Page 16 of Sweet Anarchy

I'm not going down without a fight though. I'm not going to be made to be the bad person right now, when she can't even be bothered to discuss it civilly.

As I step into the hallway, I collide with a body, Zayn motioning for me to stop and stay quiet. I look down the hallway and find it empty, other than Blake standing in his doorway, arms folded, listening.

Downstairs, voices are travelling up the stairs as Gareth and Asher argue loudly in the living room.

I side-step Zayn, powering down the stairs before he can stop me. I hear him groan, following me as I torpedo my way into the living room.

Asher and Gareth are facing off at either end, the two of them looking incredibly angry. Mom's lingering in the corner with her arms folded as well, shooting me an angry look when I come into view.

Both men look at me at the same time, Asher's expression softening slightly. Gareth is the first to speak though, his tone short.

"Rylee, this doesn't concern you."

"The fuck it doesn't," I snap.

Mom steps towards me. "Rylee!"

I hear footsteps behind me and glance over my shoulder as Zayn and Blake stand in the doorway, watching the exchange.

"Did you pair know about this?" Gareth shoots at them.

My stomach clenches. This is either going to go bad or down right fucking disastrous.

"Yes," Blake answers casually.

You could hear a pin drop in the room, everyone falling into tense silence. Gareth recovers quickly.

"And you didn't think to stop it? You two are the older ones. You are meant to be responsible."

Zayn bursts out laughing, making me twitch. Trust him to be the one to find this hilarious.

"Us responsible? We're literally the two who took off to join a motorcycle club? But I digress… the point is we didn't feel the need to put a stop to it because we're also dating Rylee."

Okay, I was wrong. If I thought it was quiet and awkward before, it's worse now.

Mom looks at me, her mouth open with shock. Her eyes are glaring at me accusingly, daring me to deny it. I look away, glancing at Asher quickly, who also looks on edge.

"What?" Gareth breathes out.

"Aw, Dad. It's not that complicated, I promise," Zayn says, sitting on the arm of the chair closest to him. "The three of us all love Rylee. So, we're all dating her."

Mom puts her head into her hands, pacing slightly. "I can't believe this. We should have never gone to the Ranch."

For once, Gareth appears stunned and speechless. He looks at his three sons, shaking his head.

Blake sighs, finally entering the conversation. "So, if you're going to kick Rylee out, then you need to kick us all out. Because if she goes, we go."

Mom slaps her hands down dramatically, looking at Gareth in bewilderment.

"I love that the take away from all this is I'm a whore… not that I was in the hospital," I grumble.

Gareth looks at me, his eyebrows furrowing. "We came home because we were worried about that. That's not the issue right now."

"It never is, is it?" I sigh. "The issue is I don't fit into some convoluted little box. Is it so hard to just love me for me?" I direct to Mom. "Dad loved that I was different, even though I acted exactly how you wanted me to before he died. I was the perfect little cheerleader. But I grew out of that. I stopped living your dream."

Mom recoils. "You loved cheerleading."

"I did, for a while," I admit. "But I got sick of the pressure and trying to be someone I wasn't. Then when Dad died, I had to figure out how to survive. I'm not meant to be normal. I'm just meant to be… Rylee."

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