Page 13 of If You Fight

The memory of that night raced through my mind, leaving little to mention. Janelle had been drunk and just like that first party, she spent as much time falling into me as she did dancing. She also let her hands wander, grabbing my dick like she had the first time too.

Looking away to get a glance at Serena, I answered, “Yeah.”

I saw Serena and Oliver dancing nearby, the two of them barely touching one another and both of them looking miserable. I wanted to grab that husband of hers and dump Janelle on him so I could dance with Serena and bring a smile back to her face.

“You were still nursing a broken heart over my sister leaving, so nothing happened between us. But it could have if you weren’t so lost without her.”

I turned back to look at Janelle and saw her watching me carefully. “I didn’t realize you ever wanted something to happen between us. You are my sister, after all.”

She laughed at my attempt to use her father’s words against her. “That’s ridiculous, and you know it. You’re no more my brother than Oliver is. By the way, he hates you. Did you know that?”

I nodded, not wanting to act like that fact wasn’t well-known to even me. “I’ve heard.”

“He’s sure she’s in love with you. That’s why their marriage is in shambles. Have you heard that?”

Glancing over at Serena, I saw her walk away from Oliver, even though the music hadn’t stopped. Worried about her, I forgot what Janelle had asked me, but she grabbed my jaw and turned my head to face her again as I mindlessly moved my feet and pretended to dance.

“I think he’s got it all wrong, though. I think you’re the one in love with her. You can’t keep your eyes off her, Ryder. I wonder if she knows, though. Does she?”

“There’s nothing to know. I care about Serena like I care about you. That’s what family does,” I answered, staring straight down into her brown eyes as they watched carefully for any sign she was right about how I felt for her sister.

As the music began to fade away, she smiled and said, “I wonder how my father would feel if he knew how you felt about her. He’s very invested in that marriage working, Ryder, so I assume he’d be unhappy if anything upset that.”

I stopped dancing and shrugged. “Then maybe he should talk to his son-in-law and tell him how to treat his wife. Thanks for the dance, Janelle. It was a pleasure as always, even without you palming my cock.”

The mention of her copping a feel on my crotch made her smile, but I had nothing more to say to her. All I could think about was Serena and making sure she was okay.

Oliver stood at the bar downing a drink, so I hurried out to look for her. Passing a few guests who stood talking about some deal they wanted to make with Robert, I walked down the hallway and as I glanced into the kitchen, I saw her standing at the counter looking out the window into the courtyard.

“Not in a dancing mood?” I asked quietly so the people in the hall couldn’t hear me.

She turned around and wiped under her eyes. “Not with him.”

Stepping toward her, I took her hand in mine and instinctively looked around to see if anyone was nearby. “Did something happen? Are you okay?”

A look of pain settled into her beautiful face. “In front of my father, he pretends to be the comforting and loving husband, but when we’re alone, I can’t stand to be near him he’s so vicious.”

“What did he say? You look like you’ve been crying.”

Serena swiveled her head to look around for anyone who might see us and then tugged me toward the back of the house. “Nothing more than usual. He hates me as much as I hate him. Let’s go somewhere we can be alone.”

We hurried to the utility room at the end of the hallway leading out to the apartments, and I closed the door behind us, happy to finally be alone with her. She quickly wrapped her arms around me and lay her head on my chest, making me wish we never had to return to the party, Robert, Janelle, or Oliver ever again.

I held her to me and whispered against the top of her head, “Are you still sure you want to go through with this whole revenge plan of yours, Serena? Is it really worth it? You’re miserable, and every minute you have to spend with him…”

She looked up at me and frowned. “I know it’s hard on you. I know and I’m sorry. Just give me the chance to do this.”

“It’s killing me knowing you’re over there with him every night,” I said, barely able to hold back the rage inside me at how much I hated him for what he’d done. “That he thinks he got away with hurting you and killing…”

I couldn’t finish my sentence and looked away. I imagined he walked around their apartment like some fucking king who felt he had the right to do whatever the fuck he wanted and he’d never have to pay the price. I wanted to make him pay and pay dearly.

Serena kissed me softly on the lips and cradled my face. “I know. I promise it won’t be for long. I just need to do this, Ryder. I need to prove to myself that I’m strong enough. You can understand that, right?”

That I understood her need for revenge didn’t make it any easier to deal with him still walking around with that smug look on his face whenever I saw him. But I didn’t want to make her think I doubted her, so as much as I wanted to put an end to all of it with Oliver, I said nothing and pulled her to me.

“It won’t be for long. He’ll get what he deserves and that will be that. My father might even figure out it was him and do it for us,” she said against my chest.

Every day, I secretly prayed Robert would give me the order to take care of that fuck, but every day came and went and he never said a thing about whether he knew who had attacked Serena or not. And every day, Oliver continued to exist in the same world our child didn’t.

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