Page 9 of Unspoken Lies

I’ve been sleeping like shit the last few days. Is this what guilt feels like? I know I haven’t been all here since I spoke to Lili, and a part of me wishes she had shot me in the gut.

When I was leaving the bathroom at the rest stop, I saw someone who resembled Rachelle. She was short with haunted eyes, and had on a hooded sweatshirt. I caught just a flash of her, and then it was gone. I think I’m losing my fucking mind.

She’s dead. She was pronounced dead at the hospital. There’s no way she’s alive.

There’s a million things to do around the house, and Calvin is now in charge and has moved in. He brought one suitcase and got to work. His first action was to call the cleaning company and send the documented shoddy cleaning efforts to them. He was able to get half of the money paid back and then he cleaned everything.

In true petty fashion, Calvin also sent those photos of the immaculate surfaces to the cleaning company. It was a thing of beauty. The truth is we aren’t really prepared for life in the real world.

At least, not at the level where Calvin believes we need to be at.

“Have you seen Jared?” he asks, a small frown on his face.

“Yes, he’s in the weight room,” I tell him.

One of the extra rooms has been turned into an epic weight and training room. Everything we need is there, and we decided to get up early each morning to run. Jared is getting a work out now with Theo before we go into town to look at real estate.

I fucking hate not having money. It may have come with strings before, but now my inheritance is all tied up in an estate that only my guardian can touch. The three of us agreed not to touch the Kings Society’s money, so I pretend it doesn’t even exist.

However, I don’t like knowing that my friends are fronting all of our costs. Having a club that we own together will give me some breathing room, and then I won’t have to ask my guardian for money either.

I don’t really need a car because I enjoy catching a ride with the guys. I’ve always been a passenger prince in that way, since I hate fucking driving.

My curiosity is piqued by Calvin, so I push aside my worries to follow him into the weight room.

“Jared?” Calvin asks, stepping into the room.

Jared is finishing up his reps, and puts the weights down to sip from his bottle of water. He’s out of breath, but nods to Calvin.

“Yeah,” he says. “What’s up?”

“I am concerned about your parents and my ties to them,” Calvin says uncomfortably.

We all know that he’s forced to report back to Jared’s parents on some level. It’s not his fault, it’s just the nature of our lives.

“Are they already hounding you about what and how I’m doing?” Jared asks. “Since the Society sent formal communication after we completed our bet, my parents should know that their role in my life has ended as parental units. I graduated, we’re done.”

“I’m aware, I heard all about it whenever they would argue,” Calvin grunts.

“Is there a solution you’d like to propose?” I ask. This has been going on for years, I doubt he’d bring it up without offering something in its place.

“There is,” he says, blowing out a breath. He appears really fucking nervous.

“Out with it,” Jared says, raising his brow. “It’s just me.”

“I’m considering putting in my resignation to your parents if you’ll hire me full time,” he says quickly. “The only issue is that it has to be with money that’s not tied to them.”

“Fuck,” Jared grunts, standing. “The guys and I are going to open a club so we’re completely financially independent. It’s just going to take some time for us to get it off the ground.”

“It wouldn’t be right for us to ask you to work for free either,” Theo adds. “We all jumped at the opportunity to have you here with us, since this is a big house, and we’re about to be really busy with school and the new business.”

“All of my money is in savings, and I never pay for anything regarding board or food,” Calvin says honestly.

“I mean, that’s how it would work here as well. When you go grocery shopping, also shop for yourself with the card,” Jared says with a shrug.

“What exactly are you saying?” I ask, feeling as if there’s more to Calvin’s words.

“I’ll stay for free until the business is profiting,” he says firmly. “Jared, your mother just called me with very probing questions that I didn’t feel comfortable answering.”