Page 16 of Brutal Prince

Her eyes flicker to the plate and back to me as if I’ve somehow managed to offend her with my appetite.

“Insomnia?” Marigold says, voice hushed with disbelief.

“Yeah,” I say, biting into a crispy piece of bacon. “It’s this condition where you can’t go to sleep—”

Marigold’s fist connects with the table, rattling everything on it.

I pause mid-chew and widen my eyes at her.

Holy hell. I didn’t think my grandma had a line, but I’ve obviously just gone and crossed it.

“Do not ever speak to me with your mouth full of food.” She stands in a rush, spots of color touching her cheeks. “Did your mother not teach you any manners?”

Bacon turns into a nauseating ball of oily gunk inside my mouth. I bring the plate closer, spit out the half-chewed pork, and slowly set my plate down.

“If you’ll excuse me, Marigold, I’ve inexplicably lost my appetite.”

I turn on my heel, feeling her daggerlike eyes piercing the back of my head.

“You think I wanted this?” comes her yell.

I freeze on the spot, my body suddenly stiff with anger. “You?” I grate, turning on rusty legs. “You didn’t want this?”

She crosses her arms over her chest, and for a moment — one brief moment — sympathy flashes over her face.

“You think I wanted to lose her, you fucking hag?” I scream. “You think I wanted to be stuck here with you in this stupid town? No friends, no family, nothing?” My voice bounces back to me, but I’m a wild horse that’s got the bit in between its teeth; nothing’s stopping me now.

“I hate being here. I hate this town. I hate you!” My chest rises and falls like when I got back from my run last night.

Marigold’s face is the same color as her beige carpets.

I expect her to punish me for speaking to her like that. Maybe going straight to the phone and calling me a cab.

Instead, she comes around the table, eyes narrowing the closer she gets.

“Well,” she murmurs, barely loud enough for me to hear. “Lucky for us, we only have to bear with each other until you graduate.” She lays a hand on my shoulder and gives me a little squeeze. Her lips turn up into a fake smile. “Then you’re on your own, young lady.”

* * *

Briar

A dull headacheforces me out of sleep. I stare at my bedroom’s intricately molded ceiling, and shift my feet into the cool corners of my silk sheets as I try to ignore my morning wood.

I had a good dream last night. The girl in the woods starred in it. This time, she didn’t get away.

I ignore my aching junk and go take a shower. I could jerk off in here, but I refuse to let my body dictate my actions anymore.

We’re all animals. Some of us just hide it better than others.

I used to be able to hide it until Marcus’s party. What’s it been, ten months? Feels like a fucking eternity that I’ve been stuck with my new, shitty reality. What a brave new world; everywhere I go, the whispers follow. All based on rumors and gossip, not a single fact. And as much as they dig, they’ll never find anything concrete.

Marcus made sure of that.

I shut off the angry stream of thoughts, squeezing my eyes shut as I turn off the heat and shove my head under the freezing cold jets.

Briar Manor is silent when I pad to the kitchen on bare feet. I eat a breakfast of dry cereal and coffee as I watch the sun rise over town. The family manor has one of the best views in Lavish, nestled along the side of the Devil’s Spine mountains. Lavish stretches out far below, thousands of perfect little houses clinging to their winding country roads. The manor’s surrounded by Blood Briar woods; our closest neighbor a property that once belonged to the Davis’s. Might still, actually. Maybe the girl in the woods last night is a Davis — some far-flung cousin that came to visit. Only their kin would be brave enough to venture into my woods without a second thought to their own safety.

Those first few months after my mother died, Dad was at home enough that we could have actual conversations. The loving husband and father I’d grown up with changed. He became bitter and spiteful. For months, he’d hold monologues at the dinner table, instructing me on how to protect my things.

---