Page 31 of Charming Cruel Boys

“We do not beg for mercy, Remi. Only the weak beg, and I’ll be damned if I raised a weak little bitch,” my father spits. “Get out of my office and clean yourself up.”

I turn without a word, and with heavy feet, I make my way upstairs and into the guest bathroom across from my bedroom. My lungs are squeezed tight and ready to burst, aching from holding back sobs.

When I lift my eyes to the mirror and take in the bruise already forming under my eye, everything stops.

I don’t even have the strength to shed my clothes and climb into the shower. I slide down the wall and collapse on the floor, pulling my knees tight to my chest and making myself as small as possible.

I don’t scream or cry. I don’t feel any pain. I just sit and stare at the white cabinets until my eyes burn. I have no idea how long I stay like that. I only know that I can’t break down. The punishment will be worse if I do.

21

Duke

Knight’sfootballpracticeranlate, much to my annoyance. I sat in my truck for forty minutes, thinking about whether or not I should text Remi or if that made me seem too eager. I mean, I am. I want her in any capacity that I can get her. I just don’t want to annoy her by being too overbearing in my excitement.

So I played it cool or whatever, and instead thought up a shit ton of fantasies about her naked body. I was rock hard by the time Knight hopped in the truck. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him about Remi’s little crush, see if he’d be into it or if he’d lie about wanting her, but I kept my mouth closed and drove home.

Knight didn’t say a word to me the whole drive, and as soon as we walk in the front door, he salutes me like a douche and bounds up the stairs. I sigh as I watch him go. He’s been extra gloomy lately. I just wish I knew what was going on in his head.

Once upon a time, my brother and I had been as close as possible. I guess it’s a twin thing. We were inseparable throughout our childhood and he used to tell me everything. Until Dad died. Now it seems like he can barely stand to be around me. There’s a part of me that aches for that closeness we once shared. And maybe I’m kind of hoping Remi is the perfect solution. She could bring us together if only I could figure out how to make it happen.

It takes a whole lot of willpower not to go straight to Remi’s room and pick things up where we left off. I don’t care if she lets me sit and watch her do homework or if she wants to throw me down in her bed, I just want to be near her after so long of being without her. But I tell myself to stop acting like a class-five clinger and head for my room instead. I have an essay due in a few days that I need to work on anyway.

Right as I sit down on my bed, leaning against my headboard with my computer in my lap, I hear Knight.“Fuck! Duke, come here!”His voice is laced with panic, cracking over the vowels.

I don’t know if it’s the urgency in his voice or the fact that he’s calling for me when he’s hardly spoken to me in days, but I jump off my bed and race out of my room. Knight is standing in the doorway of the bathroom, eyes wide, raking a hand through his hair. He points into the room, and I peer inside.I push him out of the way and kneel beside Remi. She’s curled in a ball on the floor, staring straight ahead. Her cheek is bright red and there’s a cut under her eye, leaking blood down onto her knee.

“Remi, baby, look at me,” I whisper, trying to get her attention. She shakes her head and drops her face, hiding the wound entirely as her hair falls forward.

“What happened?” I bark at Knight, who’s still standing behind me, looking way out of his depth.

“I don’t know! I came to shower, the door was unlocked. I saw her and yelled for you,” he says, his normally sure and confident voice wavering as he stares at Remi with unchecked concern.

It’s hard not to shake her for answers when all I want is to find out who hurt her and end the sorry fuck’s life. But that can wait. She doesn’t need my fury right now, she needs to be comforted.

I slip one arm under her legs and the other behind her back and then lift her from the ground. Knight moves out of the way so I can walk down the hall to my room. He hesitates instead of following after me. He wants to keep pretending that he doesn’t care, to keep that space between them, but he also wants to know she’s alright. I could see it in his eyes the second we were both staring down at her in that bathroom. My brother starts to turn around, heading to his room, but Remi stops him.

“Wait, Knight,” she calls, her voice scratchy and small. “Stay with me.”

I look at Knight, waiting for him to let her down. It’s not like I don’t know he has feelings for her. But whatever’s been warring inside him lately has made him vicious and cold. I’ve seen the way he treats her. I’ve been too much of a pussy to stand up for her because I thought she abandoned me when I needed her. It’s a lousy fucking excuse, and I feel like the world’s biggest dick, but that all ends now. I’m more ready than ever to fight him, to lay down some ground rules and make sure Knight gives Remi the respect she deserves. Whether or not he agrees to whatever three-sided relationship she’s cooked up in her mind, he still needs to fucking behave. I’ll beat his ass if he tries to spit venom at her when she’s already at such a low point.

Thankfully, fists won’t be flying tonight.

Knight nods softly, his face completely shut down and his movements stiff. He follows me into my bedroom, closing and locking the door as we all file inside. I sit on the edge of my bed, cradling Remi in my arms like I can protect her from everything outside this room. And I want to. God, do I want to.

I’ve never been the violent one. That honor has always gone to Knight. The rough twin. The screw-up. The asshole. Not that I ever saw him like that. Well, okay, yes, he is a major asshole. But the other shit is just what people have labeled him as. And I’ve always been the good twin. The charmer. The perfect child. I’ve done my best to live up to that, even when I’ve wanted to throw it all away and scream. But I haven’t because my reputation has always been important to me. Not anymore.

Holding a broken and trembling Remi in my arms sparks a fire in me that I think my brother has felt all his life. It makes me vibrate with murderous intent and I feel sorry for the next person who even looks at me funny.Or worse, the next person who looks at Remi with anything other than affection. I may be the nice guy, but I’m a fucking beast for my girl.

Before my mind can spin out of control, Knight shuffles over to the bed and sits down beside me. Without a word, he grabs Remi out of my lap and tucks her body into his, curling around her tightly. My brows nearly meet my hairline. If we weren’t all feeling the seriousness of the situation, I’d give him so much shit right now. Who knew Knight could possibly handle someone with so much care?

“Talk to me, Remi,” Knight murmurs into her hair as he strokes his hand up and down her back lazily. Remi shakes her head and clings to him tighter, a soft cry falling from her lips. A flicker of possessiveness flashes through me, watching my brother hold my girl. Doing my job when it should be me comforting her. But then I remind myself that Remi isn’t justmine this time around. If Knight can take the giant stick out of his ass and embrace what the two of them share, then I just have to deal with it. Whatever it is, as long as Remi’s happy, I’ll deal with it.

Kicking my ugly urges to the side, I drop to my knees on the floor between Knight’s legs and wrap my arms around Remi from behind, leaning my head on her back and humming a song under my breath. Now it’s Knight’s turn to shoot me awhat the fucklook.

I shrug and give him a smug smile. I have to lay my claim now because once Knight’s on board, he’ll be even more jealous and possessive than I am. This is me telling him that I won’t back down. He can have her, but so can I.I’ll fight for her if I need to.

Between the two of us, Remi eventually relaxes, her tight muscles loosening until she leans back and stares at Knight. They have an entire silent conversation with their eyes before she looks over her shoulder at me. Her gray eyes flash with pain and fear but also gratefulness and affection. Remi shuffles off of Knight’s lap, much to his displeasure, and sits next to him, wincing and hissing in a breath. Knight and I both jerk forward like we can stop the pain, but she shakes her head and gives a weak smile, patting the spot beside her for me to join. I do, following her orders like a puppy.

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