Page 14 of Charming Cruel Boys

Wakingupinacold sweat and my stomach rolling with nausea is not my idea of a good time. I’m never getting shit-faced again. I don’t know how Knight does this so often. The only reason I lost control last night was because Remi and Sawyer put on a fucking show in Andrew’s kitchen.

Seeing him touch her, touch what used to bemine, made my blood boil. I heard her sweet moans, the ones only I got the privilege of hearing not all that long ago, and all I knew was that I needed a drink.

Except one shot turned into five, and the next thing I know, I’m coming to my senses as some blonde tries deep throating my dick in the backyard. I’ve never shoved a girl off of me before, but I couldn’t help myself. The only girl I wanted was Remi, not some bottle-blonde with subpar blowie skills.

I have no clue what I was thinking when I led her into the backyard in the first place. I’m claiming momentary insanity.

I stumbled into my bedroom after three in the morning, jerked myself off aggressively to the memories of Remi’s body, and passed out in my own cum. Not my finest moment.I’ll be taking that secret to the grave.

My stomach lurches again, and I shoot up, running across the hall and into the bathroom to puke up all the alcohol I drank. After a few painful minutes, I stand on shaky legs and swirl some mouthwash before the taste on my tongue makes me sick again.

Instead of going back to my room, I move down the hall and swing open Knight’s door. “Dude, I’ve got the hangover from hell. There’s no way I can move today. How do you usually deal?”My eyes finally adjust to the dark space and I realize there’s a girl in his bed. Typical. The amount of times I’ve caught some chick sneaking out before Mom wakes up is ridiculous. “Shit, sorry,” I mutter with a sigh.I’m just about to leave when Knight opens his eyes and smirks at me, this cocky, arrogant expression that fits him too damn well. He runs his hand up the sleeping girl’s arm and nestles his face into her neck, thrusting his hips into her ass.

“Ugh, seriously, fuck off, Knight,” she murmurs, her voice thick with sleep. But I still recognize it. It’s a voice I often hear in my dreams.

“Remi?” I bark.I’m still standing in the doorway, mouth gaping, trying to blink through the headache raging in my skull so I can be sure it’snother.

She sits straight up, her wide eyes locking onto me. I inhale a shaky breath, feeling like I’ve been stabbed. “Shit,” Remi breathes, pushing Knight’s wandering hand awayagain.

I stomp across the room, grabbing a fist full of Knight’s long hair with one hand and punching him in the face with the other. I don’t have time to land another blow, though, before he’s out of bed and slamming my back against the wall.

“Calm the fuck down, Duke,” he growls in my face.He’s got one hand curled around the faded band camp shirt I got freshman year and the other arm is pressing in on my throat to keep me pinned to the wall.

“Did you sleep with her?” I ask desperately while my muscles tremble and my brain explodes. Remi’s in his bed. Of course he did.

“Why would you care? I heard you already got yours at the party,” he answers with a sharp smile.

Narrowing my eyes, I shove at his chest, but Knight doesn’t budge. “I don’t know who told you that, but it’s not true. And even if I did screw some random girl, that doesn’t give you the right to sleep with her!”I may not have any control over who Remi sleeps with since we ended, but I’ll be damned if I allow mytwinto screw her without at least trying to stop it. This is a betrayal he can’t come back from and he knows it.

Suddenly, Remi is right at Knight’s side, placing a delicate hand on his arm and pulling him off my throat. He opens his mouth to protest, but she cuts him a scathing look. “You” — she points at Knight — “stop stirring shit. We most definitely did not have sex. You gave me a ride in the middle of the night when I needed one. That’s it. And you” — she turns her deadly gaze to me — “don’t lie. I saw you and Sara outside last night. Out of all the girls you could have had, you chose my best friend.”

Remi heaves in a breath while her eyes fill with tears. It physically pains me not to wrap my arms around her and console her. “She was hitting on me. I didn’t know she was your friend,” is all I can say while Remi fights her emotions.

“Yeah, well, I guess it doesn’t matter who you screw. We’ve been over for a long time. You made sure of that, right? And now, as if you haven’t already taken everything from me, you’ve also ruined a friendship for me. So thank you, Duke,” she says, her voice cold and empty like I’ve singlehandedly broken her beyond repair. A tear runs down her cheek before she wipes it away and drops her gaze from my face.

I’m speechless as Remi gathers her stuff from the floor, shooting Knight and I dark looks on her way out. All the while, Knight keeps me pinned to the wall.The second the front door closes, I want to chase after her. I hate that I hurt her. I hate that she shed a tear because of me. But most of all, I’m confused by what she meant. I made sure we were over? That was all on Remi. Right?

“Let me go,” I order, giving Knight another hard push.

“Lethergo, Duke. I can see it in your eyes, you want to go to Remi, smooth things over.”

“So what if I do?”I snap. It’s none of his damn business how I feel or don’t feel about her.

“You really want to go crawling back to someone who was warming your brother’s bed all night?” He cocks a brow, looking at me like I’m beyond helpless.

“You didn’t fuck her.” There’s a question in my voice that Knight picks up on. Remi said they didn’t sleep together, but I also know my brother.You didn’t fuck her, right?I’m begging in my head.

“Doesn’t mean she didn’t want it.” With that, he finally releases me and goes into the bathroom, the shower turning on immediately.

I contemplate running out of the house and chasing Remi down, but with my brother’s parting words running through my head, I don’t know what to think.

I’ll give myself time to figure it out. Because in just a few hours, I’ll be living with her anyways.Her and her dad… I’m not sure if I’ll be able to look at the man without hatred. I want to support Mom as much as I can, but I miss Dad more than anything in the world. Charles Williams will never be anything but a poor replacement.

10

Remi

IwavetheUberdriver off before sneaking in through my front door and closing it behind myself as quietly as possible. Just not quiet enough, I guess. My father barges out into the foyer from the kitchen, his face contorted in anger.

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