Page 42 of Bittersweet Legacy

Taylor rolled her eyes and made a gagging sound. “Could you be cheesier? Does it even work?”

“More often than you think,” he winked at her with a cheeky grin. “But you can’t deny that she looks stunning.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Not that you’re not beautiful too, my little T-”

She waved her hand to cut him off.

“Couldn’t care less. Where are douche one and douche two?”

“Who’s one and two?”

“Depends on my mood, they’re pretty much interchangeable.”

A strange look passed across his face. Shame? “Umm, I’m not sure I should tell you.”

She laughed but it lacked humor. “But you will anyway.”

“They’re in the library but I wouldn’t go there if I were you.”

Taylor smiled at him. “We both know we’re going.”

“Oh yeah.” He pointed to the corner where his court was waiting. “I’ll be right there.”

We set off down the corridor toward the library. “Should we knock?” I asked Tay as we neared our destination.

“What the hell for?”

“I don’t know, maybe they’re busy.”

She threw me a side look. “And we care because…?” she trailed off.

I sighed, “No, you’re right we shouldn’t.”

She opened the door and as soon as I took in the scene in the room I regretted not knocking, I regretted coming, I regretted waking up.

I gasped at the vision in front of me. Caleb was sitting on the sofa, his pants unzipped, his head tilted back, he was holding a tumbler of amber liquid in his right hand and his left fisted in the hair of a brunette girl kneeling between his legs. I didn’t need to get the full picture to know exactly what was happening. His grunts of pleasure and the sucking sounds made my stomach drop.

The feeling of betrayal was just as intense as it was unexpected. I didn’t want to be with Caleb, the only thing I wanted to do was run away, and yet the pain was so real I couldn't contain my gasp.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Archie slurred, somehow angrily.

I finally looked away from the horrific scene and met my brother's eyes. He was leaning against the wall, his shirt opened while a blond girl was running her hands over his stomach. His eyes had a hazy hue I recognized only too well based on experiences. He was obviously quite intoxicated.

“That’s messed up,” Taylor sneered from beside me.

I turned toward her, she was scowling, her arms crossed on her chest but there was also pain there – it was easy to recognise this was something she was also feeling.

Archie pushed the girl quite roughly, keeping his eyes on Taylor. “What does it matter to you, Oppenheimer?”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t, you two depraved bastards can do what the fuck you want together. Come on, E, let’s go have fun.”

I turned toward Caleb and was grateful that he was decent again. The girl was sitting on the floor glaring at me. His eyes were on me as he drank his liquor without a word, the scrutiny made me shiver.

“You know what yeah, let’s go party. I might find a guy to have fun with.” I exited the room briskly before Taylor even had a chance to reply. I couldn’t look at that girl’s face any longer.

I was not halfway down the hall when an arm grabbed me and turned around forcefully.