Page 50 of Vendetta

“I was out looking for her for hours until I finally found her, right outside the gate of our house. Almost didn’t spot her at first, she was halfway in the rose bushes. You never forget the first dead body you come across, you know? It becomes seared into your memory, the lifeless eyes that once shone bright enough to make all of the bad in your world disappear.”

His face was hard as stone, eyes colder than I had ever seen.

“You want to know why I hate you, Landry? You want to know what you did to deserve this?”

I gulped, praying that it wasn’t audible. I could feel the rest of the group around me, Bexley’s presence warming my side, but my focus was solely on the man in front of me who held more pain in his eyes than I could even imagine possible.

“She was already cold when I found her. You and your friends left her outside of our family’s gate, not even bothering to knock on the door as you left her to die there, by herself, from alcohol poisoning. You got my baby sister drunk as some fucked up game for your entertainment, and then you left her to die without as much as a second glance. And every time I see your face, I remember that my sister should have been the one to behere with me this year. So, I don’t hate you, Landry. I loathe you.”

I didn’t even attempt to keep the tears from falling. If I had thought that I was falling apart earlier, this was a million times worse. I was going to throw up, my legs refusing to move as my mind went hazy. Everything was spinning, and I was going to pass out.

His cold glare kept me rooted in place, his eyes far from anything I had seen before. He wasn’t just mad. He looked dead inside, not one hint of forgiveness or sympathy in his gaze. This was not the Cashton I had come to know. And I wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and rot at this moment. I tried to speak, but nothing came out. My lungs were no longer working.

“Let’s go,” Bexley whispered, placing a hand on my shoulder as she guided me away. I had never felt so small. I found the strength to turn to Zayn and Kaptan, pain etched on their faces, but not an ounce of surprise.

“You guys knew?” I spoke on a breath, the words barely audible. Their silence answered for me, causing me to falter as I took a small step backwards. I turned to Olivia, not thinking that my heart could possibly break any more than it already had tonight, but she only shook her head and promised me “I had no idea Lan, I swear it on my life.”

I allowed Bexley to lead me away, Nate following as he helped me in the car, buckling my seatbelt for me before offering me a pitying glance and a quick “I’m so sorry, Landry. I swear I had nothing to do with this, but I need to make sure Cash is okay,” before shutting my door as I watched him walk away through the side mirror of Bexley’s Audi S4.

I needed to run away. I needed to get out of here, to stew in my humiliation and sorrow by myself. This all felt like a wicked dream, tears racing down my face as I stared absently through the front windshield. This was all too much. And I had no idea where I could go from here. But I just needed my bed, and sleep, and to hopefully never wake up. I was stronger now, but not strong enough to handle this.

CHAPTER 25

CASHTON

“What the hell is wrong with you!” Olivia screamed, her hands shoving against my chest as TJ drew closer, no doubt ready to intervene if anything got out of hand.

“That was beyond fucked up, and you know it!” she continued, her small form attempting to threaten me as she continued to pummel against me.

“She and her friends killed Emory, Liv. I know she’s your friend, but you’ve got me fucked up if you think I’ll ever be able to see past that.”

She seethed, coming at me with more force as she proceeded with her assault. I didn’t attempt to stop her, letting her push me back as TJ eyed us wearily, ready to step in if I so much as raised a hand or made a wrong move.

“She wasn’t even fucking there, Cash!” she yelled, anger seeping through her as she banged her tiny fist into my chest.

“Yes, Liv, she was! Not only did Emory brag for hours on end about who she was going to a party with, but I saw the videos. Landry was there.”

“Landry fucking left, you dipshit! She literally left because she couldn’t stand what they were doing to her!”

I clenched my jaw harder, fighting the rage coursing through me.

“I don’t fucking care, Liv. She was there, and she allowed it to happen.”

“Oh yeah? Well since you seem to know everything, you fucking asshole, did you know that she called her mom to come pick her up because she didn’t like how they were treating Emory? Did you know that she literally cut off what she thought were her best friends at the time because of how shitty they were acting? And if you’re so smart, did you know that her and her mom got in a wreck on the way home that same exact night when they were headed back from that party? You don’t, you fucking prick! You think you know everything, but you’re so damn wrong! Landry is not a bad person and you should have talked to me before you let it ever get this far! Fuck you, Cash. You might not like Landry, but that’s my best friend right there and I know her better than you ever will. You should have fucking talked to me.”

Tears began running down her face, the sight of one of my best friends crying hitting a nerve inside of me. Everything in me tried to recoil as I took in her words, willing for them to just wash over me without impact. I knew this would most likely happen, but I hadn’t expected it to hurt this damn much. Even TJ and Nate kept their gazes to the ground, unable to look at me.

“You’re a piece of shit, Cash. That was low. Whatever you think Landry did that night, she didn’t. But what you just did to her is ten times worse. Yeah, she was different in high school, but she wasn’t some heartless bitch. If you don’t believe me, I’ll even find the fucking messages from that night. But stay away from my friend. She doesn’t deserve this shit.”

Her anger had mellowed, the last words spoken with cool, calm, and collected harshness that sank into my bones. I had nothing left in me. All I was able to do was point my gaze to the ground as I watched TJ walk up to her out of my periphery, guiding his girlfriend away as she jogged over to Bexley’s silver Audi a few cars down.

CHAPTER 26

LANDRY

“Everything is going to be okay. Fuck Cash, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He crossed the line. I’m so sorry babe, we’re here for you, I promise,” Olivia comforted, leaning up from the back seat to wrap her arms around my shoulders.

Bexley hadn’t spoken much, more of the type to keep everything to herself until she figured out the best thing to say; Her words were short in quantity but never lacking in quality. I felt the comfort radiating from my best friends, my arm limply lifting enough to hit the lock button on the passenger door.

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