Page 69 of Unspoken Truths

One week later

ELIJAH

“Happy birthday, man,”Jared says with a grin, coming inside with Nacio and Theo. “It’s gonna be a good night.”

Grinning back, I nod, hopeful that it will be. People follow them in, and someone begins to set up music in a corner of the living room. It’s amazing how a party comes together with very little effort if you promise alcohol. You even get a pretty solid DJ out of it too.

My parents dropped ten grand in my bank account before leaving for the weekend, and told me to have fun. That was their idea of being the wonderful humans who created me. It’s my seventeenth birthday, yet may as well be just another day if it wasn’t for my friends. They’re my real family.

It’s why I’m so hyped to see which of us gets to break the little mouse. It’s our team building activity, if you will. The Kings have been doing this for generations, playing with people’s lives just because they can.

Why should we be any different? Personally, I don’t think she has what it takes to survive us. Only time will tell.

“Thanks,” I say with a grin. It’s about nine at night, the perfect time to get started. We’ll be partying for hours, or until we get tired and decide to kick everyone out in favor of spending time together.

The last few weeks have been insane, and I can hardly believe we’re going to see the end of April soon. Midterms have come and gone, soon we’ll all be losing our minds to ensure we’re at the top of the class.

I’ve been hearing hints that the little mouse is pulling through the ranks, and I refuse to be beaten by a girl who’s not from our world. It’s absolutely unthinkable, not to mention, the results are sent to our parents as well, so they’ll find all kinds of ways to make our lives miserable.

Grabbing drinks from the kitchen, I hand out beers to the guys, watching as the house quickly fills with people excited to party. As they see me, they grin and wish me happy birthday, and they actually sound as if they mean it. I love being a King, but the amount of sycophants that suck up to us is disgusting.

It’s already getting old, unfortunately. I think that’s one of the reasons that fucking with the little mouse is so much fun for us. When you have almost everything, you look for ways to destroy others. Sure, I would love to have supportive parents or not to have the rest of my life already planned out for me, but wishes don’t come true.

There’s a power that’s addictive, though, in systematically dismantling someone’s life.

Liliana and Rachelle walk through the door at ten-thirty, while I’m taking a shot outside with the guys. The backyard is a huge garden with a maze as well, and I have no doubts that people will be going back there to fuck since the upstairs area is roped off. The large picture window I’m standing in front of allows me to watch them as Lili says hello to people. She’s well liked and popular, it’s her girlfriend people aren’t sure about because of the target we have on her back.

I’m not sure how I feel about the mafia shooting outside of our school, but I do know I’m not ready for the little mouse to die yet. We have too much fun planned for her.

“Here they are,” I murmur.

Lili pulls Rachelle close to her to dance, and I have to admit they look good together. Rachelle’s hips roll and sway as Lili wraps her arm around her. It’s when they kiss in the sea of other people dancing that my dick twitches. I shouldn’t enjoy watching them, she’s not allowed to have any happiness.

“They’ve been getting hot and heavy now,” Nacio mutters. “Lili spent the night at least twice this week, and she’s always careful to lock the door when they go to bed.”

“You can pick a lock just fine,” I mutter, amused.

One of the first things he taught us when we were ten was how to do this, because one of his father’s men had shown him. It’s quite helpful for getting into places we’re not supposed to be.

“I think she knows that, and I’m not someone who enjoys taking something by force,” he murmurs. “I’ll shame the fuck out of someone to get what I want though.”

“I really hoped the little mouse would come into the shower with me while she was asking me her cute little questions,” Jared says. “I blew my load alone. It was a little pathetic.”

Snickering, I shrug. “We can’t win them all, but we can try again.”

“Let’s play this by ear,” Theo says. “Hit on Lili, get her drunk, make her sing, I don’t fucking care. The end game is to get Rachelle alone, whether it’s to fuck her or humiliate her for thinking one of us would want her.”

Liliana has a killer singing voice, even though few people have heard it. Getting her drunk may be a good way to hear it again.

“We have till senior year to fuck her or murder her,” I murmur. “Either is on the table, right?”

“Yep,” Nacio grunts. “We all know I can get rid of a body.”

Jared snorts, cracking his knuckles before taking another shot.

“Good luck, boys,” he murmurs. “I’m going to set up some shots and politely ask one of the freshmen to walk them around.”

Theo hides his smile, shrugging. “Is that your attempt to appear to be captain material? None of those kids are old enough to be here,” he says.

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