeating that as if it was adequate justification for scaring Tori to death.
“You haven’t stayed in it since the beginning of summer, fuckface.” Jayden looked as worked up as he ever got. “She tutored you. She helped you. And you return the favor by scaring the shit out of her?”
Kyle scoffed. He was wearing a black t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. He leaned against the counter, placing the sole of one shoe flat against the cabinet door. “Hey, I knocked first, didn’t I?”
Fuck this guy. Tori’s shriek of shock echoed through my mind. “Is she okay?” I asked Jayden, and he nodded.
“What’s she even doing here?” Kyle demanded. “How did either of you get a girl like that to move in with you?”
Jayden’s eyes narrowed, and I knew it wasn’t the insult he was angry at. “She’s here because her last roommate was a creep who planted a fucking camera in her bedroom. We got her away from that asshole—only to let a different asshole barge in on her while she was in bed.”
“What?” The smug look faded from Kyle’s face. “Shit, that’s fucked up. I hope you beat the crap out of him.” He addressed his words to Jayden, as if he was the only one of us capable of defending Tori.
Kyle’s low-watt brain might not remember that I could throw a punch, but his jaw probably did.
“What’s going on?”
We all turned at the sound of the soft voice. Tori had on an oversized sweatshirt and leggings. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she hugged her arms to her chest. She looked from face to face with wide eyes.
“Hey, sorry I scared you,” Kyle said. He sounded like he meant it, but it was only because of what Jayden had revealed about Tori’s former roommate. Otherwise, he’d still be strutting around, proud of himself for riling everybody up.
Her dark brown eyes focused on him. “Why are you here?”
“You told me to come,” Kyle said, and I gaped at Tori in complete shock.
She looked just as surprised. “What? No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did. You said I needed to get my laptop, and this is where I saw it last.”
“It’s here? I-I don’t understand.” Tori looked completely and utterly confused, but I couldn’t think of the right words to make any of this make sense.
Kyle glanced my way, but I kept my gaze on Tori.
Finally, Jayden spoke up. “They’re stepbrothers.”
“What?” Her eyes flashed between me and Kyle, as if trying to spot some similarities between us—which wasn’t how stepsiblings worked, but maybe she was still trying to process everything. Hell, she was probably still trying to fully wake up.
“My dad married his mom when we were in high school,” Kyle said. He left out the part about how it was his idiot father’s third marriage. My dad had died when I was a boy, and my mom had been single for years—until she met his father at a fundraiser at our school. Things moved quickly after that. “Our parents bought this house so we’d have a place to stay while we’re at Langley.”
“But don’t you live at a fraternity?”
“He does.” For Tori’s sake, I made an attempt to keep the snarl out of my voice. “Since the beginning of summer—until he conveniently showed up twelve hours after finding out you were staying here.”
Tori’s brow wrinkled with concern as she looked up at Kyle. “Well, if it’s your room, I should?—“
“I don’t mind sharing,” Kyle said with a wink at her. “Unless you hog the covers.”
Before his words could fully settle in my mind, I was striding across the kitchen toward him.
Jayden inserted himself between us at the last second. He looked angry, too, but all he said was, “Let’s take this out on the front porch.”
Kyle smirked. “Are you going to make me? Because if so, firstly, it’s not going to work. Secondly, you’d have to find the balls you lost years ago.”
Jayden didn’t rise to the bait, but then again, he didn’t have the same history with my loser stepbrother as I did.
“I think Tori has seen enough pointless displays of testosterone for one morning.” Jayden’s voice hardened. “Out on the porch, both of you.”
Tori’s eyes were wide as she stared at us.
Kyle shot her a smug look. “See you soon.”
I managed to keep my temper in check until we were out on the porch. Then I shoved Kyle hard, my hands on his chest, and watched with a certain amount of satisfaction as he had to slam his hand against the front wall of the house to keep his balance.
But that didn’t wipe the arrogant look from his face.
“You been working out?” he taunted.
“Enough to beat your ass.”
He gave me a mocking look, clearly not scared, and I struggled to get my anger in check.
Jayden stepped between us once again. “Just say what you need to say and then get the hell out of here, Kyle.”
Kyle shook his head. “I live here. You two are supposed to be smart—seems like you could remember that.”
I glared at him, but I forced myself to take a deep breath. Anger hadn’t ever been my best weapon against him. “We all know you only came here to piss me off.”
“He pissed both of us off,” Jayden said, still in just his boxers. “He’s that good.”
“Is it possible that I might like this girl?” Kyle asked. “You sure do.” That last part was aimed at me.
“You don’t know anything about me anymore.”
“Bullshit. You look at her in the same pathetic way you used to look at Natalie.”
I saw red and slammed my chest into his like a goddamn ape—something I’d never done in my entire life. “Don’t you ever mention her name again. Ever .”
Jayden gave a low whistle as he stared at Kyle. “That was low, dude. Even for you.”
Kyle held up his hands like it didn’t matter. Like Natalie hadn’t mattered. And she hadn’t—to him, anyway. “That’s ancient history, bro.”
“It happened a year and a half ago,” Jayden pointed out.
Kyle ran a hand through his hair. “So what, you two are going to protect Tori’s virtue like nerdy guard dogs?”
“She’s had a rough time of it,” Jayden said. “She need somewhere she could feel safe. That’s what we gave her—until you showed up.”
“Are you sure that’s what she needs? Maybe she’s not the delicate flower you think she is. Maybe she needs a real man, not two little old ladies coddling her.”
Jayden shook his head, and this time, I refused to rise to the bait. “Go back to Frat Row.”
“It’s too noisy there,” Kyle said flippantly. “I do homework and shit now, or hadn’t you heard? You should respect that. Don’t forget, her grade is tied to mine.”
“What?” I exchanged a shocked look with Jayden, but I’d digest that information later. “You wouldn’t have set foot back here all semester if you hadn’t found out she was here.”
Kyle shrugged with an easy smile I wanted to knock from his face. “This house is half mine. And that’s my room, so it’s time for me to reclaim it. I already let the boy wonder stay in it for months.”
Jayden gave him a look filled with dislike. “You were fine with taking my rent money.”
“That’s right,” Kyle said, a gleam in his eye. “Watch how you speak to your landlord, son.”
“It’s half my house too,” I reminded him.
“You can have as many people as you want in your room, but mine belongs to me, and I get to say who stays there.” He slammed his shoulder into mine as he strode past me to the front door. “So you’re just going to have to deal with that, bro. And so will she.”
Jayden and I stared at each other after he went back inside, both of us glum. This was the last thing either of us needed, but that wasn’t what concerned me the most.
It was Tori. One way or another, I was going to keep my stepbrother from making her life as miserable as he did everyone else’s.