Page 7 of Ruthless Legacy

Thea

Iignore the puppy dog eyes Finn is giving me. I’m pretending he doesn’t exist. This time it’s harder to do than before. I feel like an idiot.Again.How do I keep letting them put me in this position? You’d think I’d have learned by now that if I give The Trium half an inch, they’ll set off dynamite under my feet.

I was in a fucking coma because of his best friend, the head Coxsucker, so Finn has no right to look sad. I get to be mad.Iget to be pissed that his fiancé was involved in my attack, and that she won’t be punished for it. Deacon’s already told me that her cameo in the first part of the video isn’t enough to prove she was there for the assault. There’s a lack of evidence. I knew that before he said anything.Hel-lo, I’ve gotten out of being arrested for the very same reasons, but that doesn’t make me innocent.

Even now, Eloise is sitting over there next to Finn like she hasn’t got a care in the world, and he’s letting her. So excuse me for not wanting to hear anymore,“Pet, I’m sorry’s,” from him. From any of them. They stick together. That’s what they said, right? Andtheyclearly includesher.

I smile at LJ, who’s rambling on about her Christmas vacation. I’m glad she had fun, away from the pressure her parents put on her to get closer to the girls she went to high school with. I don’t know why her mother can’t see that LJ’s too good for them.

“What about you, Thea? Anything interesting happen around here while we were gone?”

“Mmm. No. Not really. I just went for walks on the beach and did a lot of self care. Oh, and I helped with the toy drive in Red Cliffs and Palisade Shores.”

Oscar says, “I didn’t know those towns had toy drives. Our parents have never mentioned it.”

I snort, “That’s because your parents only care about famous charities that will gettheirnames in the paper. I helped collect and deliver toys for children in the foster care system and juvenile detentions centers. You know, the kids who feel left behind by their parents.”

LJ squeezes my shoulder. “I wish I would have known, Thea. I would have collected toys as well.” She looks over at the tables behind the red rope. “That’s what the Greeks and clubs on campus should do, instead of raising money for scholarship programs, that only award money to people who don’t need it.”

Austin nods. “I agree. My dad’s team collects toys every year, but they only focus on Los Angeles. I wonder if they even know there’s a need in Red Cliffs and Palisade Shores.”

I shrug. “Probably not.”

“It’s crazy.” LJ says, “Especially since I know some of the families in Palisade Shores used to live in Canyon Falls.”

My cup stops halfway to my mouth. “They did?”

“Yes, before the road through the canyons and the mines shut down. A lot of families migrated to the shores during Canyon Falls’ expansion. They couldn’t afford to live here any longer. I’m sure you’ve noticed that there aren’t really any lower-income families in Canyon Falls or The Annex.”

I take a moment to think about that. She’s right. There aren’t any of what I’d call low-income families in town. Van might not be a millionaire, but I’d definitely classify her as upper middle class.

Oscar chimes in, “The families moved. Most went to Palisade Shores but, I guess the poorest ones wound up in Red Bluff with the gangs.” He slides his phone across the table, towards me. “I did a paper on the history of Canyon Falls my freshman year of high school. One thing I came across was that Palisade Shores and Red Bluff used to be counted with us on the census. In fact, from the part of town where the resort is, on up to the cliffs on the North side, used to be Red Cliffs. Then Canyon Falls Incorporated and rezoned, folding that land into ours.”

I scroll down the screen and frown. “So who’s building all the new properties in Palisade Shores? Are those developers from here?”

He shrugs, “No clue. I didn’t know there was any building happening out there.”

“Uh, yeah. I passed some new developments when I was driving around town to drop off the toys.” I’m careful not to mention that I lived in one of those new master planned communities while I was recovering from my attack.

I drove past our house. There were no cars out front or any sign that someone is staying there yet. Two months seems like a lifetime ago. I look over to see LJ watching me. I paste on a smile. I know she knows what I’m thinking, but I don’t want to talk about it.

Austin stands, gathering up his trash. “Thea, if you find anymore charity events like that, let me know and I’ll pass the info along to my dad.”

“You will?”

“Yes, and don’t look at me like that. I promise it will be for more than a photo op. Like I said, his players really care about the community. A lot of them give anonymously, but they don’t know where there’s a need if we don’t tell them.”

He and Oscar head off to class, leaving me with a genuine smile on my face. It never occurred to me that anyone here would want to help. I got the contact information for the toy drive from the outreach coordinator at the Department of Social Services. I’ll reach out and see if they have any other events coming up. Back to school drives are usually a big thing at the end of summer and beginning of fall, but there might be something else.

“They’re staring again.” LJ says, breaking into my thoughts.

I refuse to look. From here on out, I’m pretending our wild night didn’t happen, andtheydon’t exist.

Chapter5

Pax

Finn’s staring up at the sky with his eyes closed. To anyone else, he looks like he’s basking in the sun’s rays, but what he’s really doing is trying to distract himself from lashing out. Probably at me.

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