Page 69 of Boys Who Taint (Spine Ridge University #5)

Grey

I have never experienced a more awkward dinner than this one right here.

She has not just one but three “dads.” Technically, they’re not her dad, but they sure as hell treat her like their own.

Alistair, Dylan, and Felix are all seated at the table, one more menacing than the other as they stare me down like they’re deciding which one of them gets to tear me apart like a goddamn turkey needing to be sliced open for dinner.

I pick up my glass of iced water and take a big gulp.

“So … Grey …” Dylan says, tossing a lighter in the air. “Aspen told me you two go to the same university.”

“Yeah,” I reply. “Though, that’s not where we met.”

“Oh really? Where then, if I may ask?”

“The cemetery,” Aspen fills in for me. “I was crying over Mavis, if you must know.”

“I’m glad you paid your sister a visit,” Alistair says. “Did you give her some fresh flowers?”

Aspen nods.

“She visits often,” I say.

“With you?” Dylan asks.

Aspen nods. “Grey … lost his parents, so he understands grief.” She looks at me and smiles as she grabs my hand.

“My condolences,” Alistair says.

“It’s okay,” I say. “It was a long time ago.”

“So how did you afford to go to Spine Ridge then?” Dylan asks. “I mean, it’s not exactly a cheap university.”

Why does this feel like an interrogation?

“My uncle raised me,” I reply. “He’s sort of rich. Gone a lot, too.”

“That doesn’t sound nice,” Alistair says.

“It wasn’t. But at least I had a safe home,” I say.

“It’s safe here,” Felix growls.

“Oh, I’m sorry, sir, I wasn’t implying that it wasn’t,” I say, as I put down my glass.

“Good,” he adds.

“He was, though,” Silas says, narrowing his eyes at me.

God, the room’s temperature just fell ten degrees when he opened his mouth. Can’t believe Felix is Mavis’s dad. She always looked so cheery whenever I saw her hanging out with Aspen on campus. And he’s just … death incarnate.

I clear my throat and ignore Silas, focusing on Dylan instead because I have to win him over first. “I feel very lucky to have found your daughter,” I say, smiling at them all. “And I’m grateful that she allows me to be in her life.”

Aspen smiles back at me, solidifying our togetherness in front of her family. Because I do get the feeling this whole dinner is just a dress-up for the main show, which is judging me.

“Well, I’m glad she found someone she can relate to,” Alistair says, trying to break the ice. “It’s nice to see Aspen happy.”

“Thanks,” she says.

Her phone is buzzing, but she ignores it.

“I’m just glad that fucker is out of the picture,” Dylan says as he keeps flicking that lighter up and down.

I nearly choke on my own saliva and cough, while Aspen squeezes my hand hard.

“Who?” her mom, Penelope, asks as she comes in with a giant pan.

“Don’t,” Felix growls at her dad when he opens his mouth.

“Don’t what?” her mom says as she puts down the pan on the table. “I made y’all some chili tonight. Do you like chili?” she asks.

“Chili is always nice,” I reply, trying to keep things civil.

“Oh God,” Xavier mutters as he peers into the pot.

“What?!” her mom squawks, and everyone leans back in their seats. “I made this with love. You eat it with love. The end.”

She marches back into the kitchen for more food, and the rest of us look at each other in complete silent awkwardness.

“We have a cook, but she prefers to poison us with her home cooking when we have guests,” Xavier whispers to me.

“Xavier!” Dylan hisses at him to shut him up.

“You have such pretty hair,” Melody says out of nowhere.

I forgot she was seated next to me.

“What?” I mutter, confused.

She grabs a strand of my hair and plays with it. “Did you paint this?”

“I have poliosis,” I reply. “But I bleached the rest so it matched.”

“Nice. I dig it.” She smiles. “You should pose for me sometime.”

“Pose for what?”

“She does paintings,” Aspen whispers. “Sometimes she finds new muses and latches onto them. Doesn’t bode well for people if they say no, so just go with it.”

“Oh … yeah, of course,” I tell Melody.

“Really?” Her eyes begin to glisten, and now I’m beginning to wonder what I’ve gotten myself into.

“Here’s the refried beans and the rice,” Aspen’s mom says as she puts more plates on the table. “And some veggies of course. Can’t forget those.”

“Hmm … delicious,” Xavier says sarcastically.

“I call dibs on the toilet after dinner,” Silas says.

“Silas!” her mom growls. “Can you not?”

“What?” Silas shrugs. “We’re all thinking it.”

Her mom snatches his plate and throws on not one but three spoons of chili along with some rice and veggies and drops his plate back in front of his nose. “Here. Enjoy your bathroom break later.”

Silas just stares at her with a blank stare, and it makes me snigger.

“What’s so funny?” he barks.

“Don’t start a fight with our guest,” Felix barks back. “He’s a friend.”

“For now,” Silas growls, stabbing his food with the fork.

“Don’t you dare, Silas,” Aspen says, pointing her fork at him. “I know what you do. Stop it.”

“What? Who says he can be trusted?” Silas quips. “For all we know, those Torres fuckers planted him in our family as a spy.”

“Silas!” Penelope barks as she fills up my plate, then hands it to me.

“Don’t mention that name at this table,” Dylan hisses at him.

“Can we eat now? I’m famished,” Alistair mutters, but he can’t get over the ruckus at the table.

“What does Levi have to do with any of this?” Aspen says.

Oh shit.

Her mother’s face has darkened in a way that I have never witnessed before, and it’s kind of reminiscent of when Aspen tried to light the Phantom Society on fire.

Now I get where she gets her spark.

“That motherfucker better not be anywhere near you, Aspen,” she says, her hand tightening around her own fork. “You know as well as I do the only thing he deserves is the death he gave Mavis.”

Holy shit, this got bad really quick.

Aspen folds her arms. “What I do is my business.”

Her mother’s eye twitches.

Well fuck.

“Can we get through one family dinner without a fight, please?” Melody asks.

“She’s right, you know,” her dad, Alistair, adds.

I quickly pick up the fork and stuff my face with the chili. “Hmm. Delicious!”

Her mom immediately breaks eye contact and looks at me instead, the darkness briefly lifting from her face, like a parting cloud after a thunderstorm. “You like it?”

I nod and swallow it down, then scoop up some more. “It’s fabulous. What herbs did you use? So spicy. I love it!”

Part of that is a lie, but I don’t want to offend the host, and I certainly don’t want to die while eating chili.

“See? Someone actually likes my chili!” her mom exclaims. “I can cook!”

“Great …” Silas mutters as he drops his fork.

Felix pokes his fork into Silas’s arm. “Eat. Don’t offend your mother.”

“Yes, let’s eat and forget about the fight,” Alistair says.

“What fight?” Xavier asks, completely unaware as he takes a bite.

“I’m surprised you’re still running to his defense, Aspen,” Silas says, homing in on her. “I thought you were finally over that fucker.”

God, not again.

The rest start putting the food on their plates just to avoid eye contact with Penelope, and I get it.

“I’m not running to anyone’s defense,” Aspen responds. “But you’re all way too quick to judge someone for something you weren’t even there to witness.”

Now the forks are coming down. Oh dear.

“Excuse me? Are you implying he didn’t kill your sister?” Felix barks, clearly on edge, because he’s nearly breaking his fork in half with just his fist.

“Forks down. I repeat, forks down on the table,” Alistair says. “No one is getting stabbed tonight on my watch.”

“Like you can stop me.” Dylan snorts.

“I’m saying that I was there … and that I still believe it might’ve been an accident,” Aspen says, taking a deep breath.

“Hmm …” Silas tilts his head, staring her down. “Are you just saying that because you want us to patch things up with the Torres family so you can keep railing his cousin?”

Oh fuck no.

The entire room has gone quiet.

So quiet you could hear a pin drop.

And I don’t know whether to run or hide for cover.