Page 39 of Destroying Everleigh

No one gave a fuck when Crystal cheated on me. Then again, they tried to talk me out of dating her in the first place, and she didn’t cheat with a sibling of mine. They also had no feelings for her, not even a deep friendship. Just the shallow-level kind that Ash had with her.

Maybe those things made all the difference. It sure as fuck did with me.

“Is that the plan you’ve cooked up?” I asked, crossing my arms.

Ashton smirked. “I have many more where that came from. She won’t last long. Figured we’d start small and work our way up.”

I nodded in agreement. That was the best way to do it. Keep her guessing, don’t play every single one of our cards, and then shatter her so irrevocably, that she’d never be able to come back from it.

“I like the sound of that,” I agreed.

Jameson nodded. “Me too.” He paused, seeming to remember something. “Completely off topic, but how do you feel about joining a fraternity?”

I snorted. Mostly because when I pictured frat guys, the first image that popped in my mind were a bunch of gym bros who couldn’t even locate the clit. None of us fit that stereotype. We didn’t give a fuck about any of that shit, though. Just the power and the endless amount of pussy that would be at our disposal. I mean, it practically was already, but we wouldn’t even have to put in the effort of chasing tail if we had our own frat. Bitches loved that shit. Loved feeling special. It was power. Plus, being the ones doing the hazing would be fun. We could come up with whatever we wanted. We could makeanyoneour target.

That would be Everleigh.

A mighty high price for potential members when all they had to do was fuck with a single chick.

Ash eyed him with skepticism. “Why?”

Jameson shrugged. “We just got the dean’s permission to start one. He’s having us sign the contract and giving us the keys next week.”

“Oh,” Ash replied, like that changed everything. “Fuck yeah, then.”

“We’ll need a name,” I reminded them. “And we’ll also have to recruit. At our old school, they had a party specifically for it. I’ll find out when it is, and we can go.”

Ash and Jamie nodded in unison.

When the weekend rolled around, I found myself stuck at some bar on the Northside babysitting Jameson while he drowned himself in Patron. His tolerance was through the roof nowadays, making him spend a lot more money because of it. Well, Ashton’s money to be exact.

“Fuck, I’m horny,” he slurred, after downing his twelfth shot.

I snorted. “I wouldn’t try getting laid in these parts of town,” I offered. “Never know what you might catch.”

This was the side of town hookers frequented. In fact, there were a few seated at the bar. Dressed in skimpy clothing, a drink in front of them that they didn’t intend on consuming, and their eyes trickling over potential prey. I’ve already had to save Jamie from their clutches a few times. Those sluts were anything if not persistent.

“Don’t be a cock block, Kash. Not unless you plan on getting down on your knees for me.”

I barked a laugh at his audacity. He had to be pretty fucked up to even think about propositioningme. Ashton’s lips twitched in amusement.

“It would beyouon your knees before I ever bent mine.”

He waved a dismissive hand in the air, like it was the only strength he could muster. The bar wasn’t very big. One of those small-town types, but it didn’t stop people from filling up theseats. The alcohol here wasn’t all that great, either. But this was the one he wanted to come to for some reason, and I had a feeling why.

It was the one that didn’t ID us, and we came to as teenagers. With Everleigh.

My throat felt tight at that unwanted reminder. I tried not to think of her unless it had something to do with plotting against her. The alternative was too painful. Even for me. After her betrayal, Jameson spiraled. Started going into shady clubs, getting his ass beat, vandalizing vehicles and property, and took up drinking more heavily. It was easy to keep my mind off her when I was constantly getting him out of shit. Just when he started to get better, we got the call from Ash.

Jameson was broken.

The only girl he’d ever loved was the only girl he could never have. Not in the way he wanted her at least. Now, I wasn’t sure he wanted her at all. Not since her betrayal. She drove a wedge between all of us. Ash went to some school in Texas, and me and Jamie went somewhere else.

Our combined hate for Everleigh brought us back together. So, I guess that was one good thing that came out of this.

Jameson’s back straightened as he looked around the room, his gaze unfocused. “She’s hot,” he slurred, looking at a cracked-out bitch who’d just walked in between two biker dudes.

“I think you have beer goggles,” Ashton commented, shaking his head.

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