Page 43 of Break You

As if I didn’t realize that.

“I don't care if the Pope sent you, I’m not interested.”

“Aaaw, c’mon man. The last place I want to be is in the middle of all the shit between you and Drew.”

What shit? As far as I was concerned there was no shit. I was the head of Cygnus Dei, and whatever Drew thought, or whether he liked it or not, I could really do what the fuck I wanted. Ultimately, if he had a problem with that, he could always leave.

The hammering continued, and as I reached for the remote to turn the volume up on the TV again, I decided that maybe I should just open the door. I really didn't want to have to deal with drama from the neighbors or campus police, on top of everything else going on. I pressed pause on the show and reluctantly dragged myself across to the door. Flinging it open, I looked at Kane as if he was the devil incarnate.

“What?” I stomped back across the room without looking at him.

“Hey, man, nice to see you too. As ever.”

“Shut up, Kane. Sarcasm doesn’t even suit you.” He flipped me off, and I returned the favor. I sat on the couch and looked at him pointedly. “Don't bother sitting down, you won’t be here long enough to get comfortable.” He stood with his legs apart, arms folded across his chest, clearly pissed off. “Okay, so shoot. What do you want? Actually, scratch that. What does Drew want?”

“He thinks you are abusing your power with the cygnets, and the stuff you’re getting them to do is too risky.”

“So, he sent you here to tell me shit that I already know? He’s bitched about all this to me already.”

“Yeah, but that was before today’s fiasco. Now he’s losing his living mind. I can’t remember a time when I’ve seen him angrier.”

“What? Why is he getting his vagina in a knot? It’s the same shit Cygnus has been doing for literally generations. I should know, my family established it.” I stared Kane down. He didn’t flinch.

“Well, he says you took it too far this time, that it’s too risky after the last stunt you pulled. He thinks we’ll all end up in jail.”

I had to laugh. “Is he for fucking real? I mean, seriously, is he PMSing or something? What even is the point of any of this if there is no risk? I mean, that's the legend of Cygnus. The cygnets have to think there’s a lot at risk. I’d say the threat of going to jail is pretty high stakes.”

Kane rubbed agitatedly at the back of his neck.

“I think maybe this was a step too far. I mean what if they got caught, and then it was traced back to us?” The worried look on his face made me want to slap him.

“What if, what if, what if! Who gives a fuck about the what ifs? They didn’t get caught. It didn’t get traced back to us. Why are you guys obsessing over this?”

“Okay, so they didn't get busted this time, but you didn’t know that going in.”

“Yeah, I did.”

He frowned, his brows knitting together like a hairy slug above his rapidly darkening eyes.

“You couldn’t have. You don’t, as far as I’m aware, own a crystal ball. It was a big risk and could have backfired massively with repercussions for us all, whether you’re man enough to admit it or not.”

“You know the shit I’ve done. Has anything ever stuck? Ever? Even in the highly unlikely event that they did get sprung, what are the chances of me going down?”

“Oh, okay, so it’s like that, is it?” His jaw tightened visibly. He was about as pissed off as I’d ever seen him. “You’re covered, so the rest of us can rot in jail. Fuck you, Cross.” He spat the words with more venom than was usual for him.

“Man, it’s a good thing I’m too tired to walk across the room to knock your head off your shoulders. What kind of bullshit is that? I’m not my father. Have you ever seen any evidence that I would hang everyone out to dry to save my own skin? One of us goes down, we all do, but in reality, it would be a case of if I needed to save myself, you can bet I’d be doing the same for everyone else. I really ought to come over there and kick your ass.”

“Well, regardless, Drew thinks you are obsessed with this girl, and it’s some kind of personal vendetta or something.”

If only he knew the half of it.

“I’m not saying he’s right, but so what if I was? Obsessed with her, I mean. Why is he obsessing over it?” What the fuck does that have to do with him at the end of the day?

“Well, technically, nothing. If you weren’t making it everyone’s business by dragging us all into it, we wouldn’t give a flying fuck where you stuck your dick. But you can’t do this shit with us in tow and not expect us all to have an opinion about it.”

“Well, of course, I can’t stop you from having opinions; they’re like assholes, as the saying goes. Everyone has them. I would, however, love to stop you from expressing them to me. It’s really fucking boring listening to you all bleat on like little old ladies.” I rubbed my forehead. All this bitchassing was giving me the headache from hell.

“Yeah, well, I hope all this risk and division is worth it for a girl who clearly can’t stand the thought of your face. Man, it’s fucking hilarious how much she openly hates you.”

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