Page 5 of All Bets Are Off

When the food arrives, he continues to talk as we eat. I zone out as he drones on, no longer giving me anything of use. Just whiny drivel that I wish I could unhear. My eyes linger on my silverware as I imagine using it for something other than eating the mundane salad in front of me.

“Are you paying attention, Darling?”

No. I was imagining shoving the knife into my ear so I don’t have to listen to you, or maybe spooning your balls out through your throat. Who knew my threats could become so vulgar? Didn’t know I had it in me. Leave it to Carson to bring out the worst in me that I didn’t even know existed prior to a couple months ago.

I hate him. I’ve never really cared for him, the entire time we were growing up together, he rubbed me the wrong way. The way his stares have always lingered. The way his hands always seemed to accidentally brush against my exposed skin at any given opportunity. I think he needs a reminder that I’m only here because he’s backed me into a corner and I hate him with every fiber of my being for it.

I narrow my eyes at him, dropping my mask just a fraction for him to see the roiling pit of loathing I feel towards him. “The deal was to make a pretty picture, not to pay attention to the nonsense that is spewed from your mouth.”

I keep my demure smile in place the entire time. No one is close enough to overhear what I said or the venom in my tone. Even as I sit here festering in my hate for the man across the table from me, we do make a perfect picture. No one would guess I wasn’t speaking words of love and affection.

No one would see the rush of anger in his gaze. “Maybe we should renegotiate. I’m no longer feeling so generous.”

No one would feel the tight grip on my knee as his fingers dig into my flesh. I click my tongue in disapproval, not showing an ounce of the pain I'm feeling. “Changing the terms after the deal has been drawn?” I shake my head. “Your father would be so disappointed in that shoddy business practice.”

He’s fuming. I can feel his anger like waves of rage that waft off of him and slap me in the face. I refuse to back down though. He has me pinned, but I refuse to cower like a little bitch. I will find a way out of this corner, and when I do, he’s going to regret the day he ever put his hands on me.

“I think you’re forgetting your place, Brielle.”

I shrug as if his words don’t affect me. They do. Fuck, they do. I know exactly what he could do. My only hope now is that he wants me more than he wants the guys’ destruction.

There’s no way to take them down without taking me down too.

ChapterTwo

I shouldn’t be here.

I’m not supposed to be this close to her. Not supposed to still crave her the way I do. I just couldn’t walk away. I mean, none of us could. It’s why we are all here.

Revenge.

They want it. I even understand why. I thought the five of us were too close for anything to tear us apart. We all thought we would survive anything as long as we were together. We even thought we would make it through her choosing between us.

None of us ever took into account that Brielle might betray us. Especially not with him by her side. What was supposed to be another summer of fun together turned into something else entirely. Now we haven’t set eyes on her in months. All of us pretending we don’t miss her, when I know for a fact it isn’t just me that does. The guys are angry she used our game against us to get us arrested. They’re hurt she could turn her back on us so coldly and shut us out after so many years of friendship.

So yeah, of course they want revenge. Hell, I’m hurt and angry too. There’s no point in denying it. Losing Bri the way we did, so suddenly and completely. Being cut off from her without an explanation or a goodbye. Seeing her choose someone that wasn’t any of us.Wasn’t me. Well fuck. It hurt more than anything else in this life has ever wounded me.

She hit me everywhere it really counts. A hit to my pride, fucked my mind up, and ripped my still beating heart right out of my chest. Her hands are covered in just as much blood as our own. Only she also holds the tattered pieces of four hearts, while we sacrificed the last pure part of ourselves for her. I wonder which sin is really worse?

But no, I don’t want revenge. I don’t need to hurt the girl I’ve already lost so much of myself for. I just want answers. I want to understand. How could she change so much seemingly overnight?

Bri’s choices didn’t just affect her life. She didn’t just set herself down a new path by coming here. She altered the path the four of us thought we would all take together with her. Is it a surprise we all followed her? That the four of us dropped our acceptances to the college we had been talking about for years.Years.Just to be close to her again.

BSU sure did get a whole hell of a lot of donations to ensure we were able to get in so late. It’s truly a miracle. Our parents were all baffled at our change of hearts but no one tells us no. Not even them.

She has no idea what she set into motion with her betrayal.

I just can’t understand any of it. Why did everything change? How could she break us all so thoroughly? Does she have regrets? Feel remorse? Does she even think about us at all?

Some bad shit went down, okay. I can admit that. It probably even scared Bri. Fuck, I know it terrified her. I remember her fear that night, her horror over what had happened. But she wasn’t scared of us, no, she clung to us, looked to us to make it better. She loved us. I know she did.

Even if she didn’t have any other feelings for any of us, there was always friendship there. A strong bond of kinship and loyalty. That night solidified that if anything. It definitely didn’t break it. Or at least that was what we all thought.

But how could that be true when she went running into Carson’s arms less than a week later? Carson Crawford of all fucking people. She never even liked him. He creeped her out. For good reason too. The guy was a total and complete pervert when it came to Brielle. He never did anything that we could justify ruining his life over, but the way he stared at her.

Fuck, I hated the way he stared at her.

I know she did too. Or I thought she did, but how do I explain what is right before my eyes? She smiles at him so easily as he talks to her. Her blonde hair cascades over her shoulders and down her back in perfect ringlets, the front pinned away from her face so it frames her high cheekbones and blue eyes perfectly. Her makeup is simple but elegant, her sundress casual but classy. She got ready for this date. Put effort into looking nice for him. Her eyes never trail away from his face, he holds all of her focus. All of her attention.

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