23. Chapter 23
Chapter twenty-three
Tai
"H ey, asshole!"
My fingers hover over the keyboard, pausing as footsteps storm into my bedroom.
"Hello to you, too," I grin without glancing over.
Soph slams her hand down on the end of my desk before using her foot to kick my chair and spin me around.
Sighing, I lean back lazily. "If Calvin ate your shoes, I already warned you not to leave them out. You have no one to blame but yourself."
She glowers at me. "Did you end up taking your biology book back to school?"
"Yes, why?" I ask slowly, narrowing my eyes in suspicion at the question. Well, there's nothing suspicious about it to be fair. Twin telepathy and all. For example, right now, I know Sophia is pissed at me because she realizes I may have used her in a ploy.
"Did you accidentally leave it behind or were you just being an asshole?"
"You're gonna have to be more specific," I joke. "Tell me more about this asshole behavior."
Soph scans my face for a second before kicking the seat—right in between my legs. Yelping, I cover my balls, pushing the chair back into the desk to put some distance between us. Because that was likely just a warning. All's fair in love and sibling rivalry. She has no qualms with putting me on my ass.
"You lied to me for one of your stupid games," she scowls. "I told you to keep me out of your business with Rylan and Hunter."
Crossing my legs—for protection, of course—I fold my arms while holding eye contact. "Did dear Bexley tell you that?"
"Why do you all have to be such assholes? Seriously. Destroying her books? That's low, even for you."
"It's just business, Soph. Chill."
When she steps closer, I automatically cover my junk.
"Mom raised you better than that," Soph says. And now I'm annoyed.
Standing up, I tower over my twin, glancing down at the freshly dyed hair. She did mine on the weekend too, putting a new silver toner through it. Though I think that was just to draw my attention away from the fact that she stained my favorite towel. Yes—favorite towel. Everyone has one. And don't think I didn't notice, Sophia Louise Beckett.
"Soph," I warn with a hardened expression. "Don't drop the M word at me. Besides, what are you doing hanging around with Cedar trash?"
"Trash?" she laughs dryly. "You three are miserable ball sacks. Seriously, do you know how embarrassing it is watching how the Willowbrook students act at school? Since when do you care about shit like that at school? The Cedar students haven't even done anything."
I raise an eyebrow. "You don't know the full story, sis. Bexley isn't as innocent as she seems. Don't be fooled by her attitude and charm."
There's nowhere to go when she steps into me, hair tickling my nose as she flicks me in the forehead with her fingers.
"Ow!"
"Idiot."
Soph spins around and heads toward the door, shoving her middle finger into the air. "I like Bexley, Tai. And now she probably thinks I'm just like you."
"You have plenty of friends at Willowbrook. You don't need her approval," I call out, making me pause in the doorway.
She turns, glaring at me. "Do you know how nice it is hanging with someone who doesn't give a shit about their nails or reality TV? Someone who doesn't judge me for running like a D-list actor in a horror movie. If you involve me again, I'll tell Mary."
"Oh, come on," I groan. "Leave Mary out of it."
Soph knows she has hit a sore spot. I couldn't care less what our father thinks about me, but Mary? She thinks I radiate sunlight and lollipops. But she's also not afraid to scold me if she finds out I've been up to no good.
"Leave me out of your scheming or next time I'm turning your hair bright orange like the clown you are, asshole."
"Since when do you want a running buddy?" I groan, barely able to keep up with Ry as we run along the pathway.
When Ry asked me to meet up for an afternoon jog, I assumed that was code for beers or something— not actual running . What the fuck?
I can't give Soph shit for running like a drunk baby deer, because my workouts are strictly contained to weights. But right now, it's near embarrassing how little stamina I have compared to Ry, especially when he chose the scenic route.
Thankfully, we're just running the public track near the edge of the mountains, not up the path that weaves through the caves to the canyon. They would be carrying my carcass back down in a body bag if that was the case.
"Needed to talk," he replies, not out of breath at all. Psycho.
"We won't get much talking done if we're running," I wheeze back, relieved when he stops.
Rylan turns, shoving his hands into his gym shorts. "Fine. Happy?"
"Much better," I grumble, hunching over. "What is this about? Besides torturing me for your gratification."
"I fast-tracked the warehouse renovations," he says, smirking at my hunched frame.
Rolling my eyes, I straighten up. "This could have been an email or text message. Besides, why tell me and not Hunter too? He should be here for the torture-fest."
"Hunter won't like what I have to say."
I cock an eyebrow, amused. "To be fair, we kind of anticipated that she'd get the better of you with negotiations."
Rylan scowls at me. "That's not what I meant. And she didn't. We came to a mutual understanding."
"Meaning, your dick got the better of you," I laugh, freezing when his eyes widen slightly. "Wait—please tell me you didn't."
Silence falls between us, and I narrow my eyes, expecting the, "Ha! Got you." But it doesn't come.
… But Rylan did.
"Please tell me you didn't sleep with Spencer," I grimace. "I knew you were getting friendly, but come on, man—that's crossing the line."
"I don't know where the line is anymore," he admits firmly.
I stare at one of my oldest friends, trying to decipher what's going on in that head of his. Ry is right though—Hunter wouldn't like this at all.
To him, Spencer is still the enemy. And he hasn't forgiven Ry yet for forcing us into a truce.
As for me, I'm completely bewildered. First Sophia, and now Rylan. Spencer has managed to dig her claws into everyone around me.
"I should have known," I say lightly, trying to break the tension. "After all, you've taken up the habit of stalking her."
A pained expression crosses Ry's face. "Takes a stalker to know a stalker. But about that—I don't think we're going to be on friendly terms anymore."
I nod. "Because of her mother?"
He looks at me, surprised. "You know?"
Shrugging, we move out of the way as some joggers pass by. "After I checked the hospital footage, I did a quick search of her name in the system. Nothing on Bexley, but there was a patient there with the same surname."
"Her mom," Ry answers, confirming what I already know.
Despite the desire to know everything, I didn't delve too much into the personal information. It wasn't relevant and even I have boundaries I won't cross.
"Hunter's going to flip his shit."
"We're not going to tell him," Ry says.
My eyebrows shoot up into my ashy headline. "You can't keep secrets, Ry. It's bound to come out."
"I'll tell him—eventually. But right now, we need to figure out how to handle this. I'm going to speak to Dad to find out how the repairs are going at Cedar Heights. We need to get things back to normal as soon as possible."
"I can agree with that. Sophia already chewed me out for destroying Spencer's books."
Rylan gestures for me to walk with him as we start to head back toward the parking lot of the mountains. "Think Sophia would do me a favor?"
Fighting back a smirk, I shake my head. "If it's to do with Spencer, fat chance."
He sighs. "Fuck."
"So, circling back for a moment. When will the warehouse be finished?" I ask, ignoring the overwhelming curiosity at this so-called favor.
"We can fight this weekend," Ry answers. "And I'm getting in the cage."
That almost makes me pause, but instead, I keep walking, giving him a frown. "Things that bad?"
It's been ages since Rylan has jumped into the cage. It always coincides with his need to let out steam—usually when his dad is riding his ass.
"Yeah," he confesses. "And things are going to get worse. I need your help keeping Hunter under control."
"He won't go rogue," I say confidently. "But if he finds out what you did, you'll likely find yourself in the cage with him."
A smirk appears on his face. "No complaints here. An actual challenge is what I need right now. Someone to make me work for it."
Shaking my head, I snort. "Dividing us right now is going to cause nothing but trouble. You need to push her away. Whatever drama is going on, let it unravel on its own. Let Cedar Heights implode among themselves. We can still remain amicable but separate from the mess. It will help to keep control and pick up the ruins. We might even be able to make some of them fall into line."
When he doesn't respond, I glance over at him. Whatever is eating at him is starting to bleed through the cracks, and he knows as well as I do, that we need to keep doing damage control.
If shit is happening in the ranks of Cedar Heights, it will give us the perfect opportunity to capitalize on their weaknesses. But for whatever reason, Rylan seems hesitant.
Doesn't he realize that she's the one causing a rift between us? This is probably some ploy to separate us, to make us appear vulnerable.
Don't get me wrong, the whole situation sucks for her. I'm not sure what Rylan sees in her, but whatever she is going through, he needs to keep out of it. But given the look of concentration on his face, nothing I've said has gotten through to him.
Great. We're screwed.
Spencer has him by the balls and unless we do something, we're all in trouble.
Maybe I do need to go to Hunter. Of course, I'm not going to say anything about Rylan—his secrets are safe with me. But right now, we need a clear-headed approach. And if we have the opportunity to seize back power, we need to take it.
Rylan will thank me later.
He just has to rid himself free from Spencer's grasp before she poisons him.
"I'm getting sick of all these change of plans without the three of us consulting together."
Hunter glares at me, and if I were anyone else, they'd be cowering. But instead, I throw him a wink.
"Or are you just annoyed that I had a good idea, and you didn't think of it first?" I tease.
He snorts. "Be careful with that audacity, T. It's not as bulletproof as you think it is."
"Can you make it happen or not?"
"Of course I can," he replies. "But I'm still not completely sure why this is the best course of action."
Shrugging, I squat down and scoop up a crispy leaf, crushing it in my palm. The Ridgeview Park is fairly deserted. Only a few people are still around, getting their nighttime walks in before the sun fully sets.
After my little chat with Ry, I decided we needed to speed up things. The longer this drags out, the more damage Spencer is going to cause.
"Keep your enemies close," I tell Hunter. "Besides, I think it would be a good idea for Ry to take a step back."
As usual, Hunter doesn't miss anything. His brow twitches in annoyance. "Agreed. He's acting weird lately and I don't like it. Those renovations are going to set us back."
"There's something else as well," I pause, leaning against a bench. "The repairs at Cedar are still a while off. Rylan is going to find out if they have a more definitive timeline for completion. But I think we need to look into the fire."
He frowns at the suggestion. "It's not our problem, T."
"Except they made it our problem when Cedar had to merge with us. Whoever started that fire had motive. I want to make sure that it's not for our detriment."
Hunter considers the proposal, and a series of emotions flash across his face. I've got him on board before he even says the words.
"Fine," he begrudgingly agrees. "But you're the one who's going to have to deal with the new arrangement."
Grinning, I kick off from the bench, heading toward the parking lot. "That's okay with me. I think it's about time I find out what makes Spencer tick and why she has everyone in a choke hold."