Page 60 of Prince of Pain

I pretended to be asleep when Mom came to check on me when she’d gotten home some time after midnight.

It was now ten in the morning and the house was silent as I snuck out to the bathroom for a quick shower, getting back to my room to sit on the window ledge to smoke a joint before Mom poked her head in.

I didn’t bother trying to hide it, weed was the least of their worries.

“Hey. I’m surprised you stayed last night,” she said as she closed the door behind her and moved to stand beside me.

“Dad wanted to talk,” I said flatly, blowing the smoke out and not looking at her. “Wasted my time, I guess.”

“We’ll talk tonight. Promise,” she said softly, and I rolled my eyes.

“I’m busy.”

“Can’t you make some time? It’s important.”

“You mean like you guys made time last night?” I asked sharply, finally turning to look at her. “If it was that important to you, you would’ve been here. As usual, you just proved that I’m right and you don’t give a shit.”

“We do. It was a little hard to leave when someone was stabbed in our club and the cops were everywhere. I’m yours today, I put Milky in charge,” she said with a smile, and I shook my head.

“You could’ve let him take over last night. He knows how to handle cops.”

“I won’t let you keep running from us, baby. You need help.”

I startled her as I stood and shoved her, not giving a fuck about burning the carpet when I dropped what was left of my joint. “Why the fuck would I talk to you even if I needed to? It’s not like you or Dad actually show up. Ryder and Mason have my back more than you do!”

She caught herself before she could fall, watching me warily. “You can always come to me, Tempest.”

“Like I did last night? I sat in the kitchen for two hours before giving up. I decided to humor you guys and be here for dinner, but surprise, your sex club was more important. Bet you did it on purpose. Were you disappointed when you got home to find me still breathing? Did you think I’d slit my wrists again?”

“Tempest, stop,” she choked out, but I laughed.

“Stop what? Telling you the truth? You want to talk about my feelings? I fucking hate you. I hate this house, and I hate that I believed you’d be here like you’d said,” I snapped. “Get out.”

“Tempest—” she begged, but I shoved her again, making her fall this time.

“Fuck you, Mom! You think you’re better than me? You’re nothing but a used-up hooker. How are you any different than me?” I shouted, annoyed by her crying as she clutched her hand to her chest. She needed a reality check.

I grabbed my heels and shoved them on, fixing the buckles on the sides before snatching my handbag to put my phone inside.

I didn’t let her stop me as I stormed past her as she cried on the floor, finding my car keys in the kitchen and feeling grateful that Mason had filled my car up with gas.

I tossed my bag onto the passenger seat once inside the car and I took off, not knowing where I was going but knowing I needed to go somewhere.

I stopped for coffee in Blackwater, hoping I’d run into one of the guys, but I didn’t.

I rejected a call from Dad, switching my phone off to stop him from tracking me, then I headed to the skatepark to see if the guys were there.

It was pretty quiet other than a few guys skating, and there was no sign of Mason or the others.

“Tempest.”

I glanced out the window to find a guy standing beside my car. “Yeah?”

“Thought it was you. We fucked at one of Channing’s parties a few months ago.”

“Probably, those parties are wild,” I laughed, tilting my head. He was attractive, but I had no recollection of fucking him. “What do you want?”

He glanced over at the guys skating and one hollered something about fucking me, but I didn’t really give a shit.

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