Page 52 of Rival

I head to the backdoor and slip my shoes on, then find my brother and Clayborn. “Ready?” I ask. My voice is clipped and emotionless. Corbin seems curious by my shift in mood, but Clayborn’s face shifts as if he just figured something out.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” My brother hops into the passenger seat and lays his head back, already closing his eyes in exhaustion.

With a lift of my hand, I wave goodbye to Clayborn and drive my brother home. Unsurprisingly, the truck starts without issue.

It all worked out perfectly, and we got away with it. So why do I feel like I’ve just fucked my entire future up?

Chapter Twenty-Three

Edith

I’m stunned.

The door snicks shut after Griffin slips out the door and I’m left alone. Digging my nails into the webbed skin between my fingers, I anchor myself to slow my breathing.

It wasn’t anything but a good time.

Why does that hurt so much? I know when I made the decision to sleep with him, there were no declarations of love or feelings, but I thought there was something.Wasn’t there?He’s been sneaking to my room to spend time with me, encouraging us to read together for hours.

That’s intimate, right? It felt intimate. God, I feel so stupid.

Anger coils within me, but I shut it down immediately. He has just as much right to decide what happens between us as I do. I just wish I knew it was going to end faster than it started.

Heavy footsteps echoing from downstairs remind me we were almost caught and fear crashes in again. I know the explanation Griffin gave him seemed believable, but I wasn’t there to observe how my father took it. Plus, with the way he left last night?

I swallow as his footsteps grow louder, thumping hard on the stairs. The old wood creaks under his weight and I wrap my arms around my waist to stop the shivers that grow the closer he gets.

Griffin and Corbin must have left.

The story he gave me spins in my head and I’m ready to back it up as my door slams open, my father’s body barreling into my room.

His eyes are wild, and he takes in my whole room, maybe looking for proof of foul play. Then they fall on me and I know what he sees.

I’m hunched over, arms hugging my body tightly. He knows I’m afraid.

“You wanna tell me why you let a fuckin’mansleep in my goddamn house last night?” He’s furious as he screams at me. His face beat red with spit is flying from his mouth, teeth bared in a snarl.

Marching over to me, he grabs my hair and jerks my head to the side until I’m hauled over, prone on my bed. Leaning over, he screams in my face after jerking my head back to look up at him.

“You’ve gotmyfuckin’ friend over here, defendin’ you like he’s got a right to say how I should parent your worthless ass!You fuckin’ him?”

There’s not a chance to answer him before his fist flies into my side, forcing my body to turn away to protect my vulnerable flesh. It was the wrong move to flip to my back. He drops his balled-up fist directly in the center of my stomach.

“Tell me, you fuckin’ whore! WHAT DID YOU DO?”

“N-Nothing!” I grit out, doing everything I can to keep from vomiting all over myself.

His fingers tangled in my hair squeeze tighter and he yanks my whole body up to him.

“I don’t believe you,” he hisses, then delivers another blow.

This time… I vomit.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jaxon

Ithink I need to do a bit of groveling.