Chapter 56
SUTTON
It feels like encroachment to be in the apartment while Elle breaks down in front of her father. I want to stay and provide some comfort or soak up my own from her, but there are other matters I need to tend to first.
She’s safe with him, that much is obvious.
I most definitely am not.
Grabbing a change of clothes from my laundry, I pull on a coat and quickly exit.
Campus is still quiet this early, an eerie haze coating the cloudy air.
A text comes through my phone, requesting my presence in the Primordial Forest, and I take a deep breath, wondering what the hell my brother can possibly be up to at this fucking hour.
On my way, Quincy practically runs me over, spilling the latte she’s clutching on my shoe.
She opens her mouth as if to apologize but seems to think better of it when she notices who I am. “Oh,” she says, pushing her glasses up. “I didn’t see you there.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Good call asking your father to fly in by the way. I came to you for advice, not intervention.”
“Do you even understand what being the oldest sibling means?” she snaps. “You told me my sister was injured after I told you to stay away from her. Of course I called my dad.”
“Were you aware she’s been keeping things from him?”
Quincy’s face falls, and she shifts, working her jaw from side to side. “Well, everything comes to light eventually. I’m just helping her along. The sooner she owns up to her lies, the sooner she can move on with her life.”
Cocking my head, I study Quincy’s face, her ringed fingers brushing the bangs out of her lenses. She shifts, in constant motion, as if she doesn’t enjoy the speculation.
Everything comes to light eventually.
“You told the dean about us,” I say finally, slowly, processing each word as it leaves my mouth.
She doesn’t reply at first, her eyes narrowing further until they’re nothing but angry little slits. Her grip makes the cup in her hand buckle, more latte spilling out.
“I mentioned there was a professor who should be looked into,” she answers matter-of-factly. “I didn’t give specifics.”
“You sold your sister out. She was happy, and you tried to ruin it.”
The way she flinches when I say “tried” isn’t lost on me. An irritated, dangerous expression crosses her face, and she steps toward me, jabbing a finger into my chest.
“Look. I spent years keeping my mouth shut because I didn’t want to scare her away, and I didn’t want to keep watching people drain the life out of her.
I wanted her to get everything she dreamed of in Hollywood, and I…
” Quincy blows out a breath, shaking her head.
“Doesn’t matter. The past is moot at this point.
But I will be damned if I sit back and watch someone else take advantage of her, especially when I have the power to put a stop to it. ”
“I’m not trying to take advantage of her,” I say, shoving her finger away. “Why the hell can’t you understand that? Your sister is not the weak little girl you’re painting her out to be.”
“You barely know her.”
“No, you barely know her,” I shoot back, my own ire growing into a ball of fiery rage, incinerating the inside of my chest. “She got abducted and brutally beaten by one of our campus organizations last night, and she walked out of those caves. She stayed with me and never asked for you. I wonder why that is.”
Quincy’s eyes harden. She clenches her jaw tight.
“Maybe you’ve spent the last eight years thinking she was lost and afraid, and now you’re trying to distance yourself from the fact that you didn’t believe in her. Or perhaps you think you’re the reason she stayed away for so long.”
Her throat bobs as she swallows, looking at her feet.
Ah.
That’s it then.
Still, she says nothing.
“Getting her into trouble won’t repair whatever is broken between you,” I mutter, scrubbing a hand over my jaw. “Don’t use me as some scapegoat for your issues.”
“At least I tried to help my sister.” Her voice is low as I start to walk away, pausing as it reaches me.
“Did you?” I quip, cocking an eyebrow. Reaching into my coat, I pull out the journal from the other night, the one that revealed everything, and toss it at her feet.
“Let me know if you recognize that handwriting. If you need a refresher, might I suggest the sign-in logs of Erebus Hall during your time as an undergrad?”
She bends to pick up the journal, murder in her eyes.
“Maybe you’ll remember more than you think.”
Beckett’s standing at the edge of the quarry when I finally make it to him, and unease slithers into my stomach. He’s staring down at the lake, swinging a set of keys around his index finger, whistling jovially.
He looks more like the kid I recall—even from just a year ago, before our father sank his claws into his heart and tried to ruin everything. It’s the first time since his own cave incident that I can remember him smiling when he notices me approach.
“Oh good, I was worried you wouldn’t come.” The smile is lopsided, marred by scars, but I count it anyway.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, I heard your girlfriend was in pretty rough shape,” he says. “She should really be careful about the caves she wanders into. Or the high-rise offices out west.”
I give him a look. “You’re being awfully cryptic.”
“Maybe you’re just an idiot.”
Clearing my throat, I glance around the wooded area, kicking at some loose dirt on the ground. “I’m getting bored. If you’re trying to play mind games, you’ll need a different partner. I wanted nothing to do with Father’s, I certainly don’t want anything to do with yours.”
Is he going to admit what he did?
“I’m not doing anything,” Beckett insists, grabbing my shoulder. “Just making idle conversation with my big bro.”
I shake off his hold. “You seem different from last night. Did something happen?”
He drops his head back, groaning. “Did you badger Bellamy this much before you snuck out to go to that party with her, or did you just fucking go because she was your sister?”
“I went because she asked, yes.” A pause, regret solidifying in my chest, my heart. “But I wish I’d asked more. I wish I’d not taken the drink I was offered and stayed closer to her side. I wish for a lot of things, Beckett.”
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty.”
“Yeah, and Bellamy is dead. I can’t rectify any of that.
” Bending down, I look him in the eyes, though his dart around me to avoid direct contact.
“After you came close to a similar fate, I don’t want unspoken regrets hanging between us.
I’m your older brother. If something is wrong, tell me.
If you’ve done something bad, lean on me. Let me help fix it.”
I’m tearing a page from Quincy’s book, but whatever. She was right anyway. As the oldest sibling, my job is supposed to be making sure my brother and sisters are safe and taken care of.
Our parents certainly weren’t doing it.
I failed Bellamy, but I’ll be fucking damned if I lose Beckett to anything the same way.
Beckett runs his hands over his face, scratching at his skin as if frustrated. I take a step back as he lets out a series of disgruntled noises, rattling the trees with his ire.
“Why do you have to be such a Goody Two-Shoes?” He walks in a circle, his face still covered. “Most people would hate me after I nearly got their students killed and definitely after what I did to their girlfriend.”
He comes to an abrupt stop behind me at the same time the air grows thick around us. Slowly, I turn my head to meet his gaze.
“So you’re admitting it.” Each word is gritted through clenched teeth, dripping with malice.
“You knew?”
“Elle said she was attacked and brought to the caves. I had my suspicions.”
“And you’re still standing here, begging to help me?” He scoffs, incredulous. “You’re something else, Sutty. Truly the golden child. It’s a shame Father didn’t appreciate you more.”
“Tell me why you did it.”
“Father… I was just trying to make my father happy. I didn’t want him to die without satisfying his wishes, and I thought…I thought going along with it would make him proud of me.” His blue eyes grow heavy with tears, making him look so fucking young that it’s almost painful to see.
My father. For some reason, the distinction there feels odd, and I take a step back, trying to make sense of the sudden breakdown. Beckett’s spiraling out of control, and maybe it was only a matter of time, but I’m also not sure what to do about it.
We’re in the middle of the forest, where no one else will likely traverse for hours. If he hurts me—or worse, himself—I’m not sure how I’ll subdue him and protect myself at the same time.
Christ, I shouldn’t have come out. Should’ve had him meet me somewhere more populated, although then his meltdown would be witnessed by others. They’d judge him more than they already have, and that would just make everything worse.
I reach into my jacket for my phone, pausing as leaves rustle behind us, and the sound of them crunching suddenly grows closer.
“You’ve done a great job here, Beckett. Anyone would be proud of your loyalty to the Fury Hill founders.”
My blood runs cold at the addition of another voice. A familiar voice.
As Jean-Louis steps out from between the trees, my disgust with his existence resurfaces. He strolls forward casually, hands in the pockets of his suit pants, as sickly looking as ever.
“I should’ve known you’d be here. You never did like to manipulate from afar.” I glance at my brother, who’s no longer looking at me but at the ground, and force a laugh. “What’d he promise you this time, Becks? A spot in the Curators again? His love? Council favor?”
“Oh, please. Like it’d take that much convincing. He was already on board the moment I mentioned another Anderson would be joining our campus this semester.”
My blood runs cold. “What?”
“Dear, dear, did the slut not bother mentioning me? How we met when I had her kicked out of the Grandeur Playhouse production she was starring in because she’d slept with the director for that part?”