Chapter 47 Kieren
KIEREN
Present Day
“What the fuck is your problem?” I shout from my cushioned armchair at the sound of Jace slamming his bedroom door. Barrett and Harrison sit on the adjacent couch, the former meticulously rolling a joint, while I stare out into the hall as if she might walk through the doorway at any second.
“Fucking Christ,” I grumble, standing.
“Jace, open up,” I nag, pounding my fist against his door.
“Fuck off Kieren,” he shouts from inside.
“You do realize I have the master key that opens every bedroom in this fraternity, right?”
His door flies open. Jace storms past, refusing to make eye contact.
A gym bag is slung over his shoulder, and I’ve always admired that Jace chooses to sort out his demons by throwing weights around like a Neanderthal.
Personally, that seems like a lot of wasted effort and time to me.
Why opt to sweat like a pig with the rest of the general population when you could make all your troubles go away with one single pill?
I trail him down the hallway, already annoyed by his insubordination.
“I asked you a fucking question, Jace.” My hand lands on his shoulder.
“Back the fuck off, Kieren,” he yells, jerking his arm away.
“You find your bitch? Is that what this is about?”
He averts his eyes, and I know I’m right.
“Any sign of Monroe? That cunt probably put her up to it. She’s back, I can feel it.” My skin tingles at the mere thought of seeing my sweet puppy again.
Jace scoffs. “Let it go, Kieren.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let Monroe fucking go,” he snaps.
“You saw her, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t, but I’m sick and tired of hearing about her. Your paranoia is getting on my last fucking nerve.”
“Why isn’t Gabi here?” I demand.
“Why would she be?” he barks.
“Because I told you to bring her here. I’m done with her Scooby-Doo spying bullshit. I want her here, in a fucking cage, where she belongs, and if you aren’t man enough to collect her, I’ll do it myself.”
“If you fucking touch her,” he seethes, “I will break your goddamn neck.”
Crossing my arms, I shift my weight as I scrutinize him. “You’re getting fucking sentimental, aren’t you? Let me remind you that I’m the one in charge here. You forget how quickly I can bring you down.”
Jace laughs, and my wrath boils. “I’d like to see you try, you fucking pussy. And no, I’m not getting sentimental.”
“Then what’s this about, Jace? What happened?” I grumble.
“You happened,” he grits accusatively, jabbing a finger into my sternum. “You sent that video to Gabi, didn’t you?”
“What video?”
“Freshman year. The video of me from Sigma initiation; the video you told me didn’t exist.”
Ah, the video. The truth surfaces at long last. I pretend to think, but who am I kidding, of course I did. Jace was pulling away, and in no world was I going to let that happen.
“Jace,” I say with cruel smugness, “you were distracted. You were going to throw all of this away, abandon your duty to Sigma, for some fucking pussy. We couldn’t have that, now could we?”
His lips press together in a thin line, and I can’t help but grin.
“Hear me when I say this, Kieren, if you fuck with my life again, it will be the death of you. Once we graduate, I am done with you, done with Sigma, done with this entire fucking nightmare. I never want to see you, or anyone else from this godforsaken place, again.”
“Oh, Jace, you wound me,” I tsk. “Don’t worry, we won’t run in the same circles. You’ll be slumming it with the rest of the Wall Street finance grunts working for your daddy, battling it out for a paycheck. Unbearably mediocre, just like the rest of your family, feeding off my scraps.”
The scathing look he gives me makes me want to laugh. He’s trying so hard, but he knows I speak the truth.
“Off you go,” I shoo. “And do try not to get another staph infection. I’d hate for something unfortunate to happen to you right before the next Full Moon Ceremony.”