Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 104501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 523(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 523(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll see you down there.”
His shoulders relaxed, and he crossed the room to kiss me on the forehead. “Thank you.” His hand grazed mine as he left. “Find me in an hour. I’ll be in a better mood by then.”
“Sure. Yeah. Be right there,” I said to myself as the door closed.
I stared at our emptied bed. The sheets were still messed up.
CADEN
Summer thought I was going to drink. Good. She didn’t need to know where I was really going.
As I got to the main floor, I moved through the crowd. These were my guys. I didn’t run the house. I wasn’t their president. That job was reserved for a senior. But I was their unofficial leader, and everyone knew it.
It wasn’t something I wanted. I hadn’t chosen this. Colton had, and just thinking about that made my fire burn hotter.
I saw Marcus, and I zeroed in.
He was talking to Avery and two other girls. I didn’t recognize them, and I didn’t care to. I was closing in. Fifteen feet. Twelve. Ten. Marcus looked up, a beer in his hand and a wary look in his eyes. He saw my baseball cap, and his eyes widened. He knew what the hat meant. It was my way of hiding. I wore it when I wanted to fight, when I wanted to be the bad guy lurking inside of me, and he started looking around me.
He wanted Summer to be here.
Too bad.
He knew she calmed me. She quieted me. She made the anger go away, most of the time. But not this time. And I closed the distance. Eight. Six. Four.
“Hey.” He held his hands up, along with his beer. “Truce, okay? I’m sorry about what I said up there.”
I shook my head. “Not a chance.”
I took the beer and thrust it at Avery. She took it, and I clamped onto my brother’s shoulder and shoved him in front of me.
“Where are we going? What are you doing?”
I didn’t say a word. He fucking knew what we were doing.
“Caden?” Avery called. “Marcus!”
I stopped. “Tell her to stay.”
The blood drained from his face. “Why? What are we doing?”
“Marcus!” Avery yelled again.
“Tell her.”
“Where’s Summer?”
“She’s in the room. I asked her to give me an hour.”
He studied me. “Why?”
“Why do you think?”
“This is about Colton?”
“Hey!” Avery’s last shout was a lot closer. Those two girls were right with her.
“Tell her to back off unless you want her to hear all about how much of a weak-ass brother you’ve been,” I warned him. My hand tightened on his shoulder. “Does she even know you’re a twin?”
He shoved my arm off. His eyes flashed. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Hey, you guys!” Avery was too close, for her good and his. “Caden, where’s Summer?”
Marcus continued to stare, studying me. I meant business. I was prepared to haul him outside, not giving a shit who followed us. I had nothing to hide, not like he did.
“I gotta talk to Caden,” he finally growled. “Give us a minute.”
“You sure?” She came up next to us. Those two girls stuck with her like glue, both wide-eyed. “Where’s Summer, Caden?”
I held my brother’s gaze as I answered, “She’s coming down. She was in the bedroom.”
Marcus coughed, nodding to me. “We’ll be back in a bit. Don’t, uh, don’t follow us.” He started forward, and I rotated on my heels, moving to the back door and then outside. There were people in the yard, so I led the way, going until I found a private area by a clump of trees.
I waited.
This time, I knew my brother was coming.
CADEN
“What are we doing, Caden?”
“You were at the hospital.”
My brother paused, a harsh chuckle leaving him. “She told, huh? I shouldn’t be surprised. I mean she was in your be—”
“Finish that sentence, and that’s the last thing you’ll remember from tonight.” My hand flexed, and his gaze fell to it.
“Yeah. So what?” He bit out. “I was there.”
“You were there, Marcus! There. Right there. You could’ve gone to see him. He would’ve wanted you there. I’m tired of you coming, but not being there. There’s a big fucking difference.”
He flared up now. His eyes were wild. “Are you kidding me? Do you know what it’s like to look at him like that?”
“YES! Because I was there.”
“Back off this, Caden. I get it. You’re the older brother, but this is between me and Colton. It’s different.”
“How?” I wanted to shove him. It was wrong to do that. It was wrong to hit too, but I’d already hit one person tonight. “How’s it different? Because it’s you?”
“Stop.”
“Because it could’ve been you in that bed instead? In that hospital gown?”
“I said stop it.” A vein popped out from the side of his neck. “Stop, Caden.”
I stepped closer. “Those were your friends that day, Marcus.”
“Caden!” His voice rose an octave.