Page 8 of Nevermore (A Cruel Love #1)

SIX

SANTIAGO

And the monotony continues.

After securing my helmet, I march away from my bike and head straight for the house that’s already filled to the brim with my old classmates. I leave a dazed and slightly queasy-looking Reign behind as I shoulder my way through the crowd to where I know Kingston and Hudson must be.

I’ve been to this house before and, as predicted, I find them on the back patio lounging by the pool.

I can tell they’ve already been drinking based on the glass in Hudson’s hand and the way Kingston sways in his set.

I plop down on one of the chairs beside them.

Kingston sits up, looking over my shoulder with interest. “Where’s the cowboy? I thought I told him to come?”

“You think he’s that dumb?” Hudson snorts, producing a joint from his back pocket. “Only an idiot wouldn’t have been able to tell you were fucking with him today.”

Kingston pouts but then his face transforms. “Well, well. Looks like my Trailer Trash Titan must be an idiot then.”

I turn to find that Reign was somehow able to follow my trail out here. He waves awkwardly at my friends and gestures to the empty seat beside me. “Got room for one more?”

“Anything for my bestie’s stepbro,” Kingston cheers, a shit-eating grin on his face as he waves Reign down. “Please. It was so boring before you got here, cowboy. You look mighty fine tonight.”

“You know I’m not actually a cowboy, right?” Reign asks, chuckling in discomfort as he ignores Kingston’s horrible attempt at his accent. “Um, I worked at a fast food joint. The closest I got to a cow was when the double patty melt would moo.”

He snorts at his own joke and the amusement on Kingston’s face is unmistakable. He nudges Hudson’s side. Hudson only groans as he hands him the joint before speaking to Reign. “That’s really cool. I’ve never had a job before.”

“No?” Reign asks, finally sitting like a fucking normal human as he gets comfortable. “Why not?”

Kingston snorts as he gestures around the party. “Does it look like any of us have worked a day in our lives?”

He has a point. Nobody here has ever or will ever get any type of part-time job. Why would they when our parents have given us everything we could ever want? Not just that but all of us nepo-babies already have secure positions lined up after college, so there’s no point in padding the resume.

Reign blushes and covers it up with a scoff. “Oh, yeah, totally. Makes sense. For sure.”

That wasn’t even a coherent thought.

“You know, this is a really cool pool,” he offers up, licking his lips nervously. “I love pools.”

I sigh heavily as I accept the joint from Kingston, taking a deep drag to try and feel at least some ounce of excitement at the prospect of finding someone to hook up with tonight. “Where’s Clarissa?”

Hudson shrugs. “I haven’t seen her yet. I think she’s still in Naples with her grandparents.”

Well, fuck me. There goes my easy ticket for the night. Now I actually have to put forth some effort.

“Clarissa?” Reign asks, interjecting himself where he doesn’t belong. “Who’s that? Your girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend, that’s funny. She’s Santiago’s go-to when he wants to fuck,” Kingston laughs as he snatches the joint from my fingers. “Why don’t you find Ellie?”

“Because last time he hooked up with Ellie, she camped out in his front lawn until Emiliano threatened to call the cops,” Hudson reminds him. “You always pick the crazy ones, Santiago.”

“Not crazy,” I say shortly as I grind my teeth. “Easy.”

Kingston smirks in my direction, and I don’t miss the way he scoots his chair closer to Reign’s.

He throws his arm over his shoulder and Reign flinches at the contact, but Kingston either doesn't notice or doesn’t care.

He leans in close, nearly pressing his face against Reigns and says, “Me, cowboy? I go for the challenge. How about you?”

“M-Me?” Reign stutters, looking around as if either Hudson or I will save him. But Kingston is a tenacious fucker and I don’t think either of us is up to dealing with him tonight if he doesn’t get his way. “Oh, you know. Just… Um, I pick the pretty ones?”

Again, Reign has no sense of what should be a statement and what should be a question, which is the perfect opening for Kingston to say what all of us just realized. “Wait. You’ve never?—”

“Quit bugging him,” Hudson chastises as he takes the joint. “You’re killing my high. Do we need to find you a hook up to shut you up?”

Kingston wags his brows at Reign. “I think my cowboy is enough for me tonight.”

“Right,” Reign whispers, and I notice the way he’s started picking at his cuticles. “I don’t… I mean—Well, I…”

“Hey, virgins can be fun!” Kingston taunts in thinly veiled comfort.

Hudson groans loudly as he smacks the back of Kingston’s head. As Kingston pouts at him, he turns to Reign and offers the joint. “Sorry we skipped you. It’s your hit.”

Reign takes the joint and awkwardly pinches it between his thumb and middle finger. He glances up at me and all I see are bright red cheeks and wide eyes. “This is marijuana?”

“Thank you universe!” Kingston shouts into the sky as he claps. “Reign, have you ever even had a drink before?”

“I— Shit!” Reign curses as the joint slips from his fingers and lands on his jeans. He smacks it away but not quick enough for it to not singe his pants. He looks down at the burned hole and curses again. “Damn. Mama’s gonna kill me for ruinin’ these.”

“ Mama ?”

I roll my eyes. I can’t even fault Kingston for being a raging monster right now because Reign makes it so easy.

I stand, completely uninterested in how this is going to play out.

“I’ll catch up with you two later,” I tell Hudson and Kingston.

When Reign looks like he’s about to stand, I whip my head at him and growl, “Don’t follow me. ”

I need to be away from all this idiocy. Away from Reign and the patheticness that practically seeps through his pores. It’s like pheromones for Kingston. I swear he’s going to get off on this and I don’t need to witness it.

It’s not that I’m ashamed of Reign. I’m not even upset that I have a stepbrother. I’m simply and entirely indifferent. He adds nothing of interest or value to my life. Maybe someone else would crack at the way his big blue puppy dog eyes shine up at me as if he needs a hero.

He’ll be hard-pressed to find one in me.

“Oh, okay,” he mumbles, gulping as he stands on wobbly legs. “I think I’m gonna hit the head anyway. Which way?”

“I’ll show you,” Kingston says as he jumps to his feet. “Just follow me, cowboy.”

I turn, ready to find a last-minute replacement for Clarissa, but only make it three steps before a loud splash and a cacophony of laughter rings behind me.

You have to be fucking with me.

I close my eyes and count to three. That idiot did not just?—

But when I spin on my heels, I see Reign in all his messily chaotic glory.

In the goddamn pool .

He chokes on water as he comes to the surface, coughing loudly as he tries to gather his bearings.

He looks around with wild, frantic eyes as all of my old classmates witness his humiliation.

His cowboy hat floats beside him, and he swims for it, bringing it close to his chest like a shield as everyone simply laughs.

His blue eyes lock on mine. Scared, humiliated, innocent, and pleading.

My own eyes widen as my heart pangs with something I can’t quite place. Maybe a forgotten feeling of compassion and kindness. The urge to run over there and make sure he’s okay hits me out of nowhere.

So, I walk away instead.