Page 47 of Pretty Lies (Watch Me Burn #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

RORY

T he week had dragged. I’d stayed home from school, mostly locked in my room while avoiding the guys. Thankfully, the only time I’d seen any of them was when I’d wandered down to the kitchen to eat.

Josie had been bringing most meals up to me though, so that had helped.

I’d been surprised when I found all four guys sitting in the kitchen this morning and none of them spoke to me. I’d expected to be smothered as they groveled, but they silently watched me make a sandwich before I’d headed back to my room again.

Josie must have put the fear of God into them.

She’d been busy with work all week, but she’d made time to eat some of the meals with me, and she’d even watched a movie with me earlier in the week. We didn’t talk a lot, but I enjoyed her company.

I’d felt embarrassed when I’d gotten stuck on some school work that had been emailed to me to avoid me falling behind, but I’d put my big girl pants on and taken it to Josie’s office, admitting I needed help.

I’d spent the rest of that day in there with her going over everything until I understood it, and my stupid heart got all warm and fuzzy when she’d praised me for figuring it out.

Did normal kids feel like this all the time? Was this what parents were supposed to be like?

She’d been right, graduating would set me up better in life, so I wanted to try.

It was now five o’clock on Friday night, and I scowled when the music downstairs got louder. Josie had to fly out of state for a meeting, so I should’ve known the guys would throw a goddamn party.

I’d been trying to watch a movie, but there was too much noise downstairs now.

I perked up at the thought that maybe Skeeter would be here, so I quickly showered and pulled on my ripped, black skinny jeans and a red tank top, leaving my hair loose around my shoulders.

I applied some basic mascara and eyeliner before grabbing my boots and heading downstairs, going in search of Skeeter and hopefully his stash of cocaine.

I had no idea if he’d brush me off or not since I hadn’t heard from him, but I was desperate to feel something other than frustration and dread.

Since I was still driving his car and he hadn’t come to take it back, surely that meant he hadn’t cut me off.

I elbowed people out of the way as I reached the lower level, the crowd already halfway to wasted as they sang along to the music and rubbed against each other, making me think the Psychos’ drugs were definitely here somewhere.

Plastic cups littered the floor, and the house reeked of smoke and weed.

Josie was going to flip out when she got home, I doubted she’d approve of this party while Caden and the guys were in the doghouse with her, and she’d be even more pissed if she came home to the place smelling like a whorehouse.

I’d only just grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the kitchen and taken a swig when I ran into Claire in the dining room. She seemed surprised to see me as she tossed her stupid long, blonde hair over her shoulder.

“Ew. What are you doing here?” she said with a sneer, assessing me like I was trash as always.

“I live here,” I said flatly, and she frowned with confusion.

“But Caden?—”

“You thought that since Caden and I weren’t bumping uglies anymore that I’d just vanish? I was never here for him, you idiot,” I scoffed, a grin stretching across her face as she stepped towards me, but Tyler’s voice cut in from beside us suddenly, making me tense.

“Claire, don’t even bother. Leave her alone.”

“Don’t tell me you actually pity her?” she exclaimed as she spun around to face him, and I smirked before grabbing her hair with my free hand, slamming her face against the wall and holding her there as I took a swig of the bottle.

“Oh, he doesn’t pity me in any of this, he pities you . I could break your fucking neck and no one would know. I still live here, and I could throw you out right now if I wanted to. If I were you, I’d stay out of my way, you self-righteous slut .”

Her blue eyes darted around nervously as she struggled against my hold, but no one was going to come and save her. If they tried, I’d throw them out too.

I’d had enough of entitled rich pricks.

I shoved her aside firmly, making her stumble on her ridiculous heels before turning and walking away, not acknowledging Tyler. He could kiss her ego better if he wished, then he could kiss my ass.

I lit a cigarette as I pushed through the crowd on my way into the living room, and I glanced towards the entryway as Slash walked in with some of the Psychos behind him.

Guys stayed back, while girls threw themselves at them like the pathetic bitches that they were.

There was a reason the Psychos all seemed to have a complex.

Especially Slash. His arrogance was astounding.

I stayed right where I was even when Skeeter entered the room. As much as I wanted to go to him, I refused to look like the other girls. He could come to me if he decided, instead of me approaching him and looking like an idiot if he rejected or ignored me.

I was shoved, and Claire was suddenly in my face, my whiskey almost slipping from my hand.

“What the fuck was that for, Aurora? You think you can just throw me around like that, you trailer trash whore? Do you even know who my parents are?”

I took a long drag of my cigarette as I calmly placed the bottle on the ground beside us, standing up again and flicking my ash on her sad excuse for a shirt with a bored expression on my face.

My bra had more fabric than her shirt. It was more like a ribbon that went around her tits.

“You act like the Davidson name should scare me. They own some shares in a hotel chain. You’re right, really scary. Caden’s weekly allowance is probably higher than their monthly combined income.”

Her face heated with embarrassment. “They could bury you. Try me.”

“If I’m in for a lawsuit, I might as well make sure it’s worth it. We can continue this conversation outside if you want?” I offered, itching to punch her in the face. I needed a fight badly to let out some of my emotions.

“You want to fight me? You only got lucky last time, you crazy bitch.”

I was tempted to knock her the fuck out again just because I could.

“If you think you can get one over me, feel free to prove it. I’ll take it easy on you,” I offered, blowing smoke at her and making her angrier.

“You’re only good because you take cheap shots!”

Skeeter’s low chuckle reached my ears, my body humming from the sound of his voice. “Claire, she’d flatten you. She’s my best fighter in the cage. Your hair pulling and little slappy hands won’t do shit to her. I’d love to see you try though, it’s hot when she gets mad.”

It sounded like he was still interested in me, which soothed something inside of me that I didn’t realize needed soothing so badly.

Her eyes flew to his and she frowned, irritated by his statement.

“Wait, the rumors are true? You’re still spending time with her? C’mon, Skeet. She’s trash. I thought you were only dropping her off at school to piss off Caden.”

The air shifted around us as Skeeter stared her down, his arm sliding around me to pull me back against his chest.

Violence lined his tone as he spoke, making me shiver. “If I were you, I’d stay the fuck away from her. She’s my girl, and if you fuck with her again, I’ll dig a big hole and let her put you in it. You feel me?”

Claire scampered away without another word like the little bitch that she was, a grin stretching across my face. “She’s such a pussy.”

“Speaking of pussy. Hey, baby girl,” he murmured before dipping down to claim my mouth, backing me against the wall with a thud. I opened for him, his tongue sweeping inside as his hand moved to my waist, giving it a firm squeeze as I ground against him.

I didn’t like being reliant on someone for company, but I craved him like a drug.

I knew people were watching as he popped the button on my jeans, lowering the zipper to slide his hand into my panties, but I kind of liked it when he got possessive.

If it was anyone else, I’d be pissed about it, but being wanted by someone like Skeeter Maddox was addictive, and it was really damn good for my ego.

He pushed a finger inside me, my free hand bunching in his shirt as I kept my other out of the way, not wanting to burn him with my cigarette. I rolled my hips, moaning into his mouth as his dick hardened against my hip.

“Fuck, I’ve missed this pussy,” he growled against my lips, his thumb finding my clit. “You’re coming home with me tonight.”

“I was starting to think you’d forgotten about me,” I panted, a sinister chuckle leaving him.

“How could I ever forget about you?”

“You didn’t call.”

“I wasn’t supposed to. Did you miss me?” He sounded curious, my heart rate spiking.

“I did, actually. A lot happened this week, and it would’ve been nice to avoid it by spending all my time in your bed. You just called me your girl to Claire.”

I felt giddy about it, but my stomach dropped when he laughed, continuing to fuck me with his fingers.

“Don’t get any ideas. I don’t date, Aurora.”

I pulled back, and it looked like he was going to say something about it, but then we were interrupted.

“We’ve gotta bounce,” Slash said as he popped up beside us and gave me a dirty look, Skeeter growling like a feral animal as he pulled his hand out of my jeans.

“What the fuck for? We just got here.” Slash glanced at me, causing Skeeter to narrow his eyes. “Do we have to deal with dead bodies, or is this something Brick and Liam can handle?”

“Dead bodies,” Slash muttered under his breath, and Skeeter lifted his fingers to his mouth and sucked them clean while holding my gaze.

“Rain check.”

“Can’t you stay and let Slash handle it?” I asked with annoyance, looking at Slash with irritation. “Are you that incompetent that Skeet has to do everything?”