Page 95 of Drifting

CHAPTER TWENTY

I wake up a few hours later to a commotion in the hall.

“Leaf me alone. I can mmmake it my ’elf.” Hannah slurs loudly, followed by the sound of her body bouncing against the walls as she makes her way down the hall.

A moment later, a door slams shut, followed by a loud crash.

Shit, I better go see if Nick needs some help.

Rolling out of bed, I open my door to find Nick standing in the hallway with his head against the wall. “Guess it didn’t go too well?”

He rolls his eyes at me and lets out a hard breath. “You have no idea. It took all of us to watch over her, and she still got blitzed.”

I step closer to him, placing my hand on his shoulder, squeezing. “Do you need me to help you do anything with her?”

Hannah swears, followed by another crash, then the sound of vomiting.

As Nick pushes the door open, I cover my nose. It’s not a pretty sight. “Nick, it’s time to call your dad. She’s going to need someone to watch her all night. She might even have alcohol poisoning.”

He releases a profound sigh, tapping the wall. “You’re right, I’ll call them. Mav and Dom are outside. They need to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to see Mav,” I say honestly.

“I can’t explain what was up with Mav tonight, but he needs to talk to you. Trust me, you’re gonna want to hear what he says.” Nick glances into his sister’s room, where she’s now passed out on her bed. He pulls out his phone and dials. “Go, please.”

As I head down the hall toward the front door his voice drifts after me. “Dad, you need to come home. Hannah snuck out and went to a party. We tried to keep her from drinking, but…”

Stepping outside, I slowly head toward the driveway.

When Mav sees me rounding the house, he meets me, pulling me into a tight hug.

Part of me wants to stay in his arms all night. I feel complete when he’s near, but what he did tonight, I won’t stand for. I stiffen, wiggle my way out of his embrace, and head over to the back of Nick’s truck, where the tailgate is already down.

Their Jeep is parked next to it in the driveway, and Dom leans against the side in his usual pose, arms crossed. He gives me a half-smile and a nod.

“Shelby, you have to believe me,” Mav says as he chases after me. “I didn’t do anything with her. I swear, cross my heart. I’m sorry I got a tad jealous. I told you I was all right with you being with the other guys, and I am, but tonight, I did something amazing, and I wanted to be with you. I wanted your attention and—”

“When you didn’t get it, you went looking for attention elsewhere.” I finish for him, shaking my head. “That’s why this won’t work. It’s only been a week, and you’re already jealous. And who got hurt? Me.”

Mav lifts me and sets me on the tailgate before placing his hands on either side of my face. “Please, don’t say that. I beg you. Please, just listen to me. God, you have to be cold.” He takes off his Knight sweatshirt and tugs it over my head, then helps put it on me.

I cringe at the smell of stale beer coming from it.

Mav sits beside me, rubbing his hands down his jeans. “I’ve always been a kid who needed a lot of love. Even from a young age, I felt very insecure about myself. My dad thought Mom babied me too much, but he wasn’t around. He was always off creating the newest and greatest tech thing. It was just Mom and me; I was her world, and she was mine. I was five when she passed away in an accident. A week after we buried her, Dom and his mom moved in. Later on, we found out Dad had mistresses everywhere. Katherine, Dom’s mom, was the only one with balls enough to move in and take over, though.

“Katherine had goals, and those goals were to do whatever she had to get and keep the Knights’ fortune. She treated me like the plague. To her, I was the oldest child and would inherit everything. Katherine would lock me in my room and leave me there for days. The servant always snuck me food. Dom’s and my history is whacked out. At first, Dom and I didn’t get along at all.”

Dom huffs. “I hated the needy little shit. I had my own problems. I was being pushed to be better, look better than him, play better than him. I couldn’t see what my mother was doing to me. I needed to blame someone for my problems, so I put it all on Mav. Neither of us knew we were just pawns in her crazy mind.”

Mav scratches the back of his head. “I went downhill around seventh grade. I acted out, having sex, doing drugs, anything to make me feel special. I had friends, good friends. Dom and I got over our differences and became brothers. But I still felt like I wasn’t… huh… shit. I guess better than them? I still felt like I was that pushed away little boy all the time.” Lowering his head, he picks at the strings in his jeans from a hole on his knee. “I got ahold of some bad shit and over dosed, and if Dom and the guys hadn’t been there, I would be dead now.”

I gasp, covering my mouth. I had no idea that was their life. I thought if you had money like they do, it meant your lives were golden. That bitch! How could she do that to two small boys? I want to grab Mav’s hand and twine our fingers together, comfort him, but I don’t.

Despite his story, I just can’t. He still hurt me.

“The guys begged me to get help. I went to a treatment place to detox and started seeing a therapist.” He slaps his legs. “So, that’s my story.”

“What happened at the diner?” I ask. “You hit on that redhead. You encouraged her to touch you.”

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