Page 72 of Sweet Chaos
Headlights illuminated the darkness and I watched from my spot across the street and a few houses down as the car stopped under a streetlight in front of Scarlett’s building. I tossed my cigarette on the ground and crushed it under the sole of my boot, my eyes on the Tesla. The driver’s door opened, a man stepped out, and I took it all in—the expensive tailored suit, his height and build and stupid-ass hair, like he’d styled it for a GQ photo shoot.
Rich. Handsome. Entitled.
This scene was giving me flashbacks. Been there, done that, got the fucking T-shirt. Last time this happened, his name was Chase Fucking Carruthers. The jury was still out on whether Sienna cheated on him or on me. In the end, it didn’t matter. She chose him.
Everyone, including Scarlett, seemed to think that Sienna and Chase hooked up at her cousin Phoebe’s wedding.Afterwe broke up for the last and final time. That’s not the way it happened. Sienna met Chase at Phoebe’s New Year’s Eve party eight months before that wedding. I hadn’t been invited to the party or the wedding.
Now, I watched as Prince Charming opened the scissor door and held out his hand. I saw red when Scarlett emerged from the car in a little black designer dress, six-inch stilettos, and a dazzling smile. For him. Not me.
She hadn’t seen me skulking in the shadows like a fucking stalker.
Her laughter, sweet and melodious, reached my ears and hit me like a sucker punch in the gut. They were standing close. Too fucking close for my comfort. He said something, his voice too low for me to hear and she nodded, smiling up at him like he was the answer to all her prayers.
Before he could get his goodnight kiss or lure her into bed, I stalked toward them.
Scarlett’s eyes widened when she saw me and she quickly averted her head, focusing on the GQ model standing in front of her. “Thanks for everything,” she told the douchebag.
What exactly dideverythingmean?
“Anytime.” His eyes ping-ponged from me to Scarlett, waiting for an introduction or an explanation for the guy glowering at him. When none was forthcoming, he said something in Scarlett’s ear. She nodded, and he kissed her on the cheek and squeezed her shoulder.
With a final glance at me, he climbed into the driver’s seat. Scarlett waited until his taillights disappeared before she turned around to face me.
“Who was that?” I asked, voice deceptively casual. No need to jump to conclusions.
“A friend.”
“A friend. Huh. Are you fucking thisfriend?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” she said breezily, sauntering past me in her fuck-me stilettos. I shouldn’t be noticing her legs or the sway of her hips or the way her dress hugged all her curves but I was. Because she’d worn that fucking dress for a Tesla-driving GQ model douchebag. Not for me. Forhim. She was mine, all fucking mine, and I wanted her back.
“You’remy business,” I growled, stalking after her.
“Oh my God.” She spun around to face me, hands on her hips, blue eyes flashing with anger. If anything, she looked even more beautiful when she was angry. My eyes dropped to her heaving chest. Sick bastard that I was, it made me hard.
“You’re unbelievable. I haven’t seen you in a month.You left me. So you don’t get to show up here and question me or act like anything I do is your business.” She got right in my face, taunting me. “I canfuckwhoever I want.”
Her words hit me like a slap on the face followed by a swift kick to the nuts. I staggered back a step. Looks like baby sister was armed for battle. Two could play this game.
My eyes raked over her in a slow, leisurely descent, taking in the little black designer dress and heels before returning to her face. She didn’t look like herself tonight with that smoky eye makeup and perfect hair.
“You know what’s funny?” I wrapped a loose curl around my fingers. She lifted her brows, waiting for my next words. “I thought you were different. I thought you and Sienna were night and day. But I was wrong. Because here you are with your shiny new boyfriend and your designer clothes.”
I released her hair, ignoring the flash of hurt in her eyes, and hooked my finger in the strap of her dress, sliding it up and down, feeling the shiver go through her. “I bet Daddy will give you back the keys to the kingdom now that you’ve fallen into line. Are you letting him choose your boyfriends now, too?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” she gritted out, shoving my hand away and turning to go. I gripped her waist and pulled her against me, her back flush with my chest, my arm locking her in place.
“I liked the old Scarlett better.” Moving her hair aside, my teeth grazed her neck, soft but bruising, her scent heady and delicious, like her. But destroying good things was my specialty so I delivered the final blow. “This just looks like a desperate attempt to follow in your big sister’s footsteps. But guess what? You’ve fallen short, baby sister.”
Tears welled in her eyes and she swallowed hard, forcing them back as she turned to face me. “You know what’s funny? Really funny? I’ve always defended you, Dylan.Always.” Her voice quavered on the words, but pride forced her to look me straight in the eye when she dished up my just desserts. “I never believed that you were an asshole. I neverwantedto believe it. But I was wrong to give you the benefit of the doubt. Youarean asshole. Congratulations. Just when I thought I couldn’t feel shittier about myself, you proved me wrong.”
She walked away from me, her back ramrod straight, her blonde hair glowing in the moonlight and it was safe to say this night had not gone to plan.
It was also possible that I’d fucked up.
Why would she have felt shitty about herself?
As I stood on the street and watched her leave, it slowly sunk in. The realization that I was repeating old mistakes. Someone hurts you, you retaliate and hit them where you knew it hurt most.
