Page 90 of Unwritten Rules

My world was turned upside down. My virginity gone just a day before by the guy sitting in front of me–which, I didn’t even know him that well. My best friend that I’d had for years was suddenly telling me that she knew a lot more than I did, essentially spilling secrets. I didn’t know how to cope with those two things let alone there are murderers running rampant and kids willing to sell each other out. Did I even know who I was at this point? There were so many questions for my mom and I wished she could have given me something to answer me with, but that was a long journey I had to trek on my own.

Was running away an option?

“I think you need to sit down and chill for a bit. You don’t need all the answers in one day, and you’re clearly not dealing with it well. Did she say she threw up in the kitchen?” Brent asked Kelly to verify what I said like he didn’t believe me, but it was true.

“Yup. Right there.”

He shoved some food in his mouth and scooted to his right a bit. Of course he would be that dramatic about vomit but not about death.

While he might have been right about not needing all the answers in one go, I felt too far behind to care about it. If I was already becoming a mess, why not rip the whole bandaid off and tell me that I needed to start killing people or something. It felt like a not-so-secret society.

“Fal?” Kelly’s voice yanked me out of my thoughts. “Did you hear me?”

I shook my head, physically trying to shake my brains out. Maybe they’d fall out of my nose–or ears. “No...sorry.” I weakly took a plate from her, focusing on a piece of pie that I wanted.

“What were you doing when I called you?” I glanced at Brent shoveling food in his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

He shrugged his shoulders, unbothered by my question. “What do you mean?”

Way to play it off.

“Just what I said.” I put my fork down. “I heard grunting or something from your end.”

Exposing that sharp jawline of his, he tilted his head to the side and gave me a bored look. “I’ll tell youifyou tell me that you’re mine.”

I scowled at him and looked back to my plate where I could distract myself with pie. “No.” Blueberry pie. My favorite.

“Fine,” he said with food in his mouth. “You’re mine, and I was handing someone’s ass to him.”

I guessed he was answering for me then.Yeah, no.Kelly glanced at me over the breakfast foods piled onto her plate, daring me to continue with the banter.

“Care to elaborate on the latter?” I wasn’t going to touch on his claim to me, but I would pry into what trouble he was getting intothistime. The man got into fights like it was his day job or something.

He scoffed at me with a smirk playing on his lips, sitting back and crossing his arms. His blue eyes flashed with intensity. “Can you tell me you’re mine?”

“Possessive much?”

“Yes, I am. I will admit it to everyone in this room that I want you to bemine. You didn’t seem to have a problem with it earlier...” He leaned back over with his eyebrows raised playfully to eat more food, eyes locked on mine.

I laughed. “The only people here are Kelly and me.”

He held his phone up like a trophy, eyes flickering with mischief as he accepted some unspoken dare. “I will publish it to the media unless you say something nice to me.”

A part of me wondered if he would do it. He seemed the type. I played along with him, not wanting to test any more things that would have Evans having a heart attack. “You have a nice butt.”

Kelly laughed.

“Hmm. I’ll take it. Look at you being such a good girl. Now,” his eyes darkened, grin widening. “You said you want answers? I can give you some, but...you need to take the news easily. Finish your pie so you’re comfortable.”

He wanted me to comply with his every demand.Asshole.It was hard to take him so seriously with how aloof he was. I never thought he’d be the type to be so playful. He was blunt, intense, distant, and above all, a major playboy. What was his angle? I wasn’t keen to trust him–or Kelly for that matter. Both of the people sitting in front of me had secrets beyond my wildest imaginations, and I wasn’t sure how muchnewsI could handle.

Paranoia threatened me. The danger on–and off–campus was enough to make someone feel like they were losing their mind. I was handed this world on a silver platter and I had no idea how to navigate it. What would come next? I worried that I would become a target in my naivety, an open target for someone to try to take down for not being deeply entrenched in the depths of criminal business practices.

Was this how the wealthy lived? Beyond the law? The government?

“Business isn’t black and white. That’s what you get for tonight. Stick with me and I’ll keep you safe.” He refocused on the food, piling more onto his plate for a second round. “Can I stay again? I’ll behave.” His question was directed at Kelly, not me.

She chewed while pretending to ponder the question. “Hmm.” Rubbing her chin, she played into the joke. “Maybe I should ask my mom if you can stay; I’m not sure if she likes me having boys over. What do you think, Mom?” She smiled at me.Both of these people are assholes, my God.

---