Page 73 of An Unexpected Everything
I moved forward then, my brow raised.
“You’re going to want to be really calm.”
“Oh? You’re just a fucking Cage. You don’t own this town. You’re a bastard just like the rest of them.”
Weston shook Steve ever so slightly, even as Sam wrapped her arms around Sydney. Tears streamed down both of their faces, and Mason was there, shaking out his fist before he hugged them both as well.
“First off, you’re an idiot if you think that it’s smart to degrade me or anyone else in this house when Weston has you by the throat.”
“He can’t touch me.”
“I can do whatever the fuck I want. Now, you’re going to apologize or I will bury your body.”
“You can’t do that,” he said, but he didn’t sound as forceful as he had.
“I am a Cage. And like you said, I own this town. And between my brothers and the Caldwells here, we know a lot of places that nobody’s ever going to find you. But you know what the best part is, it’s not even the threats of physical force. You’re going to the same college that Aston Cage went to. You know, the one that he’s on a few boards for?” Steve’s entire face paled, and I just smiled. “And, though I’m just a bastard, I also have a fewconnections with your department. Because you did want to go into that high-end field, didn’t you?”
“You can’t do anything.”
“That’s wrong again. I know exactly who your advisor’s going to be. And with one call, I can ruin your life forever.”
It wasn’t that simple, but he didn’t know that. He was just some dumbass kid, and I was tired of bullies.
“Fuck you.”
“Wrong answer,” Weston growled, and I truly saw death on his face.
“Stop it,” Sydney said, and she moved forward, mascara running down her cheeks. “The only thing I regret right now is that I didn’t wear waterproof mascara,” she snapped. “Just get out, Steve. Don’t threaten my family, don’t say a word. Because if you do, I am better at the gossip network than you ever were. I never want to see your face again.”
“You’re just a frigid virgin.” Then he wrestled out of Weston’s hold and practically sped out of the house. I knew that Weston had let go of him, because that was the only way that Steve could have found his way out of that hold.
“I can still kill him for you,” Weston said softly.
Sydney raised her chin before wiping her face.
“He wasn’t worth it. We were going to break up anyway. We’re going to two schools far away, and it only made sense that our lives would diverge. It wasn’t going to be forever. He had his life, and I had mine. But apparently if you don’t put out in high school, he’ll find someone else that will.”
“If Weston doesn’t murder him, I can. And I learned how to dissolve a body.”
We all looked over at Mason, who shrugged innocently. “It was for a school project. Not an actual body, but I learned things.”
“You scare me, and I love you,” Sam said softly, and Mason beamed as if his whole world was right in front of him.
And at eighteen, maybe that was the case.
“I love you too, boo bear.”
“Boo bear?” Sam said with a laugh.
Mason winced. “You won’t let me give you a nickname. So I’m trying. Also, my hand really hurts.”
“Let me get you some ice.” I moved past him before gently kissing his cheek.
He blushed innocently, his glasses practically fogging, and I swallowed hard. I couldn’t help but think about Sydney’s words. The fact that they were moving far away. That it was never going to work out. That their paths were diverging.
I couldn’t help but remember exactly that feeling when Weston had left the first time.
We needed to talk. To figure out what we were doing. Because I wasn’t sure I could be as strong as Sydney. Not for the second time in my life.
