Page 15 of Charming Cruel Boys

“Where have you been, Remi? And why the fuck are you coming home at nine in the morning wearing nothing but a man’s shirt?” he booms as he stalks closer to me.

Shrinking back against the cool wood of the door, I stumble over any reasonable response. “I-I spilled a drink on my dress last night. I borrowed a shirt from Andrew.” I don’t know why he’s more upset about me wearing Knight’s shirt than the outfit I was in last night. He saw the dress I was nearly busting out of when I had to come back home before Sara and I left for the party to grab my phone off the charger. He didn’t so much as bat an eye, giving a half-assed wish for us to have a good time as I rushed out the door.

My dad narrows his eyes at me. “I know you didn’t stay at Sara’s. Her parents called me this morning to ask if she ended up here instead. Explain yourself, now.”

I swallow down the lump of panic in my throat. My palms are sweaty and my knees are threatening to buckle. Growing up the way I did, I figured out real quick that the little things can blow up fast and then I’m being bent over the nearest surface and whipped with my father’s belt. Not that he’s spanked me hardly at all since I turned fourteen, but this kind of raw fear isn’t something I expect I’ll ever grow out of. Shaking my head, I force out a laugh that sounds a bit too close to a sob. “Dad, it’s no biggie. We crashed in a spare room at Andrew’s house. I should have called to let you know. I’m sorry.”

Finally, he gives me a curt nod. “Fine. Go upstairs and shower. You look awful and Rose and the boys will be over in a couple of hours. I expect you to be dressed and down here to help them settle in.”

“Yes, sir,” I answer quickly before he can berate me for anything else.

“And one more thing, Remi,” my dad says as I try to skirt around him. When I stop and slowly turn to face him, he continues. “Stay away from Knight.”

“What?” I ask, completely baffled as to why that would even come out of his mouth. Does he know that I slept in Knight’s bed? That this is his shirt on my body?

“He’s a troubled kid. Not doing well in his classes. Rose tells me he often comes home drunk, even on school nights. I don’t want you anywhere near him. I don’t want him poisoning your mind.”

“And Duke?” I question before I can stop myself. I don’t know why that slipped into my mind. It’s not like I plan on being around Duke at all if I can help it.

My dad heaves out a sigh, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Duke is alright. He’s the better of the two. But that doesn’t change the fact that they’ll both be your stepbrothers in a few months when I marry their mother, so I better not catch you parading your pussy around him either, got it?”

I choke on a gasp as his words slice through me. So many things are wrong with that statement, I don’t even know where to start. I have half a mind to tell him that Duke’s already been there, done that, and tossed me to the curb, but I somehow get the sense that my father wouldn’t appreciate that insight. So I offer a polite nod, weave around him, and run upstairs before the violent blush rising in my cheeks gives anything away.

***

A little over two hours later, the doorbell rings. Dread pools in my stomach, urging me to pack a bag and jump out my window while have the chance. I have no clue where I would go, but I’d take my chances catching a bus out of town. Speed up my escape from this place, move far, far away and chase my dreams where nobody can deter me. Become a publisher and take care of myself like I always have. My fingers are itching to gather everything I can and run when my dad yells for me to go answer the door. Guess he’s too busy for his bride-to-be right now.

Dragging my feet every step of the way, I stop in front of the door and take a deep breath. Then I grab the knob and swing it open, coming face to face with Duke and Knight, arms full of boxes and irritated expressions on both of their faces. A quick glance at Knight shows me the blossoming bruise on his jaw from the blow Duke gave him this morning. I can’t help but smirk at him. Serves him right for riling his brother up, even if I did enjoy the flash of hurt in Duke’s eyes when he thought I had slept with Knight.Stepping aside, I hold my arm out wide and gesture for them to get moving.

“No ‘Welcome home, brothers’ or anything?” Knight asks as he steps inside and unceremoniously drops the boxes at the foot of the stairs.

My lips curl in a scowl. “I’d die before ever calling you my brother.”

“I don’t know,” he says in a low purr, moving closer to me. “It didn’t seem like you hated me so much last night. I have a feeling I could become real close with my sweet new sister. Maybe sneak into your room at night and show you how the big kids play.”He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear as he whispers the words, and I have to stop myself from slapping his hand away. Or finding a knife to stab him in the dick.

With a super dramatic eye roll, I walk past them and out the door, finding Rose trying to lift a box almost as big as her. Racing down the walkway, I grab the other side of it and help her raise it. She gives me a thankful smile and says, “Remi, dear, so good to see you again.”

I nod and give her a smile that I hope looks more genuine than it feels. Rose is a nice woman, despite the demon spawn she birthed into this world. And she’s already lost so much. I’m not going to go out of my way to be a bitch. If she’s truly happy with my a-hole of a father, then whatever.It makes zero sense to me what she could possibly see in him, but I’ll smile and be polite anyway.

Between the two of us, we manage to maneuver the giant box inside, and Rose scolds the boys when we catch them sitting on the stairs, just watching us work. With muttered apologies, they both stand, and we all get to work moving their belongings inside.

After forty minutes, sweating my tits off, and somehow managing to cut my hand, we’re done. I’m standing in the doorway, hands on my hips, trying to hold in my panic at seeing all of their things insidemyhouse. There’s no escaping it now. Duke and Knight are infiltrating my life and I’m just going to have to suck it up until graduation.

Warm breath skates along the back of my neck right before a large hand rests on my shoulder and turns me around.“Hey,” Duke says with a sad smile, standing way too damn close to me.

I take a step back, narrowing my eyes. “What do you want, Duke?”

He sighs and runs his hand through his blonde hair. “Can we talk?”he asks quietly, pleading with his big navy eyes.

“I think I said everything I needed to say to you this morning, actually, and I’d rather not waste time repeating myself.” I turn away and march toward the stairs, ready to hide away in my bedroom until dinner.

Duke’s right on my tail, grabbing my hand and pulling me to a stop. “Please, Remi. I swear to you, I didn’t know that girl was your friend. And I didn’t have sex with her. I ended it before it got that far, probably not long after you saw us.” He gives me his pathetically cute puppy dog face, and I kind of want to gouge my eyes out.Maybe then he wouldn’t be able to set loose a swarm of butterflies in my stomach.

A part of me wants to maim him for getting under my skin so easily. The other part wants to relish in his closeness because it’s been so long and I’ve missed him. But that doesn’t change the facts. Duke spent months making me fall in love with him and then vanished from my life overnight. And sure, let’s say I do believe that he’s sorry about hooking up with Sara, that he honestly had no clue who she was. If it were any other girl, I could get over it. It’s not like I wasn’t in the kitchen playing tongue-tag with Sawyer. We’re not together, we can both mess around at parties.

Not one to hold a grudge over petty shit, I pull my hand from Duke’s and offer a small smile. “It’s alright. Consider it forgotten.” Sara, however, is now holding the top spot on my shit list. She was well aware of who she was rubbing up against last night. That, I can’t forgive.

“So, um, how have you been?” Duke asks, once again stepping into my personal space and rubbing his hand against the back of his neck sheepishly. His woodsy, pine scent fills my nostrils and almost makes my knees buckle with all the memories it causes to flood my brain.

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