4. Four
Four
Toni
Watching Xavi’s excitement crumble was excruciating.
I could tell the exact moment when it hit him that not only was I not alone, but it was Francis behind me.
We shared a look. In it were all the unlived plans for our summer together, like they were real, physical things, now turned to dust. I might be back here, physically close to Xavi, able to reunite with my friends who I had missed so dearly all year, but my brother’s presence will turn every bright spot in my life to darkness, including them.
With Mikhael and the town car still at my back, I could sense Francis’ menacing presence.
He came up behind me, far too close for comfort, his absurdly large frame towering over me.
At the small of my back I felt the possessive, overly hot press of his hand that made my stomach curl.
Knowing that Xav was watching it happen made it a thousand times worse, and shame threatened to bleed right through me.
To escape, I practically sprinted forward, right past the man who had been patient enough to wait a year to touch me again.
Now I was darting past him without even a word of greeting.
It was torture. My heart tore in two, like a knife cutting through the few shreds of joy I’d managed to find in the past year.
All I wanted was to reach for him and let him wrap his arms around me.
But any sign of affection, any hint that I cared even the slightest for the beautiful man in front of me would spell disaster.
At best, it would send my brother into a snarling fit of rage, and at worst, it would put Xavi’s life at risk.
It was a miracle Francis hadn’t already threatened him just for looking at me.
He had done it to more than one reporter in the last eight months since our forced family reunion.
Keen to get this day over with, or at least to create some distance from my twisted sibling, I lurched the heavy dining hall doors open and walked inside the full room.
I’m not sure what I expected, but normally camp meals are such restless, chaotic things that no one noticed a late arrival or two.
Tonight, though, heads turned and even the most hushed conversations stopped.
From the stage, Jack’s voice reached me, “Welcome back, Toni! Andddddd,” his eyes moved from me to the ominous shadow behind me, “Francis!” He said, delighted, “We’re so happy to have you join us! ”
With a smile, the director turned his attention back to the rest of the staff.
“Most of you know our Waterfront Director, An– I mean, Toni Barrett.” Hearing that last name come out of Jack’s month was like a bad movie flashback.
“But I’d like to introduce you all to our newest member of our staff, who’ll be running our new watercraft!
” His announcement was met with shocked faces and a ripple of surprise throughout the hall.
Ignoring the reaction, the director barreled onward, “Thanks to a generous gift from West Barrett Holdings, we’ve expanded our paddle sports program to include several new motorized watercraft. ”
This was obviously new information for all of us and caused me to sway slightly on my feet.
We had never had motorized boats at Agonde, and as far as I knew, Lake Ganawen was supposed to be a motor-free lake.
It was supposed to be paddle boats only, and strange as it might sound, this kind of change made me feel like I was losing the home of my childhood all over again.
I fought back tears at my own stupidity.
This had been my father’s plan all along.
He would never let any piece of my happy memories survive.
Everything about this stank of Franklin Barrett, once again toying with the puppet strings of my life.
For weeks leading up to today, my father let me believe that returning to Camp was his gift to me for a year of good behavior, for a year of following his orders, a whole fucking year of playing princess.
I shuddered. It had all seemed worth it for a chance at a summer of freedom.
A summer with Xav. After I had finally convinced him to tell me about Brennon during one late night call not long after he found me, I knew it would just be the two of us.
But he was more than enough for me, and the knowledge that I was headed back to him had joy brimming in my heart as I got into the black sedan this morning at 8 a.m. Then, Francis had wrenched the car door open and shoved himself inside.
He took up too much space and ate away at all the air in the back seat, making me feel overcrowded within seconds.
Once seated, he looked down at me with a vicious smile.
His blue eyes matched my own, only his were alight with sick pleasure at the way I trembled in fear beside him.
Planting his large hand too high on my thigh, he squeezed painfully.
“Move over, sis. We’re going to camp.”
The whole drive felt like our car ride from last August playing in rewind and I was locked in the backseat beside that monster for the duration.
Now, I was catapulted back to the present at the sound of my name being called.
“Toni! Over here!”
From the table closest to the stage, Abbi waved me over.
Bella smiled tightly from her right-hand side, while on her left, Mich eyed me with genuine concern.
I walked in their direction helplessly. I didn’t want to expose them to Francis, but I was desperate for the comfort of their company.
Especially since I couldn’t have Xav’s. Without looking anywhere past my friends, I slunk my way toward their table.
As I moved through the dining hall, I could feel the eyes of other staff members on me.
I tried not to worry about it, but the one time I looked up, Stephanie Carpenter caught my eye.
Last year’s queen bitch amongst the Sports Elite, known as the SEs, was this year’s junior staff.
And she looked at my miserable self with something close to downright glee as I sat down beside Michele.
Behind me, I heard a rough sound and Francis’ hard, “Move.”
I turned just in time to see Callum, the SE who’d been so polite last summer, land ass first on the floor as my brother shoved him out of the way, only to sidle up beside me and stare down at Cassie, one of the cabin leaders who had the bad luck to be sitting on the same bench as me.
Under his soulless stare, she squeaked softly and moved over, effectively squishing all the other girls around the table, to make room so Francis could sit beside me.
On my other side, I could feel wide eyes and raised brows from my friends as they watched my brother behave like the tyrant he was.
I briefly lifted my gaze to look at them, only to shake my head the smallest visible amount, silently begging them not to say a word about Francis’ shitty attitude.
Thankfully, they must have got the message, because the rest of the meal passed in only moderate discomfort.
I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything.
My hard-won curves and muscle from last summer vanished within weeks under my father’s strict rules.
Limited portions combined with the need to purge my brother’s touches from my system on a daily basis, and I was right back to being all ribs and sharp angles.
I doubted I would ever get them back at this rate, because being around my father or brother crushed any appetite I ever had.
As dinner plates were collected and taken to the dirty dish station, dessert trays covered in brownies replaced them.
Between the sweet treats, Abbi and Mich chattered away, updating me on their school years and their arrivals that morning.
Neither of them mentioned the guys, and they basically pretended my brother wasn’t present, either.
Only Bella maintained an unusual silence, and when I looked at her, she stared right back, her dark eyes somber, and shrugged her shoulders like it was nothing.
When dessert was finished, Jack issued a reminder about the opening campfire in a few hours’ time.
Unsure of what to do, I sat stock still at the table.
We had been so late getting here that I hadn’t had time to unpack or even to find out what cabin I had been allocated.
Mikhael, father’s driver, had promised to drop our bags off at the office before departing, so I knew I needed to head that way.
If only so I could make my bed. At this rate, crying into my pillow tonight was going to be the highlight of my day.
Beside me, Francis spoke in his typically demanding tone, “Let’s go unpack, Antoinette,” grabbing my forearm as he moved to stand.
“We’ll come, too.” Isabella stood, readying herself to follow us.
My brother practically bore a hole through his cheek, and I knew already, I was going to have to shield my friends from him. I turned to him and with a sickly-sweet voice, asked, “Please, Fran? The girls can help me with my stuff.”
His lips thinned, but he nodded, never releasing my arm.
His attention was so focused on me that he didn’t catch the raised eyebrows and concerned faces of my friends.
Instead, he nearly dragged me from the dining hall.
Moving through the dining hall behind him, my eyes darted around, furiously searching for any sign, for the feeling of warm hazel eyes on me.
I caught sight of Brennon, head down on the table like he couldn’t bear to look at me.
Of Cole too, grim-faced as his eyes narrowed on the spot on my arm where Francis’ fat fingers dug into my skin.
Only Xavi was absent. Not a sign of him in the building as we left.
Our almost-relationship was over before it even really got started.
I was sure seeing my brother grab all over me had turned him off forever.
Resigned, I trailed behind Francis with the girls as we headed to the office.