Page 104 of Destroying Everleigh

That seemed to catch Amber’s attention, because she straightened in my lap, and I could already feel the wheels turning in her head. “Who?” she asked in a small voice, like she already knew but needed to hear it confirmed.

A smile stretched across Ashton’s face. “Everleigh and Jameson. Who else?”

Amber’s head snapped in her friend’s direction. “Is that true?” she demanded, her voice cracking at the end.

So much for that double date, then. Not that I was really looking forward to it or anything.

“She didn’t know,” Kash intervened. “Jameson fucking lied to her.” He shot me a pointed look.

“But you knew I liked him,” she accused. “I even asked you if you had feelings for him and you said no.” Her voice was rising with every word, her emotions getting more difficult to manage the more she spoke. She climbed off my lap, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

A look of confusion flashed across Everleigh’s face. “I didn’t realize?—”

“What?” Amber snapped. “Don’t fucking lie to me, Everleigh. Youknew. Deep down, you knew that I liked him without me ever having to tell you. You just used the fact that I didn’t verbally say it as an excuse to make yourself feel better.” Venom threaded through her voice, making Everleigh wince.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.

Amber scoffed, turning her lethal glare on me. She shook her head in disappointment. “Fuck you all,” she snapped. She turned on her heels and stomped off through the living room.

Everleigh tried to jump up to run after her, but Ashton stopped her with a firm grip around her bicep. She struggled against him, but he was a lot bigger than her and stronger. “Let me go, asshole,” she seethed.

“Was that necessary?” Kash asked, glaring at our friend who was still trying to restrain Everleigh. He managed to get her on her back and was hovering over her with her wrists pinned against her chest.

Before Ash could reply, Everleigh spit in his face, pure fury radiating off her. He tensed, his grip tightening around her arms. “You know,” he began. “That’s starting to get old.”

She glared up at him. “Yeah, well so is this.” She started wriggling beneath his grasp again, attempting to get her legs in front of her so she could kick him. But he saw it coming from a mile away and put some of his body weight down to immobilize her.

I couldn’t even lie. Watching her struggle like that was making me hard. From the heated look on Kash’s face, it looked like he was thinking the same thing.

“Let me go,” she demanded.

“Why?” he taunted. “So you can punch me?”

She gritted her teeth, confirming that was exactly what she planned on doing. Everleigh could hit hard for a small little thing. Then again, you needed to learn how to throw a punch ifyou lived on the north side. Either she learned quickly, or she’s taken some form of self-defense class.

Her body went limp after another five minutes of struggling against him. Her eyes darted up to the ceiling, unshed tears threatening to spill from them. A pang of guilt slashed through my chest. Maybe I should have been honest with her. It wasn’t like I’d expected to lie about it when I started dating Amber. But when Everleigh ran into my room in nothing but a skimpy robe and wrapped her arms around me as an act of comfort, I had to have her. It was completely selfish of me, and I’d probably do it again if given the chance. I just knew she’d turn me down if she knew I was dating her best friend.

“Let me go,” she repeated, more resigned than before. The anger seemed to have left her body, replaced with sadness and guilt.

The goal was to break her. To make her pay for everything she did, so why did it make me feel shitty to see her like this? I blew out a breath and clamped my eyes shut.

“Was fucking him worth it?” he demanded in a cold, bitter tone.

“No,” she ground out. “It wasn’t.”

Peeling my eyes open again, I glanced over to where he still had her pinned. He was leaning over her, his breath skating across her skin. He was still so fucking into her, and he hated it.

Kash shifted uncomfortably on the couch, but didn’t say anything to my surprise. He probably didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Ashton’s wrath. I couldn’t even blame him. Not when Ash got like this.

“I need a shower,” I said, rising to my feet. “Make sure the slut gets home safe. We don’t need that on our conscience.”

“What conscience?” Everleigh snapped, shooting me a venomous glare. But behind the anger, there was a spark of pain and regret. I could work with that.

I made my way up the stairs and gathered some clothes together before heading for the ensuite. My head was jumbled with unwanted thoughts, and I did my best to push them away. It didn’t matter what I felt for her. It didn’t matter that she used to be one of my closest friends. Everything was different now. She was a liar and a cheater. I’d do well to fucking remember that, and the guys would too.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Everleigh

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