The disgusted look they share is nothing short of priceless. “You’re fucking gross. He’s our brother,” The twin on the right spits.
“I know, it’s crazy, right? Super gross if you ask me, but what other explanation is there for trying to take down the girl who’s currently making their brother happy? You couldn’t be that low, could you? Geez, only jealous bitches would sink like that.”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Really? I know you and your skank mother took off and left him behind. Tell me, how often did you call? How many trips home did you make over the past few years? I can guarantee it’s zero. Then you show up out of the blue, right when his pockets get heavily lined. Who’re the real fakes around here? It’s damn clear what you two and your mother are after and Colton won’t fall for that.”
“You’re a fucking bitch.”
I shrug my shoulders. “That may be true but at least I’m not fake like you two. How about instead of trying to get at me, you spend your time trying to build a relationship with your brother?”
They both pull a face and it’s almost as though the idea of mending the bridge between them and Colton is something they’ve never even considered. “Our relationship with our brother is none of your damn business,” the one on the right says.
I lean in just a little closer, making sure I have both of their undivided attention. “Then stop getting in my face and making it my business.”
Uptight barbie twin on the right rolls her eyes before looking down at Jess and Hendrix. “I’m so done with this. You whores better watch your backs. You’re fucking stupid for siding with this bitch and we’re going to make sure you know it.”
Drix laughs beside me as though their threat is the funniest thing she’s ever heard. “Okay, babe. Whatever you say. I look forward to it.”
The twins glance at each other and I watch in fascination as their jaws clench in unison and their eyes swivel back to mine. “I expect my bathroom scrubbed tonight.”
I bow my head and wave my hand out in a sarcastic gesture. “It would be my pleasure, my queen. However, I saw the skid marks you left all over it this morning, and unfortunately, I don’t clean up after other people’s shit. So, you can go right ahead and clean that bowl yourself. Now, I can direct you to the cleaning supplies if you need. I know you’ve never cleaned up after yourself a day in your life.”
Her face goes bright red and they glance back at each other again, both lost for words and unsure how to fight back. I find a wide grin stretching across my face. All morning, they’ve been spreading shitty rumors about me, trying to humiliate me and bring me down, and in a matter of seconds, I’ve thrown it right back in their faces.
They turn with a huff and start taking off but if they’re going to give me their backs, then they should know that I’m more than capable of stabbing them in them. “Oh, hey twinnies,” I call in a singsong voice, watching as they both look back over their shoulders. “It was a nice try, but next time, you’re going to have to work harder than that.”
The twins storm away and just like that, I drop back into my seat and look across at Jess while picking up an apple and taking a nice juicy bite. “Now, tell me what went down with Milo this morning.”
Chapter 6
I walk through the front door of the Carrington mansion, being extra loud and making a point of not coming in through the service entrance, because why the hell not? It hasn’t even been 24 hours since the three long-lost Carringtons came home but I’m determined to do absolutely everything in my power to get under their skin. With that in mind, I dump my school bag right at the front door for the twins to trip over. Hell, maybe I’ll move back into the spare room that I was in when I first got here, but on second thought, that’s also the room Jude attacked me in, so I might give that one a miss.
I make my way through the house until I’m pushing through to the staff quarters. It’s a mess of people busy cleaning up and it leaves me wondering if Colton had people here again today. The poor guy. He’s so freaking busy, he hardly gets a chance to be an eighteen-year-old kid. He has the weight of a billion-dollar company resting on his shoulders. I don’t even want to imagine the kind of stress that comes along with that.
As I glance around, I find myself looking for Maryne until the ugly reminder settles into my heart. She’s not here. She’ll never be here again.
She’s gone.
I let out a heavy sigh and struggle against the tears forming in my eyes. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to not seeing her face in here again. She was everything. Her presence was known no matter where you were in the mansion and now without her, it just seems so empty, so lonely.
I could always count on Maryne for a smile. She was there to lift me up after a shitty day. I never actually sat down and talked with her about everything that was going on at the beginning but she could sense something was wrong. She was very maternal, especially for a woman who never got the chance to actually be a mom.
My phone dings from deep in my bra and I fish it out of there. This stupid private school uniform is trying to kill me. What uniform doesn’t have pockets for us to hide things in? It’s ridiculous.
I glance down at my phone and everything inside of me shatters.
Sebastian.
No, I’m not ready for this.
It’s only a text, but I know exactly what it’s going to say and reading those words is going to kill me.
I don’t know what it is about Sebastian but out of all of my Widows, he’s the one I always bonded with the most. He was my best friend—not in the way that I was friends with Nic. This was something different, something deeper. He was a brother to me, a protector, the guy that I always knew would be there.
What a joke that was. Out of all the guys, Nic and Sebastian’s betrayal hurts the most. Those two were supposed to be the ones I trusted the most, they were supposed to be my world, but they lied. Just like my father did.
I look down at the notification on my phone, trying to find the strength to read Sebastian’s message. I've heard from them all over the past week … in fact, I've probably heard from them a little too much, especially Nic, but after the weekend and the bruise he left on my arm, it’s going to take a little more than some shitty apology to reel me back in. Nic is sick. He's obsessed and it’s becoming unhealthy, but out of the four of them, if one of them was capable of reeling me back in with shitty words, it’s Sebastian, and deep down, we both know it.
Taking a breath, I press on his message and mentally prepare myself.
Sebastian – Can we talk? I miss you, O.
I find myself staring at the message. One minute passes and it turns into two. Before I know it, I’ve been staring down at my phone for at least five minutes and I still have no idea what to do. Do I message back? Do I tell him that I miss him so freaking bad that it hurts? Do I ignore it? Why does it have to hurt like this?
I want them back in my life so desperately, but they betrayed me. They lied, they did the one thing I never thought they’d do. Sure, they’ve kept things from me before but it was never an outright lie. They’ve been deep in the Black Widows since before I knew them and I always knew that there were some things that they weren’t going to share with me. They kept that part of their lives concealed in an attempt to protect me from it, but this was my father, my life. How am I supposed to forgive and forget that?