Page 22 of Hidden Truths

Fallon, Braxtyn, and I head for the locker room when coach finally dismisses us from practice and we head off behind the rest of the guys as they talk and laugh amongst themselves about Collette. At the same time, she makes her way down the stands and jogs over to us with a smile on her face that’s supposed to look sexy but only makes her look that much more vile than usual.

“Dash, where do you want me to wait for you?” Collette questions, her voice nasally and whiny like a brat.

“Why the fuck would you wait for me anywhere?” I question her, dread filling me as I look from her to the guys surrounding me. Fallon and Braxtyn have no idea what’s going on either which only adds to the confusion.

“We’re having dinner at your parents’ house tonight, Dash. Dante and you are supposed to be taking me over there,” she answers, popping out a hip and placing her hand on it as if I’m stupid for not remembering.

“Oh, right. Forgot about that shit. Well, I guess it’s not surprising since you’re involved and I fuckin’ hate you,” I tell her, watching as the smile melts off her disgusting face covered in layers of make-up and turns into a pout.

“Don’t say that, Dash. Eventually, I’m going to choose one of you to marry. You better play your cards right. I’ve had my eye on you since I got here and that’s not going to change because you have to keep up appearances in front of the guys. You know you want me,” she says, her voice filled with venom as she lets her true nature show.

“You won’t be pickin’ any of us to marry. Get that through your fuckin’ head, skank,” Fallon barks out, his voice filled with the hate he has for her and how much he can’t stand us keeping this shit a secret.

Collette and everyone else will find out what’s going on eventually. At this point, we need to make sure everything is in place before the news gets out that Collette gets absolutely nothing and won’t be sitting at the table for any reason. There is no leading The Faction for her in the future and I can’t wait until she learns the truth about what’s going to happen moving forward. We just have to get Arabella to talk to us.

The skank stomps off like a petulant child. Without turning around to look at any of us, she lets me know she’ll be waiting in the parking lot at my car. I can’t fucking stand knowing this skank will be in my car. I don’t let girls in my baby. When I go out, I take one of the other cars I have but that’s not an option tonight. I’ve only got my baby here and so I’ll have to make sure it’s thoroughly detailed after Collette gets out of it.

***

After showering and letting Dante know what’s going on, I make my way to the parking lot at the back of campus. That’s where the five of us park because we have spots in the garage that no one else has access to. Including Collette. She doesn’t even know where I park my car because I don’t let her know anything about myself. None of us do. Anything she knows is information she’s gotten from Karmen and others on campus. Most of it’s nothing but lies and doesn’t mean anything to any of us.

Getting to the parking lot, I find Dante waiting for me with a smile on his face. Collette is walking through the parking lot looking completely lost as she goes up one aisle and down the next. She’s looking all over for my car and can’t find it. I can’t help but laugh my ass off at her as she wobbles in the high heels she insists on wearing daily. Today along with the shirt covered in my football number, she’s wearing the shortest skirt I’ve ever seen. Karmen doesn’t even pull that shit when she knows she’s going to a dinner with one of the parents. The slut dresses up and tries to pull off the innocent look even though it doesn’t ever happen because Karmen is a slut just like Collette.

Dante and I make our way to the garage where my car is parked and hidden from view. We manage to get inside and I pull out after we get in without Collette noticing where I’ve parked my car. Unfortunately, I can’t leave her behind because this dinner is something that has to happen so she can find adults to help her learn every aspect of The Faction so she can lead us and make decisions for the right reasons and not based on her own fucking demands and wants. I know she’s met with Kash’s father and they had dinner together last week. This week it’s our parents' turn and I already know they’re not going to help her.

“Get the fuck in the car,” Dante barks out as he opens the passenger door and gets out to let her in the backseat.

“I’m not riding in the back,” Collette says, acting as if she has a choice in the matter.

“You either get the fuck in the backseat where you belong or you can walk to our parents’ house. The choice is yours because I don’t take the backseat to a fuckin’ skank like you,” my brother says as I start laughing my ass off at his words.

Dante doesn’t ever hold back when it comes to anything he doesn’t like. Since I know he hates Collette like the rest of us, he’s not going to let her think for a second that she means anything to him. My brother is a fucking asshole and wears that shit like armor. Only one person can get that armor to fall off and we’re still working on how to make that happen. Eventually we’ll get to Arabella and tell her what Kash discovered so she can take her place in life and The Faction. I just hope it’s something she wants because with her having to marry one of us, it will be the opening we need to get back in her life.

Collette finally gets in the backseat of the car with a huff, and Dante slams back my seat before getting in and sitting down again. I turn up the music as rock blares through the speakers so Collette can’t talk to either one of us. She leans forward and tries to rest her hand on my arm and I shake her off before Dante turns one of his lethal glares in her direction. Collette slumps back against the seat of my car and I know she’s trying to figure out what to do in order to get under our skin. It’s never gonna work, but it will be fun watching her try her hardest to get one of us to accept and marry her.

It doesn’t take long before we’re pulling into the driveway of our parents’ house. I shut the engine off and get out without waiting for Collette. Dante glares at me over the top of my car and moves his seat forward so she can get out. I laugh because my twin hates this shit.

Without looking back or waiting for Collette, Dante and I make our way to the front door and enter the house to complete chaos. Toby, our younger brother, is riding his skateboard in the house as our mom yells at him to stop. Our dad walks out from his office and takes in what’s going on around him.

“What the hell are you doing, Toby? You know you’re not supposed to be riding that thing in the house,” Dad questions our brother as he comes to a stop when he sees Dante and me standing just inside the door.

“Dash! Dante!” he calls out, making his way over to us as Collette enters the house and closes the door behind her.

Toby wraps Dante and I in a hug. He’s five years younger than we are and already tall as fuck. The impact of him hitting us, sends us both back a step and Dante crashes into Collette who shrieks like she was really hurt. None of us pay her any attention, which she fucking hates. Like Karmen, she demands to be the center of attention at all times. She won’t get that shit here because none of us want her around. Our parents can’t stand her or her father.

“It’s so good to have you boys home,” our mom says, walking over to give us both a hug while telling Toby to go get cleaned up for dinner.

Our mom ushers us all into the table that’s been set with so much food covering the top of it. I take my seat with Dante sitting next to me so Collette can’t sit near either one of us. Toby sits across from us once he returns from cleaning up. When our parents take the seats at either end of the table, Collette finally realizes none of us are going to cater to her and we won’t let her demand anything of us. She sits down next to Toby and glares at him like he’s a pile of shit she stepped in.

“Look at our little brother like that one more fuckin’ time and you’ll be leavin’ our house without a fuckin’ thing,” Dante growls out, protective of Toby and letting Collette know she better watch her step.

We all load up our plates of ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and rolls my mom made for dinner tonight. Collette takes a little bit of everything except a roll before slowly taking a bite of the food our mom slaved over making. Anger fills me with the thought of her not showing proper respect to our mom and how much trouble she went through to make tonight’s dinner.

“So, Collette, what do you think is gonna happen if you were to take over The Faction?” my dad asks as we eat our dinner.

Dante and I don’t pay her any attention as we continue to shovel food in our mouths so we can get the hell out of here.

“Well, I know I’ll make sure everyone gets what they deserve. The people in the poor section of town deserve to be completely cut off and not get a damn thing from us,” Collette answers, her words igniting a deeper rage in every single person at the table she’s sitting at. “We can increase bringing in money by following my rules and the plans I want to put in place. There’s nothing I won’t do to make money for myself. So, when are you going to start training me? I want to get started on this immediately so I can take my rightful seat at the table.”

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