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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

GARY

The night of Brienna’s party, I was a bundle of nerves.

I was supposed to be there an hour early to help set up, and my phone had been ringing off the hook with my dad demanding to know where I was.

I hadn’t heard a word from Brienna, or my mom for that matter, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth about that one.

She was either too busy or planning something sinister in retribution.

Hopefully, with Easton and my friends there, she’d be dissuaded from doing anything in public.

“Where’s Easton?”

He was supposed to go with me, but after dropping me off at The Hideout so Angel could help me cover up what was left of my bruising, he said he had somewhere to be and would be back later. He hadn’t returned yet, and it was making me nervous.

“He’ll be here,” Angel murmured as he focused on my face. “Stop moving or you’ll mess me up, and I’ll have to start over. I don’t want to press too hard and hurt you.”

It’d been a week since my attack, and the guy who had attacked me had been arrested. Most of the bruising had faded except for the worst bits, but Angel refused to let me face down my sister with any hint of what had happened on my face. He didn’t want her to think she’d won anything.

Smiley and Chuckles were on the couch, sharing a joint.

There had been some deliberation about everyone showing up sober in case Brienna did something stupid, but Chuckles pointed out it’d probably piss her off more if they showed up smelling like weed.

Her parties were usually pretty fancy, and no one ever came to them high.

Angel dressed up a little, but since he was a guy wearing a skirt and makeup, it’d probably still make her livid. He was going to outshine the birthday girl.

Coach came in from outside, tucking his phone into his pocket. “Phantom got held up. He said he’d meet us there. Everyone ready?”

My heart plummeted, and I gave Angel an uneasy look. I didn’t think I could do this without him.

“Don’t worry,” Angel said, squeezing my shoulder reassuringly. “Phantom may be a chaos monster, but he doesn’t break his promises. He said he’ll be there. He’ll be there. And we’ll be with you until he arrives.”

Coach came up behind me, putting his huge hand on top of my head. “Angel’s right. He’ll be there. He just had to do something, and it was taking longer than he expected. Besides, no one will mess with you while we’re with you.”

He was probably right. I just got used to my chaos shield. I felt safest with Easton. He would sooner tear people apart than let them even look at me wrong.

I ignored the now familiar flutter in my chest. Easton had been more hands on since I got hurt.

I knew he didn’t mean it as anything more than giving me the comfort I needed, but it was getting harder not to catch feelings.

Oh, who was I kidding? I was well past that.

It was going to get harder to hide it if I wasn’t careful, though.

Bolstering my courage, I followed my friends to the car to meet my sister and my family.

They were my friends now, too. Easton didn’t hover when we were at his apartment or The Hideout, and I got to know them all individually.

I liked them all, but Angel and I were closest, much to Easton’s chagrin.

We commiserated about shitty professors and early morning classes.

He showed me his favorite tv shows, and I showed him some of the more filthy books in my kindle library.

I might love the classics, but there was nothing wrong with a little smut either.

The drive to the restaurant where Brienna’s party was taking place this year took forever and passed too quickly at the same time.

I was nervous. I hadn’t seen my sister since I left for college.

Even as an adult, I was still afraid of earning her wrath.

She already proved she’d make me suffer if I did something as silly as making her wait a few days for the money she wanted.

When we pulled up in front of the address I’d been given by my dad, I frowned. Normally, Brienna’s parties were held in a lot more lavish locations. This place looked like your average Italian restaurant. Maybe it was nicer inside? Or she had some kind of connection with the owner?

While considering the reasons, Coach pulled into the parking lot, and I shuffled out of the back seat of the car.

We’d all piled into Coach’s sedan, and I lost the scramble for the front, so I’d been squashed in the middle seat in the back.

I honestly didn’t mind. I liked being surrounded by my friends.

They all got out with me, and I took a few steadying breaths before looking at Angel.

“He’s coming, right?”

He nodded, his smile soft and understanding. “He’ll be here. Come on. She won’t do anything to you while I’m around.”

He linked arms with me and practically had to drag me inside, but I appreciated the support and clung to him as we stepped inside the restaurant.

It was… not a nice place. The decor was tacky, the tables covered in those checkered tablecloths, with fake ivy draping from the ceilings.

The dimmer lighting didn’t really help any.

The walls were covered in decorative plates, paintings of grassy hillsides, and a few odds and ends that didn’t really match the theme.

“Why is there a tricycle on the wall?” I asked.

Angel snorted. “I was thinking the same thing. And look over there. Is that statue for real?”

He pointed to a statue near the doorway to the kitchen that looked like it had once been a fat chef holding a pizza, but after so many years the paint had mostly faded and the belly was all scuffed like it was knocked over a lot. It was a little creepy, to be honest. It had no eyes anymore.

“Gary!” My mother’s familiar hiss was loud in the mostly empty restaurant, and I sucked in a breath as she stormed over to me.

She was red faced and fuming, probably because I was late.

That had been intentional. Angel wouldn’t let me get here any earlier.

He didn’t want my mom using me as free labor.

“Mom,” I answered politely as she stopped in front of me. I gestured over my shoulder. “These are my friends. I–”

“I don’t care about that! You have been ignoring my calls for weeks! You left us floundering to find a place for your sister’s party because you were too busy for your own family! You should be ashamed of yourself!”

I frowned. “I didn’t get any calls from you…”

She shot me a scathing look. “Don’t lie, Gary. It was your responsibility to chip in for this party. You’re lucky your father is friends with the owner of this place. You better have brought something nice for your sister to make up for it.”

“Uh…” Okay, so maybe I forgot about buying Brienna a present. In my defense, I was attacked a week ago, and I’d been busy worrying about the confrontation after Brienna sent someone to attack me.

“His boyfriend is bringing the gift, ma’am,” Coach answered smoothly.

Mom’s gaze jerked to Coach, like she was just now realizing that I’d brought guests.

One reason I thought I could get away with this was that my parents didn't like to make scenes in public. They had an image to maintain. They weren’t well off or anything, they were middle class all the way, but they saw themselves as high class and you wouldn’t catch either of them making a scene in public.

Mom looked torn between continuing to berate me for ignoring her calls, which I definitely didn’t do, and keeping up her public facade. In the end, she jabbed her finger towards the large table in the corner, her teeth clenched as she feigned politeness.

“We’re over there. I told the owner you would help so–”

“With what? Like bringing out meals? Is this place so shabby that it doesn’t have its own waiters?” Chuckles asked. He sounded like he was asking a legitimate question, but there was definitely a jab in there. And Mom really didn't like it.

“Of course they have waiters. But–”

“Great. Man, I’m starving. Is the food going to be served soon?” Smiley interrupted.

I’d never had backup in my life, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from grinning like an idiot. Mom couldn’t say anything without someone stepping in to defend me. She ended up storming away when my dad called her back to the table.

Letting out a relieved sigh, I shot my friends a grateful look. “Thank you. I thought now that I moved out, I wouldn’t be relegated to server, but I should’ve known better.”

“Have you really been ignoring her calls?” Angel asked, a mischievous grin on his face. I shook my head quickly.

“No. I’ve never ignored her calls. I haven’t heard from her in weeks. Or Brienna, for that matter. Which is weird. Usually she would’ve asked me for money by now.”

It was a mystery I’d need to solve later. When Mom went back to the table where my sister was holding court over her friends, she drew my sister’s attention my way and I saw her eyes narrow. It was only a matter of time before she came for me herself.

“Come on. Let’s not hang around the doorway,” Angel said as he nudged me towards the party. “Just act like you were invited. Technically, you were.”

Eh. Semantics. I was supposed to be here to work. I got the feeling my friends wouldn’t allow me to pick up even a bottle of wine.

Since the table with my sister’s friends was full, we sat ourselves at a table across the aisle.

There were servers scurrying around, looking harried as they tried to handle the large and demanding party.

Considering the shabbiness of the restaurant, they probably didn’t see this large of a group very often.

A server came to our table and took our drink orders before hurrying off again. I was going to toast my friends for supporting me, but I’d barely lifted my glass before a hand grabbed my elbow and hauled me out of my seat.

“You’ve got some nerve,” Brienna hissed.

She looked flawless, because of course she did.

Her tight sequined cocktail dress looked out of place in this crappy restaurant, her sky high heels sharp enough to hurt someone.

Those made me nervous, and I wanted to take a step back to keep more space between us.

But I couldn’t go anywhere with her manicured nails digging into my arm.

“Hello, Brienna,” I said, so my friends knew who she was. “Happy Birthday.”

“Why you little–”

My friends stood, but before Brienna could notice, the door to the restaurant opened and a man in a nice suit stepped inside.

No. Wait. That was my man in a nice suit.

Easton?!