Page 15 of Ruined

Chapter Seven

Tristan

Igently pushed the blonde woman away from me, clenching my jaw as I watched Adelaide disappear down the hall into one of the rooms with Joey. I wanted to rush after them and fucking rip him away from her. And maybe bash his fucking face into my knee.

The blonde pouted up at me. “Tristan,” she whined.

I was so sick of club women. The only fucking woman I wanted was Adelaide, and she didn’t fucking want me.

Every rejection from her cut me deep, even if I never let her see it.

“No,” I snapped at the blonde, unable to control my temper. She flinched back from me, her eyes widening with fear. “I’m not fucking interested. Go fucking bother someone else.”

She glared up at me as she recovered from her shock. “Getting tangled up with Adelaide will only get you killed,” she spat up at me.

This girl was treading on dangerous fucking waters. She had no fucking clue what kind of woman Adelaide was.

Do you even know who she is? my mind snapped back at me.

I took a dangerous step toward the blonde, my eyes narrowing. Her face paled, and she quickly stepped back from me. Her pulse jumped erratically at the base of her throat in fear. “Unless you’ve got something nice to say about Adelaide, I’d advise you to keep your fucking mouth shut,” I quietly warned her, my voice deadly and frightening. A clear warning that talking shit about Adelaide was off fucking limits.

I turned on my heel and stormed over to the bar, not interested in playing pool anymore. Jessie arched an eyebrow at me as I plopped onto one of the bar stools, a scowl settled over my features. “Something strong?” she guessed.

Wordlessly, I nodded. She grabbed a glass and filled it with ice, pouring hundred-proof vodka into the glass afterward. I caught the glass as she slid it toward me, the ice making a clanking sound in the glass. “If it makes you feel any better, she only went to fuck my brother to make you jealous,” Jessie informed me as she raised her dark eyes to meet mine.

I arched an eyebrow at her. “Who said I give a shit about Adelaide?” I retorted.

Jessie smirked and leaned forward on the bar, propping her chin up on her hand. “It’s written all over your face, sweetie.” She leaned back up and shrugged. “Adelaide saw you with Lacie, and she got pissed.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose with a rough sigh. Most of the time, I didn’t know how to even begin to deal with Addy. She was so different from the girl I fell in love with so many years ago.I missed the old her so fucking much, missed the girl who was sweet and kept me grounded.

Adelaide now? She was wild and untamed. Completely fucking dangerous.

“I love that woman more than I should,” I grumpily admitted, swallowing some of the vodka in the glass, not even making a face as the alcohol burned down my throat.

Jessie shrugged. “I could see the love you have for her when you laid your eyes on her the night of her birthday party,” Jessie told me. I grunted. “But I’m going to warn you now that Adelaide has been through some shit, and she doesn’t love easily anymore. Not after what you did to her, and especially not after your sister died.” I couldn’t hold in my flinch. The loss of my twin sister was still fresh.

“When Helene lost her fight to cancer, it seemed like Adelaide lost the last part of her that made her human. Sometimes, I swear she doesn’t feel anything.” Jessie’s eyes lifted from the bar and met mine. “Well, until you came along, that is.”

“Helene was always her rock,” I remembered, that familiar sadness ringing through me as I thought of my younger twin sister. She’d been the light of everyone’s life, and she had been Adelaide’s only friend. Growing up in a trap house like Adelaide had, friends were few and far between, and having someone that she could trust was even rarer.

“Look, I love my brother to death,” Jessie began, “but I’m going to be honest with you here. I love Adelaide. She’s like the sister I’ve never had, and I want what’s best for her. She and my brother are toxic as fuck together, but he also knows how to keep her grounded and keep her alive. If it weren’t for Joey alwaysbringing out that fire in Adelaide, I’m not even sure she would be alive today.” I swallowed thickly. “But Adelaide also needs someone to bring her out of that fucking hole she’s in, and I know that you can do that if you can just manage to get past that wall that she’s built up against you.”

“How did she even get like this?” I asked, almost afraid of the answer. “She used to be so sweet and innocent.”

Jessie sighed, and judging by her face, I knew I wasn’t going to like whatever she said next. “Not going to lie to you, Tristan, it all started with you.” I flinched. “When you broke up with Adelaide on her birthday, Joey met her, and he gave her the freedom that she needed, but he also got her caught up in some fucked up shit to bring her out of her funk. Adelaide was dead inside. You killed a part of her.” Pain lanced through my chest. “The first time I met Adelaide, she and Joey had been together for three months, and she was snorting a line of coke up her nose.”

I roughly ran a hand down my face, hating myself now more than I ever had before. I had left Adelaide so that I could protect her. I had destroyed her heart to keep her safe.

But I only drove her into the arms of just another form of the devil that I was already trying to protect her from to begin with. Ineverwanted this life to touch her.

Fucking hell.

“Apparently, Adelaide had been doing runs for Joey for a while.” I shook my head in disgust. Women weren’t meant to be a part of this shit. “I met Helene that same day. Your sister had come into the clubhouse to find Adelaide, and she instantly started yelling at Adelaide for doing hard drugs. Helene helped her get clean, but your sister wasn’t enough to help her heal.”

“Adelaide told me that Helene got her caught up with Joey. Said she even encouraged Adelaide.”

Jessie shook her head with a bitter laugh. “She thought Joey would be a great rebound guy for Adelaide but nothing more. She was pissed as hell when she found out that Adelaide was caught up in this life, but by the time Helene found out, Adelaide was already in too deep to get out, even if she wanted to. But she didn’t. Adelaideneedsthis now.”

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