Aw hell, her bottom lip is trembling. Swear to God, if she starts to cry—
But Ella recovers quickly. Her mouth flattens and her chin sticks out. The girl has steel in her blood. Nothing keeps her down. Ever. It’s no wonder my brother fell for her the moment she walked through our front door.
“You have addiction issues, Easton.”
“No, really?”
Her eyes flash. “It’s not something to joke about.”
No, it isn’t. The last person in our family who had addiction issues fucking killed herself. But I’m not like my mom. I love life too much to off myself.
“So I like to drink,” I say with a shrug. “Big deal. It’s not like I’m popping pills anymore.” I search my closet for my own State jersey. “When does the jet leave?” I ask over my shoulder.
“In an hour.” From the corner of my eye, I see her crossing her arms. “But you’re not going to be on it.”
I spin around. “Fuck that. Reed has a game.”
“I don’t want you there,” she returns with a scowl.
I can’t help but laugh. “Gee, little sis, well, if you don’t want me there, I guess I’ll just stay home.” I pull the jersey off its hanger. “Not.”
“I mean it,” she says in a haughty voice that gets my back up. “You were such a jerk last night, not just to me, but to Val and Bran and—I can’t even believe I’m saying this—Felicity. You don’t deserve to come to New Orleans with us and watch Reed play and then eat yummy beignets and enjoy dinner on Bourbon Street. That’s like inviting the raccoon who just threw your trash all over the lawn to come inside and do the same thing in your kitchen.”
“Luckily, you don’t have a say in whether or not I come,” I say snidely. Did she just compare me to a fucking raccoon?
“You sure about that?” Smirking, she takes her phone out of her pocket and types something.
Less than ten seconds later, my own phone buzzes on the nightstand. With suspicious eyes fixed on Ella, I back up toward the bed and grab the phone. I read the incoming text message. It’s from Reed.
Stay home today. Don’t want you here
A jolt of outrage sizzles up my spine. Are they fucking kidding me?
“So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” I mutter angrily. And I love how she’s mad at me because I said she’s got my brother whipped. She just proved my case!
“Until you get your shit together?” Ella says. “Yes.”
She spins on her heel and flounces out of the room, a golden tornado of self-righteousness.
* * *
Ella and Reed weren’t joking around. I’m legit barred from flying to Louisiana with Dad and my traitorous stepsister, forced to watch them saunter out the door without a backward look. Damn childish, if you ask me.
But whatever. That just means I get to spend the day lounging around the house and being lazy by the pool. I can handle one afternoon by myself. Lazy’s fun, I lie to myself.
I sprawl out on a lounger, a bottle of water and one of beer on the little table next to me. I alternate taking sips from each bottle, so I can stay both hydrated and buzzed. And luckily, there’s nobody around to lecture me about day drinking.
Between naps, my mind drifts to Hartley. I try calling her, but she doesn’t answer. I know she’s not working today, so that means she’s ignoring me.
What’s her problem? I don’t get why she won’t talk to me about anything. I told her stuff about my mom, didn’t I? She can’t trust me to reveal a single detail in return? And that necklace was a gift. Who returns gifts? Why is everything about her so difficult? She should’ve just stayed in boarding school. Then she wouldn’t fucking be here driving me fucking nuts.
And why did she come back? Who wouldn’t want to go to boarding school? Think of all the freedom. I mean…I’d miss my family, but I wouldn’t mind being sent away from home. Would I?
It bothered Hartley. It bothered her enough that she returned to Bayview against her parents’ wishes. How would I feel if I couldn’t see my brothers at all?
It would suck. I can barely tolerate being banished for a day without having to drown my sorrows.
I check myself. Why the hell am I being so pathetic? I can handle being by myself for a day. Or a week. Or a year, if necessary. Hartley’s a big baby if she can’t hack it at a boarding school. Running back home where she’s not even wanted? Why do that? Make a new life for yourself.
I take a long swig of beer. I don’t know why I care, anyway. I don’t need Hartley, not even as a friend. I can call up any chick and she’d race over here to chill with me. I can have anyone I want. Chicks can’t resist me—and that includes the dark-haired girl who suddenly appears on the patio holding hands with my brother.
The moment Savannah Montgomery and I lock eyes, a thread of tension stretches between us.
I shift awkwardly and take another sip of my beer. “Hey,” I mumble at the newcomers.
They’re both wearing swimsuits, and Gideon has a couple towels draped over one muscular arm. He’s been coming home nearly every weekend since he and Savannah got back together. Sav’s at college with him because she graduated a year early, but I guess there’s more privacy for them here in Bayview. They both have roommates at school.
“Hey. You mind if we swim?” Gid asks.
“No. Go nuts.” I gesture to the pool and stretch out on my lounger again. “I’m taking a nap. Hey, Sav—how’s life as a college woman?”
“Hi,” she says tightly. “Life’s good.”
I feel a sliver of irritation, the same chagrin I felt toward Ms. Mann when she acted as if it was all my fault that we hooked up.
Savannah and I slept together last year, way before she and Gid got back together. At that point she was still out to hurt him, and I was out to hurt…myself, I guess.
Reed had just run Ella out of town, and I’d been pissed. Any attraction I felt for Ella was gone by then, but our connection wasn’t. Truth is, although I have a lot of friends, I don’t actually have many friends. It’s all surface-level shit.
With Ella, it was more than a surface friendship. I trusted her. Still do, even though she acted like a total bitch this morning.
I lost it when Reed’s idiotic actions drove her away. I spiraled. Spiraled hard, like one of Atlantic Aviation’s test planes that doesn’t make the grade and crashes in the desert, sending Dad’s engineers back to the drawing board to figure out what design flaw led to the crash. I’m the design flaw in the Royal family, the one who isn’t quite like the others, the one who crashes and burns more often than not.
That said, nobody forced Savannah to be with me. And yeah, I felt guilty after it happened, but not guilty enough to shoulder all the blame. There’d been two people in that bed. Gideon knows this, and he doesn’t condemn us for that. Honestly, I think he’s so happy to be back with his girl that he’s willing to forgive all her sins. Considering his own list of sins, he’d be a hypocrite not to.
“Decided not to go to Reed’s game?” Gid asks as he drops the towels on the lounger next to mine. I guess nobody told him I’ve been banished from Louisiana.