Page 13 of Ruthless God

I grab it and squeeze lightly. “Lyrical.”

He lets my hand go. “Your name is pretty.”

June is cute, soft on the eyes, blond hair pulled up into a neat ponytail, and slim build. My eyes venture toward his jersey.

“You want to sit next to me at the bonfire? We’re swapping stories.”

I turn to look at the lit mansion, then my gaze veers at the people sitting by the fire.

It’s safer out here than in the mansion, away from Snow.

I sit on the patio chair as the flames dance, lighting up the faces of the people sitting close to it. I should have worn a pair of jeans, my legs are starting to feel numb.

A guy passes June a joint. He sticks it between his lips, puffing on it, then offers it to me, but I decline. “I rememberyou. You were in my English class our freshman year.” He blows smoke from the corner of his mouth.

My eyebrows rise. “I don’t remember you.”

“Of course you don’t. I was not noticeable. I had acne all over my face and my dress game wasn’t on point.”

“You play football?”

He nods, puffing on the joint a few times and blowing smoke from his nose. “We’re known but not as known as the American Gods.”

A blonde-haired girl nods her head. I notice she’s wearing a bikini with shorts, and her top barely covers her tits. It’s too cold to be wearing that, but who I am to judge people’s clothing? “I would love to sit on Snow’s lap. I heard he has a big dick and knows how to use it.”

Jealous burns in my chest, but it can’t be because he’s not mine, and he never will be mine even when we marry.

Placing my hand onto the edge of the armrest on my chair, I squeeze tightly, until my knuckles turn white. Then I school my features as much as I possibly can into a tight smile. “His dick is small.”

Her gaze shoots up to mine, eyeing me up and down as if she doesn’t believe me. “What?”

I lean back in the lawn chair, tucking my hair behind my ears, trying to remain calm. “He has a pencil dick.”

She crinkles her nose. “How would you know?”

“Because I know him and his family.”

She shakes her head. “Oh, I heard his sister died and the person who was driving was on drugs. Is it true?”

A knot forms in my chest as tears sting my eyes. North Haven’s townspeople spread some of the worst gossip about me. Some people said I tried to kill us both, some said I was a junkie, and others said I was mentally unstable like Bailey. It made headlines nationwide, but my parents and Snow’s familyhid my name in fear it might ruin their almighty names. The only thing they want to be talked about is my marriage to Snow. The question that everyone wants to know is, who will the Gods marry after college? I feel like it should have been me who passed away instead of Bailey. If I could switch places with her, I would have. In a heartbeat.

June twists his body in my direction, and he smiles at me. “You want to go out with m—”

“Lyrical isn’t going anywhere with you,” Snow snaps, grabbing my arm and yanking me out of the chair.

Everyone around the bonfire grows quiet, as if he’s a god appearing out of nowhere, and the blonde girl has stars in her eyes.

June frowns. “Maybe some other time.”

“Stay away from my toy,” Snow says through gritted teeth.

This motherfucker has the audacity to believe I’m going to be his toy. “I’m no—”

“Can I be your toy?” the blonde girl asks.

“No,” Snow answers.

I dig my nails into his hand, and he lets go of me, then I stab my finger into his hard chest. “Are you out of your mind? I’m not your toy, you asshole.”

---