Page 69 of Destroying Everleigh

“Wait.” Amber frowned. “You’re both dating the same girl.”

I continued to ignore her, thinking back to what I’d just said. If Briley fucked Kash, Amber would expect Jameson to fuck her. That would leave me and Everleigh. My heart started racing at the prospect, but I shut that shit down real fast. This wasn’t a damn orgy fest.

“Yep,” Briley chirped proudly, answering Amber’s question.

Amber shook her head. “You realize that’s fucked up, right? He dated your sister.” She motioned over to me, but her gaze was pinned on the girl in my lap.

“Well…they’re not dating anymore. Plus, Everleigh hates his guts. Why would she care?” She turned to look at her sister, but she was zoned in on the TV, her hands slow as she took tiny nibbles of her pizza. I guess she’d rather subject herself to the horror movie than to what was happening around her.

Amber scoffed. “It doesn’t matter if she hates him. There’s still history there. Are you playing dumb, or are you really that stupid?”

Finally, Evie glanced between her friend and sister, her shoulders coiling tight with tension. “Will you guys stop? I’m not a piece of glass. It’s fine. Briley can do whatever she wants.”

Annoyance flared within me as I watched Everleigh’s features harden back into that impenetrable mask she always wore. Did she truly not give a shit? I saw the tears. Was that because she’d simply been caught off guard and felt betrayed by her sister? If this was all for nothing, I’d just have to up my game. She wouldn’t have kissed me back if she didn’t care at all.

Everleigh placed her plate on the coffee table, scrunching up her nose like it was no longer appealing to her. She cradled her drink between her hands before taking a small sip.

Briley’s hands were wound tight around my neck, and she was grinding against me, like she wanted me to fuck her. She had no care in the world that it was affecting her sister. But that just made it hurt her more, so I wasn’t going to be too bothered by that fact.

Amber stood up, fury emanating from her small body. She turned to Jamie. “Change spots with Everleigh.”

Jameson glanced over at me for approval. I’d been the one who chose our seating arrangements, but it didn’t really matter where she sat. She’d still see what was happening. So, I shrugged in response. Jamie stood, closing the distance between him and his new girl. He pressed his body against hers and captured her lips, making her melt into him instantly.

Unexpectedly, Everleigh tensed from that interaction, too. I was pleased to see a reaction from her, but also confused. Did she have feelings for Jameson? I suppose it didn’t matter. He wasn’t dumb enough to do anything with her. Not after everything that had happened. He hated her just as much as me and Kash did.

Jameson pulled away and approached the couch, looking at the girl beside me like she smelled bad. But all I could smell were cherries. The taste of her kiss still lingered on my tongue, and I hated that I wanted to do it again.

Everleigh rose, avoiding eye contact with all of us as she made her way over to the armchair. She sat down and Amber climbed onto her lap like they were long-time lovers. I had to do something about their friendship. I just didn’t know what. As long as Evie had someone in her corner, she would never be as broken as I needed her to be by the end of all this. I wanted her completely alone and destroyed. She didn’t even deserve to have friends. Heat spread through my veins, causing me to tremble from the sudden onslaught of rage. But Briley just took that as a sign of me reacting to her, so she started feathering kisses up the side of my neck again.

“You should eat,” Amber whispered, trying to keep us from hearing it, but the room was so quiet that we could still hear everything.

“I lost my appetite. I’ll just eat when I get home.”

Amber looked like she was going to argue with her about it, but thought better of it and nodded instead, drawing her lips into a tight line.

The movie was loud in the background as the main character screamed. Everleigh buried her face in Amber’s side, wrapping her arms around her waist. I rolled my eyes. That was why I wanted her sitting alone. So that she had no one to hide behind. It was amateur, though. Scaring Everleigh wasn’t on par with the bigger plans I’d been cooking up, but it would have still been satisfying.

We did end up working on our project for about an hour and then Everleigh and Amber left. I allowed Briley to stay with mefor a while to get under Evie’s skin, but then I drove her home. The state of their neighborhood had my lips parting in shock. It was on the Northside and looked like the perfect town for shady dealings and crime. The grass was overgrown and the house they stayed in was in shambles. One bad storm and it would all probably crumble.

The next day at school, I grabbed a flyer about some party to recruit initiates. I had no interest in the fraternity. I’d enjoy having the house to ourselves, but it would serve our greater purpose, so I’d stomach it if that’s what it took. I snapped a picture of the flyer and sent it to Jameson and Kash before stuffing the paper in my bag.

Briley clung to me at every opportunity, and as much as I didn’t want her touching me, I wanted to get under Everleigh’s skin more. The word traveled fast about my last name and who I was, so girls flocked to me, despite me having agirlfriend. In turn, it made Briley more popular, too. Which she seemed to be milking up. She was so different from her older sister and not in a good way. Briley enjoyed being the center of attention, enjoyed people trying to impress her.

My fingers curled around Bry’s as we entered the cafeteria, her voice was high-pitched as she talked about something I wasn’t even paying attention to. My focus was on Everleigh who was seated by Lucas when an idea struck me suddenly.

Once we reached Kash and Jameson who had Amber tucked beneath his arm, they glanced at me. “I need to speak with you two privately outside,” I said.

They exchanged looks but were shuffling out of the table regardless. I motioned for Briley to take a seat, not needing her to follow me. She had been proven quite useful so far, so I’d probably keep her around for a bit. What we knew so far was that Everleigh was the only one who had a vehicle in their family, she had a job, she was on scholarship here, and she had resumedsomewhat of a motherly role. But Briley was pretty vague in that aspect, so I didn’t know what that meant exactly.

I led the way out into the parking lot, checking my surroundings to make sure no one was nearby. “I have an idea.” I smirked, knowing that it was one that would cut Everleigh deep.

“What is it?” Kash asked skeptically. “I mean…shouldn’t we give her a break? She just found out about you and her sister, and then Jameson and Amber. We don’t want to do everything too quickly. Right?”

Jameson nodded in agreement with him. “Yeah. Plus, her mom just died a few days ago. I’m all for hurting her after what she did, but I think we should wait to strike again.”

I scoffed in response, my patience dwindling. “She doesn’t deserve a break. If you’ve gone too soft, I’m sure I could find others to help me.”

The thought of including strangers in on this didn’t appeal to me nearly as much. It wouldn’t have the same effect, but if that’s what I had to do, then I’d do it. I was tired of waiting. Sure, seeing me with her sister hurt. But beyond that, it had just been piddly shit. I wanted to keep striking when she least expected it. I wanted to turn her world completely upside down. Fuck her. She didn’t deserve any peace.

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