Page 36 of Volatile King (The Kings of Wayward Academy #6)

M yles

Everything was packed and in the SUVs. I was officially a nomad with no home. How the mighty had fallen. I still had money in my account, and Nash paid us every month more than most made in a year, but it felt different.

My father was dead, Devin was dead, and Lawrence…

well, we could only hope he followed very soon.

That meant I was my own man, living and making decisions without talking to anyone.

It wasn’t a bad feeling, and I was sure in some ways everyone went through this when they moved out and moved on, but it was weird.

Ren and Ella embraced, the two of them crying and hugging like mother and daughter. I could only hope that once Ella knew the truth about Lip that she would feel the same way about him.

Ethan touched my shoulder as if thinking about the situation had conjured him.

“I should tell Ella on my own,” he said softly.

“Yer thinkin’ she won’t accept him?”

Ethan shook his head.

“No, Ella is too kind-hearted, that would never happen. But she should be able to feel her emotions without everyone’s eyes on her. My actions hurt her deeply, and it’s not right to open those old wounds in front of anyone. Once she knows, we can tell the rest together.”

“I understand, but for the record, I don’t think she’ll toss ya out again,” I said. Nodding to where Ella and Ren were speaking. “She already knows about what happened, and it’s not like ya kept this from her. You didn’t even know about Lip until now.”

Ethan crossed his arms and looked down.

“I’m supposed to be the brave one, you know. Not you.”

I smirked.

“Aye, but I’ve had to be brave since I could walk.”

There was a beat of silence, neither of us knowing what to say after that.

Ethan cleared his throat.

“You’re right, you have. If you can live through Owen, I can own up to this. If Ella throws me out, then I’ll deal with it. But I promise that no matter what happens, we will decide what is best for Lip together. I meant what I said, Myles, we’re family.”

“Din’t be makin’ me cry,” I said, and we laughed as Blake walked over.

“What are you two laughing about?”

“Nothin’,” I said, and he lifted an eyebrow.

“We’re discussing your mom. She is going to miss having you all here, so we’ll have a family dinner this week,” Ethan answered like he’d been prepared for a cross-examination.

Blake looked at the two women as they walked to the front door.

“Probably a good idea,” Blake agreed. “I swear she loves Ren more than Theo and I combined.”

“Oh, she does,” Ethan said, giving Blake a playful shove before walking off.

Blake turned to me.

“You going to fill me in on what you were really talking about?”

“He was tellin’ the truth. But he also made a comment about me being family. I told him not to make me cry,” I said, then walked away before he could push. “Come on, it looks like we are on the move.”

5 :50 PM

We sat around the dining room table and fired questions at Edmundo. He had agreed to let me call him Mr. G, like he was a celebrity, and if he was annoyed, he hadn’t shown it.

“So, you and my mom hung out,” Blake asked.

“We sure did. Ella has been a good friend for a long time.”

He flipped through the old school photo album, stopping on a page before turning it to show all of us.

“Wow,” Blake and Theo said together as they stared at the picture of Mr. G with Ella, Yulianna, and Marcus.

“Why didn’t Mom mention any of this to us,” Blake asked Theo, who shrugged.

“No idea. She’s never spoken about her time at Wayward or in college. It’s like it never happened,” Theo answered.

“Here she is at the graduation ball. She actually went as my date,” Mr. G said, and everyone’s mouths dropped open.

“Not romantically, but as a friend. Ana had been ripped away by her father, and Ella wasn’t dating anyone.

She didn’t meet Ethan until college, so we decided to go together so we weren’t alone. ”

Ren touched his arm to get his attention.

Did Ella know before all this that I was your daughter?

“Not that I am aware. Ana and I played our affair very close to the vest. She knew about our handfasting in Spain. Ella was there for that, but then…your mother cut almost all ties to protect those she cared about. No one could know about you. It would put both our lives and yours at risk. Have you asked Ella?”

“We did,” Blake said. “When we got back from Canada last summer, Theo and I suspected that Mom knew more than she was saying. She swore she didn’t know until Ren came to Wayward. She might have suspected, though.”

Mr. G nodded.

“It’s likely. Ana and I couldn’t get married, be we loved each other fiercely.” He closed the book and sighed. “I want to talk more about this, I do, but I need a break. Can we continue another night?” We all nodded.

Ren stood when he did, and it made me smile in the stupidest, sappiest way possible to see the two of them hug.

“Good night, Lilya. I’m going to turn in early. Everyone, make this place your home, just always let the guards know when you leave.”

Can I talk to you privately for a minute?

“Yes, let’s go. You can walk me to my room. I’m an old, injured man now, you know,” Mr. G teased Ren as they walked out.

I made sure they were gone before I turned on Nash.

“When are ya tellin’ her?”

“Myles, it hasn’t even been a day. Can you take a fucking pill on wanting to throw me under the bus?” Nash growled.

“It was one thing lyin’ to her when she couldn’t remember and was strugglin’. But she has a right to know, and it’s killin’ me to keep this a secret.”

Nash slowly stood from the table and glared at me.

“You think she’s not still struggling or under stress? Look around. The moment she finds out it won’t just be me she’s angry at.”

“I don’t care about me,” I said.

Nash screwed up his face. “I’m not just talking about you.

I’m talking about all of you. I’m talking about her father.

She is just reconnecting with him, and you want to toss a grenade into the middle of that?

Her memories are still coming back from her childhood.

Memories that were suppressed in another traumatic event, and she is still struggling to learn how to speak again.

Fuck, Myles, I get it, but this isn’t about your feelings. ”

I laughed. “Yer tryin’ to say that this is about her feelings and not how fuckin’ terrified ya are to face her afterward.”

He pointed at me, but Theo cut us off.

“Both of you stop before she hears you.” We crossed our arms and glared at one another.

“You’re both right. But unfortunately, and I can’t believe I’m going to say this…

Nash has a point. What are two more weeks?

Let her reconnect without this…” He waved in Nash’s direction.

“Clouding everything. She needs us to be united and here for her, and she needs her father. I don’t see what anyone gains from telling her now. ”

“But—” I started, but Theo held up his hand.

“I wasn’t done. I was going to say, it needs to happen before she goes back to Wayward. If that is a week or three, that is the deadline. You can’t hide from this forever, Nash. You’re going to have to face her.”

“I will. I plan on it, but unlike someone else, I’m actually looking at all the factors.”

“Bull fuckin’ shite,” I growled.

“You really think I want this to drag on? The longer it goes, the more pissed she is going to be. Fuck, she may never speak to me again, so no, it’s not about me. If that’s what happens, then so be it, but you will keep your mouth shut,” Nash ordered.

“Or what?” I snarled at him.

“Or I will kick both your fucking asses, because you’re acting like kids fighting over a toy in the sandbox. Both of you shut up and sit down,” Liam said, his eyes snapping with anger.

“Fuck this. I’m going out,” Nash said and stomped out of the room.

All eyes turned to me.

“What?”

“Nash has a point,” Blake said, and I glared at my best friend. “Don’t look at me like that. Take emotion out of it, and what do you really think?”

I sighed and then pinched the bridge of my nose. My fucking head hurt.

“Fuck! Fine, yer right, he’s right, everyone is right, right,” I sang mockingly. “I’ll keep me mouth shut for now, but this is just diggin’ us all into a deeper hole. I hope ya see that.”

Ren walked in before anyone else could say anything. She looked around.

“Nash leave?”

“Aye, he said he needed to go out for a bit. Didn’t say why.” Walking over to Ren, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “Do ya want to watch a movie?”

“Yes,” she said, and smiled.

“I’ll go hunt down popcorn,” Blake said, jumping up and taking off.

The rest of us walked through the massive home, laughing as we tried to find the theater room that Mr. G had mentioned. This place had so many rooms that you could easily get lost.

As we settled in and Blake brought in four different snack foods he’d found, I pulled Ren close to my side.

“I love ya, Snowflake.”

With a smile, she warmed my soul.

“I love…to you. You…too,” she said.

Fuck, I hated it when Nash made logical sense. He was right, she was still working through shit, and I was being selfish, but fuck it hurt to lie to her.