The Sister Code (D.O.R.K #2) (19 page)

“Explain what, you worthless manwhore?” Raven’s hand whips across his cheek with a resounding
smack
. “You’ve been seeing both of us behind each other’s back! You are such a piece of bloody scum!”

The diamond bracelet Gio said was meant for me is clasped around my sister’s wrist. Behind him, I can see the painting of my face on Wonder Woman’s body still on the easel just to his right…except now I realize that wasn’t me. The smooth jaw, the generous body frame…none of this was for me. He was just practicing for her. The bracelet on her wrist proves it.

My own anger kindles inside me and flames to match hers. I step forward to join Raven in her tirade.

“You told me that bracelet was meant for me,” I yell. “How could you?”

Gio takes several steps back, shielding himself with outstretched hands.

“Ladies, please…I’m sorry. We can work through this.”

Raven ignores him, turns to me, and notices a stray tear that slipped down my cheek. Her eyes soften with sympathy.

“Hey…come here.” She pulls me into her arms and clings to me. “I don’t blame you for this, Madison. It’s all his fault.”

“Worthless…piece of…shit,” I sob.

She turns me toward the door. “Let’s get out of here, sis.”

“No!” Gio chases after us and grasps my arm from the side. When I look up into his eyes, they seem so familiar and yet so foreign. I don’t know why I never noticed how distant his expression is when he’s talking to me. It’s almost as if he’s imagining someone else.

“Madness, I swear, I thought she was you. She’s lying. Can’t you see she’s just being deceitful again?”

Searching his face one more time for nonexistent sincerity, I jerk my arm away and shake my head. “No. Gio, we’re done. Give it up.”

I move forward to exit with Raven, but when I look up toward the door, I notice Kiki standing just outside taping us on her smartphone. She gasps and tries to put the phone away in time, but she’s not quick enough. My heart clenches with realization.

Kiki was taping us the whole time. That means this was planned.

That means Raven was in on this all along.

“Raven…” I turn to her with eyes wide open, terrified by the monster I trusted to comfort me just a second ago. Her entire expression has changed. She’s looking at me with a villainous smirk instead of sisterly love.

“We’ll be bigger than ever after this,” she says with a Cheshire cat grin.

I draw back in panic. “You planned this? You set me up for heartbreak just so you could make some video about us both getting our hearts broken?”

“Gio’s quite the talented actor, isn’t he?” Raven’s low chuckle undoes me, and I start shaking violently. “He knew about this all along. I must say, I’m quite pleased with his results. I’ll have to use him again soon.”

The tears flow freely when I glance up at Gio. His protests have died on his lips and been replaced with a smirk—the same one I saw that first day of school. It has to be true. They planned this whole thing. I’m not sure how long they’ve been at it, but whatever the case, I have only one question for my sister.

“How, Raven? How could you use me like this?”

She shrugs, her face hardening. “We’ve both been using each other all along. This was just part of the plan. You’ll get over him. It’s not like there aren’t a million guys out there who are going to want you after this.”

My eyes dart around the room, searching for escape. I finally locate the door through the blur of my tears.

“I have to get out of here.”

“Madison, stop!”

Paying no attention to Raven, I run out the door and as my feet pound down the stairs, I hold in my sobs, trying my best not to unravel until I’m out of this place. After a somewhat garbled explanation, the housekeeper opens the gate for me and I run blindly down the long driveway and through the Abates’s front gate, straight into a mob of photographers who are waiting for me.

Flashing lights obscure my vision. The world turns into a sheet of white with little black dots of the night peeking through. Voices scream at me—

“Madison, what just happened?”

“What’s going on in there?”

“Are you all right?”

“Can you tell us why you’re crying?”

I turn around and dart back through the gate to climb the wall. My stilettos scratch against the stone and I somehow manage to get down into my yard without even a scrape. Somewhere deep inside, I realize this is the last time I’m ever going to climb this wall. Sobs tear from my throat as I settle against it and fall to a sitting position. I don’t have the strength to move. I can’t even process what just happened and I’m not sure I want to.

Several minutes later, someone runs out of the front door of the mansion. I hear Chandler yell, “There she is!”

Some blurry people run toward me. I’m not even aware of the fact that Logan has scooped me up in his arms until he presses a soft kiss to the side of my head.

“Sweets, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

Logan. Thank goodness it’s Logan. That’s all I can think as relief floods my frame.

“Get me out of here,” I beg, clinging to him. “Please, get me out of here.”

“Okay. I’m taking you home with me,” he whispers. He starts to carry me across the yard to his truck.

“Wait!” Chandler calls out behind us. “The party guests…”

“Oh yeah…” Logan pauses for a minute to think. Then a note of mischief enters his voice. “Watch this.”

Logan carries me inside the mansion and deposits me on the staircase in Chandler’s care while he heads over to the DJ’s stand. He takes the mic from the DJ and his deep voice blasts through the entire house.

“Listen up, everybody! The douchebag next door called the police on us and ratted us out. Said minors were getting high and wasted and shit. Y’all better get out of here now if you don’t want to get in trouble.”

Loud murmurs begin and people scramble for their possessions and dates as they hurry out the front door. A few tough guys insist they don’t have to leave because they’re twenty-one, but Logan informs them they are going to leave or they’ll be charged with trespassing. Thirty minutes later, the entire house is cleared, and Kelsey arrives back on the property to stay with the house. Logan scoops my limp frame back up in his arms and carries me out to his waiting truck to take me to his apartment for the night.

When Logan sets me in his passenger seat, I buckle myself in, my movements wooden and lifeless. He slides into the driver’s seat, cranks the ignition with a fury, and as he moves to drive us away, he blares his horn and spews profanities at the photographers who try to block our exit. He rolls his window down and howls:

“I’ll run your asses down, you fucking trespassers! Move out of my fucking way!”

I would be laughing if it weren’t for the pain that’s still tearing at my chest. Thank God for Logan and his road rage. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know what I would be doing right now.

It’s a long drive to Logan’s apartment and silent except for the Sirius Octane channel. I’ve told Logan about my love for that channel on more than one occasion. Even so, I’m impressed that he thought to turn it on without even asking me. The music flushes me out and helps me think clearly once again.

Raven and Gio were plotting against me all along. I can hardly believe it, yet somehow I’m not surprised. What I can’t understand is how anyone could be so heartless. How could Gio look me in the eyes and tell me how much I meant to him if it wasn’t true? How could Raven do something this cold and unfeeling to her own sister? They had to go through a lot to plan this whole charade and a terrifying amount of deception. It’s clear I underestimated both of them. I never knew anyone could be so cruel.

Before I can stop them, the tears start up again. The darkness of the car allows me to let them pour like a silent rain. This life I forced myself back into is an underworld of heartache and shattered dreams. Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Hollywood—whatever you call it—I now see it as my doom instead of my wonderland. I don’t know if I’m ever going to trust anyone in this awful place again.

I feel something warm and rough brush against my hand and realize Logan is reaching for me. I turn my hand over and clasp his, thankful for the lifeline. He squeezes my hand tightly.

“Whenever you’re ready, you can tell me all about it,” he whispers in the darkness. “For now, just know that if you want to, it’s okay to cry in front of me.”

Chapter 29

October 31, 2015

Fuck Titles

Three words:

Worst.

Birthday.

Ever.

***

As I lock my phone and drop it on the granite-topped island, Logan comes over in front of where I’m sitting on a stool with a bottle of vodka, a bottle of cranberry juice, a martini glass, and an orange. Before he went over to the liquor cabinet, he asked me what I wanted to drink, and all I could do was mutter one word:

“Cosmo.”

A word Gio used in his texts to Dalton keeps coming back to me.

Blindsided.

Now I’m the one who’s been blindsided, both by Raven and by him. There’s a gaping hole in my heart that I’m not sure will ever be filled. The only thing keeping me from going over the edge is Logan and his martini-mixing skills. Having a friend who’s both a bartender and a cook lifts my luck level up a few notches.

Still, it’s pretty damn low right now.

Logan hands me a perfectly mixed Cosmo. I squeeze the orange slice into the drink, swirl it rapidly, and chug the thing in ten seconds flat.

“Another,” I rasp.

Logan pours me four more drinks before he cuts me off. Then he leads me to the partitioned-off area to the right where there’s a plush beige couch, a matching chair, and a big TV. He lets me lie down against an extraordinarily comfy pillow on the couch and takes his place in the chair near me.

“Are you ready to tell me what happened?” he asks gently.

A silent tear runs down my cheek. I stare straight ahead and everything in the room goes double with my lack of focus. I can’t speak. I can’t think. All I can do is ache.

Logan waits until I’m ready, and then finally, once the alcohol begins to seep into my veins, I sob out my story. Logan moves to sit under me on the couch so he can hold me against him. I let him cradle me in his arms to keep me from falling apart as I tell him every last detail, all the way from the beginning of the summer until now. At the end, the muscles in his arms are rigid. I hear him snorting his anger.

“If I ever run into either one of those little bitches, they’ll be dead before they feel my fist pancaking their faces. What a fucked-up thing to do, especially to your own sister.”

“I just don’t understand,” I sob. “Am I really that bad? Did I deserve to be used like this?”

“No.” Logan pulls me tightly against him, pressing his head down on top of mine. “Fuck no. From what you’ve told me, they’ve done nothing but use you and treat you like shit. I’ve never been so mad. I’m about to go back to his house and blow holes in both their heads.”

I smile against him through my lingering tears. The vodka is slowly filling me with a warm, lifted, fuzzy feeling. His body pressed against mine feels really damn good. I wipe my tears with the backs of my hands and snuggle into him.

“Thanks, Logan. You saved me. I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like you.”

He brushes my hair back from my face and gazes down at me. “Madison, you are a beautiful, kind, caring person who unfortunately doesn’t fit in with all the fame-hungry jackasses here in Hollywood. You deserve way better than me. I’m glad I was there to help you out, though. If it makes you feel any better, you looked smoking hot tonight. Way better than her.”

A lazy grin creeps onto my face. “Really?”

He nods, the corner of his mouth curling up with just a hint of amusement. Everything inside me pulls me toward his delectable-looking lips. They’re even more appetizing than the éclairs I salivated over all night long.

“Are you sure you should be saying that with your girlfriend gone?” I tease.

Logan’s face falls. “Yeah, about that…I did some spying. Turns out my intuition was right.” A muscle in his jaw twitches. “His name is Chaz. Apparently he’s better than me in every way.”

“Oh God, Logan…” I snuggle into his shoulder, truly saddened for him. “I’m so sorry.”

He breathes out a ragged sigh. “I don’t know what to do. Part of me wants to toss her out on her ass, but she moved here with me and doesn’t have any place to stay. I don’t want to make a person homeless.”

I shrug. “Let him take her in. Who gives a damn?”

Logan tenses against me. Then he nods and says, “You know what? You couldn’t be any more right.” I feel him shake his head against mine. “I’ll take care of this tomorrow.”

“Good.” Breathing in his clean, musky scent, I giggle. “You’re a really sexy Thor, by the way.”

His low chuckle causes a warm wind to brush my face. “Thanks.”

I run my hand over the taut fabric that’s stretched over his equally taut chest. His head lowers toward mine, matching the draw I feel so strongly for him. I lift my face to stare into his daring green eyes, finding his charm far more irresistible than Gio’s. It’s pretty clear I chose the wrong guy at the beginning of this semester. I should have challenged Claire to a duel, kicked her ass, and claimed my prize three months ago.

We continue to lean toward each other, and I almost meet his lips, but in a moment of clarity I change my mind. Logan Caldwell is incredible, but I can’t do this tonight. It would be a bad start to something I’m hoping can last longer than my last failed relationship.

“I think I need some rest,” I whisper.

Logan purses his lips and nods. “I’ll leave you to it.”

I sit up to let him off the couch and then lie back down on the pillow. Logan goes back into his bedroom and comes back out with a lovely, soft, rain-smelling fleece blanket. He spreads it over me and tucks me in with a tender pat on the shoulder. I snuggle into the blanket and barely hear him whispering in my ear before I drift off to sleep.

“Sweet dreams, Wonder Woman.”

***

I wake up to the sound of sizzling on a skillet. The smell of freshly cracked peppercorns and bacon tickles my nose. I sit up slowly, avoiding turning my head too much since it feels like there’s a ten-pound weight strapped to it. I stretch out all my limbs and stand from the couch to trudge to the island. The sight I’m met with appeals to me a little more than I want it to.

Logan’s standing in front of the oven in a fresh white t-shirt and a pair of red athletic shorts. His dark wavy hair is slightly rumpled from sleep. The muscles in his arms work as he moves between his bacon, eggs, and pancakes, timing everything to perfection and not missing a beat. His ability to focus and move his arms to the right place at the right time must carry over from his drumming to his cooking. The food smells so good I have to swallow saliva to avoid drooling over it.

“Good morning,” I say from my place at the island.

Logan turns his head back from the oven for only a second and flashes me his winning smile. “Morning, sweets.” He turns back to the task at hand. “Did you sleep okay on that couch?”

“Yeah, it was actually very comfortable,” I tell him honestly.

“Good. Sorry I didn’t give you the bed, but it looked like you would slap me if I took you away from that pillow.”

“I probably would have.” I draw the smell of his breakfast into my senses again and sigh with contentment. “This smells heavenly, by the way.”

He grins over his shoulder again. “It tastes even better.” He turns back to the food and moves some of the bacon to a waiting plate. It crackles and sputters when it touches a little bit of water that was lingering there. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Truthfully? Like shit.”

He sighs. “Sorry, sweets. From experience, I know it’s going to be a while before you can say you feel fine.”

Grinning, I stop trying to deny how much I love it when he calls me that. “Well, hopefully this food will help me feel a little better.”

And the view
, I add in my head.

A few minutes later, Logan serves me my breakfast feast and I enjoy it thoroughly, moaning over nearly every bite. Every flavor and texture combination complements each other perfectly and combines to create a symphony of flavor. The slight zing of pepper on the bacon makes it even better. After my plate is clean, I beg for more, and he loads it up again. I clean it a second time and finally lean back with my stomach poking out about three inches more than normal.

“I’m going to fill out in no time if I start hanging out with you,” I say, making him chuckle.

“You are more than welcome to come over any time you want.” He winks from his perch beside me at the island.

We fall silent as he takes dishes to the sink and rinses them out. Things have changed between us, and it’s strange, but it’s nice. I just hope we don’t move too fast. We’re both going through things right now. It would be awful to wreck this before it even starts.

Before Logan can finish the dishes, the lock on the door jiggles and clatters. Logan turns the water off and dries his hands on a nearby towel.

The door opens, and in walks a leggy, highlighted, shiny blonde goddess I can only assume is Claire. Her expression changes from cheerful to irate as soon as her gaze locks onto me.

“What the hell? Logan, what is
she
doing in our apartment?”

I stand from my stool awkwardly and pick up my phone from the counter.

“Um, I was just leaving,” I stutter. “Logan brought me here after my party last night because I couldn’t stay at home.”

She keeps her attention on Logan. “How could you keep this slut in our apartment overnight?”

I bristle, but Logan lashes out at her before I can.

“How
dare
you call her that?” he bellows. He strides up to Claire and stands his ground in front of her.

“You have no business even hanging out with her outside the band,” Claire challenges him with a forefinger pointed in his face.

“Just like you have no business jetting off to see your New York
boyfriend
every weekend,” Logan retorts.

A gasp catches in her throat. Claire sways, her balance atop her bubble gum pink heels thrown by his accusation. “What are you talking about? I go there for work.”

Logan clenches his teeth. Now it’s his turn to point in her face. “I saw the texts, Claire. You’ve been cheating on me for two months now. I’m not the idiot you think I am.”

Her lower lip trembles, and she turns on the crocodile tears. “Logan, I’m sorry…I swear I just broke things off and I’m never going to see him again—”

“Get out of this apartment now,” he orders, pointing straight at the door behind her.

Claire’s squeaky sobs cause a tick in my ears. “But Logan, you know I’m struggling for money. I have nowhere to go—”

“I know, and I foolishly took pity on you for that, but not anymore. I refuse to waste one more cent on your cheating ass. Go ask your East Coast boyfriend to take you in. I’ll leave the door open tonight so you can move your things out.”

Logan stalks to the front door and holds it open for her exit. Claire continues to sob as she rolls her suitcase out behind her and steps out the door. Logan pounds against the doorjamb with a balled up fist as he watches her leave.

“Fucking
bitch
!” he yells after her. “Good riddance!”

Logan slams the door shut so hard I’m afraid he might split it in half. My chest tightens when he hides his face and leans against it. I know that must have been such a hard thing for him to do, but he’ll be so much better off without her. I’m proud of him for finally standing up for himself. I tiptoe up behind him and lay my palm flat against his back, rubbing in slow circles. His shoulder blades are trembling with suppressed sobs.

“Logan, it’s okay to cry in front of me too,” I whisper.

He sinks to the floor on his knees and leans his head against the door as the sobs rip from his chest. I kneel down next to him and hold him as my tears join his. He grabs onto my arm in front of his chest for dear life. I squeeze him so hard our bodies seem to meld together.

One thing’s for sure—we’re going to need each other to get through the weekend from hell.