Page 73 of Destroying Everleigh

My hand trembled as I turned the light off and climbed into bed, clutching my comforter tightly against my chest. I had several missed calls from Lucas, but I wasn’t in the mood to get into an argument with him. By now, the entire school had probably seen what happened between me and Ashton, and I’d like to stay in my little bubble of ignorance for a little while longer.

I closed my eyes, trying to find the will to fall asleep. But my head was a mess of things, and I wasn’t really that tired. So, I decided that maybe now would be a good time to go through some of my mom’s things. Briley would probably take over her room, or she could have Tate’s and Emma’s since they wouldn’t be staying here anymore.

I climbed out of bed and retreated into the hall. My eyebrows furrowed when I noticed the blinding light bleeding beneath the door leading to my mother’s room. I could have sworn I’d turned it off, but maybe not.

I reached for the knob and twisted. Despite the house being in horrible shape, it didn’t even creak like the other doors did.Pushing it the rest of the way open, my heart plummeted into the depths of my stomach when I realized that I wasn’t alone like I’d initially thought.

Ashton was lying on his back, his pants pushed down to his ankles. His arms were resting beneath his head as my sister bobbed her head up and down as she sucked his dick, saliva running down the length of him from how sloppy and uncoordinated she was being.

Ashton’s gaze met mine, and I was suddenly, acutely aware of how little I was wearing. Especially when his eyes trailed over my body. My heart was hammering hard and all I could do was mumble an apology before slipping back into the hall and closing the door behind me.

Tears were running down my face and I couldn’t even find the effort to control them. My breath hitched on a sob as I made my way back into my room and grabbed a black, silk robe. I slipped my shoes on, not knowing where the hell I was going, but knew I couldn’t stay here.

I snatched my keys and stumbled through the house on numb legs.

Before I knew it, I was in my car, pressing on the gas on a road I vaguely recognized. It almost felt like an out of body experience. It wasn’t until I pulled up to Ashton’s frat house that my mind started to catch up with my body.

What the hell?

This was one of the last places I wanted to be. But it sure as hell beat my own house at the moment. I turned off my car and stumbled through the grass until I reached the door. I didn’t even care to knock. I just opened the door and peeked around the corner.

A breath of relief slipped past my defenses when it was empty.

I was so pissed. So hurt. So fucking tired.

I had no idea what I was doing here. But rage was driving my movements. I wanted to give them all a piece of my mind. To show them that they couldn’t break me. They had to have known what Ashton was doing right now. How badly it would hurt. Not only was my sister sucking his dick, but it was on my dead mother’s bed of all places.

That was a low blow. But I was starting to realize that they didn’t give a shit about any of that. I forced myself up the stairs, holding my robe closed. Tears were still tracking down my skin but fuck it. There was no stopping them at this point.

I jerked Jameson’s door open—since it was the only one I really recognized. He was seated on the edge of his bed, his face in his hands. It reminded me exactly of how he used to get when he thought of his father. He’d close himself off and lose himself to his thoughts.

I hated that I even gave a shit. He had no problem making my life a living hell. So, why should I care?

I let the door fall closed behind me, guilt snaking through my stomach and coiling tight around my heart. Blowing out a breath, I stomped over to him. He still hadn’t even bothered to look up, probably thinking it was Kash. It wasn’t until I sat beside him and wrapped my arms around him that he removed his hands and looked over at me in alarm.

“Everleigh?” he whispered in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

I shouldn’t be here, seeking solace in a guy who was currently aiding in my demise. I definitely shouldn’t be offering him comfort. But beneath all the hard exteriors, we were still the same people we’d been merely a few years ago. Sure, we’ve adapted to the cold world around us, but deep down, we were still those stupid little kids who just wanted to feel wanted.

I didn’t speak. I couldn’t. Not without bursting into a torrential downpour of ugly sobs. My body trembled with everysniffle, the image of Briley sucking off Ash at the forefront of my mind. At this point, I wasn’t sure he could hurt me anymore than he has.

Jameson sighed, snaking an arm around my waist. “Looks like we’re both having a shitty night, huh?”

It was then that I noticed his eyes were rimmed red, too. I didn’t smell weed or alcohol on him, so that could only mean one thing. My mind flashed back to when we were sixteen and I held him while he sobbed quietly in my arms after he’d had the living shit beaten out of him. He probably still had horrible PTSD from it. My arms tightened around him at the memory.

“What’s got you so worked up tonight?” he asked, rubbing his hand up and down my side. I hated how good it felt—how much it soothed me. He’d always been my comfort, even when he didn’t realize it.

“Ashton,” I choked out. I dropped one of my arms from around him and used it to palm the tears away. My eyes were raw from how much I’d been crying lately. “I walked in on him with my sister. In my mom’s bed.”

His entire body tensed, and for a moment, I thought he might be angry with me. He was on Ashton’s side, and it would always be that way. I didn’t want him to think this was some kind of lame attempt to get in between them. It wasn’t.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he growled. “He was fucking her?”

I shook my head. “She was blowing him. But it was probably headed that direction.”

He blew out a breath and his posture relaxed, like that made it any better. “Well, if you’re trying to avoid him, coming here probably wasn’t the smartest move. He’s coming back home soon.”

I hadn’t even thought about that. It was embarrassing enough that he’d seen the inside of my house. Of course hewouldn’t want to spend the night there. “I didn’t even know I was coming here until I was here,” I admitted.

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