Page 54 of The Magic of Betrayal
"No, I think he knows better now. He's already been roughed up by Fischer, and Kai confessed the other day that he throat punched him a few weeks back."
Gran's laughter lifted my spirits and snapped me out of that horrible headspace that I always seemed to dive right back into when it came to him. Abuse will do that to a person, though. There's good days and bad. Days where you give yourself the credit you deserve for being an absolute badass and taking control of your own destiny, and then there's days where the tiniest event can send you spiraling down the cliff of unhealthy thoughts where you can't see the light through the darkness.
Refusing to be sucked into that black pit of despair, I focused on my vibrant grandmother as she talked hardcore shit about Bryce and praised my guys for their desire to defend my honor.
"I need to head out, Gran. I'll be home later tonight," I told her, standing and pushing in my chair.
"Take that lazy fox with you. He's been giving me crazy side eye the past week and I think he's plotting on me," Gran whispered conspiratorially, her gaze darting around the room as though Maven was lying in wait, ready to pounce her ass.
"You know I always take him, and he's been side eyeing you since he moved in here, but don't act like you don't do the same thing to him. He's a fox, Gran, not some nemesis. Just ignore him," I suggested, grabbing my backpack and making my way to the mudroom.
"Be safe!" Gran shouted and then muttered a string of words that I was too far away to understand.
"Mave! Let's go, boy!" I called out and listened for movement. A soft thump upstairs, and the slow progression of little creaks in the floorboards let me know that at least the grump was up and on his way downstairs.Worse than a teenager, I swear.
Once I had my bike ready, Maven showed up with a mouthful of food and the most severe stink eye I’d ever seen on man or beast. Throwing my hands up, I picked him up and deposited him into the basket.
“It’s your own fault, maybe you should wake up on time next time if you want to eat breakfast. There’s food at The Pig anyway, so quit your growling,” I scolded.
I set off for the town. Damn, it was already getting hot outside and it wasn't even eleven yet. Today, I'd opted for a racer-back tank top that said ‘I’m kind of a big dill’ with the shop's signature logo, a crescent moon with a cartoon pig, on the back. Since I wasn't officially on the clock today, I also opted for girl's best friends, yoga pants. Hell yes.
"Oh great," I mumbled to myself when I got close enough to the store to see Sloane leaning up against the red brick front of the building. Decked out in all black with glimpses of his tattoos peeking out, he looked every bit the surly bad boy that he was. Sloane had been avoiding me. At least, that was the best I could make of the situation. Why else had I only seen him a handful of times in the past several weeks?
I guess a smoking hot threesome in the open air doesn't cause Sloane Sullivan to make any promises or change anything about his demeanor. At least I knew he was an asshole from the start, right? My expectations of him weren't high to begin with.
Hopping off my bike and helping Maven out of his basket, I planned on ignoring Sloane. I really did. But then I walked past him without acknowledging that he was there and I guess that was just too much for him to handle.
"Good to see you too, Red. I'm fine, thanks for asking," he smarted off, and my head whipped in the direction he was standing so fast, I felt something crack in my neck. But it felt good so I knew I hadn't just inadvertently snapped my own neck.That would be something I'd do.
Sloane's eyes sparkled with excitement at the promise of a verbal sparring, and I narrowed my own at him in warning.
"That last time I saw you, I'm pretty sure I said hello to you and you ignored me. Forgive me if I can't keep up with your mood swings, dear. So, you're acting like you know me today?" I snapped at him and his jaw ticked in annoyance.
"The last time you saw me was after I'd come home to my own apartment and been forced to listen to some rather interesting sounds." My eyes widened when I thought back to Kai fucking me in his room. "And trust me, there was nowhere I could have gone in there to escape those noises, Red." Sloane laughed without humor and I watched his forearm flex as he clenched and released his fist multiple times. Guess the urge to use his magic was strong at the moment.
Before I could open my mouth to respond, my phone started ringing, the ringtone alerting me to exactly who it was. My stomach dropped and Sloane must've noticed the change in my expression because he straightened up and closed the distance between us.
"Everything okay, Red?" He questioned as I dug my phone out of my pocket. Thank the gods for yoga pants with pockets. Pure magic.
Giving him a quick nod and a smile that I'm sure didn't reach my eyes, I hit the green accept button.
"Hello?"
"Saige, darling. How are you?" Her voice filtered through the earpiece and she couldn't even disguise her lack of interest over the phone.
"I'm fine, Mom. How are you?" I glanced at Sloane and an indecipherable expression flashed across his face before I could examine it closer.
"Wonderful as always. I just wanted to call and wish you a happy birthday. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to celebrate in person. The big twenty-eight, huh? Hard to imagine that it's been that long since you were born. When I was twenty-eight, I had a seven year old." Laurie sighed and my blood boiled, because no, no she did not have a seven year old. I'd been living alone with Gran for years already at that point.
"Well, thanks for calling..." I trailed off, unsure of what else to say because I honestly had nothing to say to the woman.
"Are you spending your birthday with anyone special this year?" she pried, and I rolled my eyes. Of course she'd ask about men.
"Actually, I am. My three boyfriends," I stated matter of factly and smiled smug as hell when I heard her choke on whatever she was drinking.
"Three? You have three boyfriends?"
"Sure do," I replied, locking my eyes on Sloane's. "Three really sexy mages. They're amazing."
