Betrayal

HUNTER

“You’ll see me when I’m home, Mom.” I snapped, slamming the front door shut behind me.

Dusk had already settled over DevinPort, painting the sky in soft swirls of pink and blue that would've been beautiful if I hadn't been too pissed off to appreciate them.

Gritting my teeth, I shoved my fists into my pockets and stormed down the driveway, the frustration rolling through me with every angry step.

Nothing would've felt better than climbing into my car right now and speeding the hell away from this place.

Except, that privilege had also been repossessed along with the rest of my life.

So there I was, marching down the street on foot like Charlie fucking Brown after another one of life's many disappointments.

And what exactly had I done to deserve this?

Being the son of an allegedly criminal millionaire wasn't enough. Now I couldn't even get a straight answer from my own family.

Ever since Dad had been arrested, I hadn't seen him and it wasn't from lack of trying on my end.

God, have I tried??

Every time I'd asked Mom when we could visit him, she'd come up with another excuse. She wasn't ready. She needed time. Things were complicated. Maybe next week. Fucking excuses EVERY TIME.

And I'd believed her because what other choice did I have?

It wasn't as though I could go myself...or could I? I don't know.

In my head, visiting my father should be a family affair with my mom and brother present.

Then today, I found out she'd been lying to me.

Not only had she visited Dad, but she and my fuckass brother had apparently made at least four trips to the prison over the past few weeks.

Four.

I'd been sitting at home wondering when I was finally going to see my father while the two of them had been driving over there without me.

The more I thought about it, the hotter the anger crawled beneath my skin.

I felt betrayed.

Actually, no. Betrayed didn't even fucking cover it.

What the hell did they think I was going to do if I saw him?

Fall apart?

Start screaming?

I wasn't some fragile idiot who needed to be protected from the new reality of our family. I knew Dad had been arrested.

I'd been living this nightmare right alongside them.

So why the hell did everyone keep treating me like I was the only person who couldn't handle it?

Dad and I had never exactly had the easiest relationship. There were plenty of things about that man that drove me insane, and I'm sure he'd say the same about me.

But he was still my father.

And until somebody showed me undeniable proof that he'd done what they were accusing him of, I wasn't going to turn my back on him because the government said I should.

I believed in his innocence so why the hell would he be fine without me coming to see him.

Rage swept through me, recalling my brother's smug expression on the video call as he threw it in my face.

"Dad doesn't even want to see you and that's why you're not coming with us."

I swear if Cole Beaumont had been in the same room with me hours ago, I would have punched him in his ugly face.

A sharp, bitter sting flared in my chest.

I knew Cole resented me for whatever reason, but he was my older brother dammit, why did he was to be such an asshole?

I was the one who dropped out of my private school so we could get more funds for Dad's legal process.

His stupid ass is still in his expensive college, probably partying his rotten brain off.

And somehow, he got to visit Dad behind my back.

I was still replaying the conversation in my head when my phone vibrated inside my pocket.

I pulled it out, expecting another message from Mom--ive gotten about ten different ones since I stormed out of the house, but Emma's name flashed across the screen instead.

Emma: You still coming tonight?

I stared at the message for a few seconds, my brows knotted in confusion.

And suddenly I recalled it. Her party.

Right.

I'd completely forgotten she'd mentioned one.

My thumb hovered over the keyboard before another message popped up.

Emma: Don't tell me the new king of Raven Hill is too scared to show up.

I snorted despite myself.

King of Raven Hill.

That had a nice fucking ring to it.

I typed out a response asking where the party was, and she sent me an address almost immediately.

Then another message appeared.

Emma: Reeves might be there too 👀

My eyebrows lifted to my hairline.

Well, well, well.

Suddenly, the party sounded a hell of a lot more interesting.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and looked down the road.

Honestly, I hadn't planned on going anywhere tonight. I'd just been too angry to stay in that house with my mom.

However, for the past ten minutes, I've been walking around aimlessly around my neighborhood, trying and failing to clear my head.

In the past, I might have gone to Jonson's and we'd party and game all night until his mom's housekeeper who also doubled as his nanny yelled at us to go to bed.

But that idiot clearly wasn't my friend anymore.

I was broke so there really wasn't anywhere I could afford to be at and the last thing I wanted was to go back to that enormous, half-empty house and listen to my own thoughts.

Nothing sounded better than getting drunk right now.

And by drunk, I don't mean some tipsy shit..

I wanted to get absolutely shit-faced.

I wanted the kind of drunk where tomorrow's headache became tomorrow's problem and tonight, for a few blessed hours, I didn't have to think about Dad sitting in a prison cell, Mom lying to me, Cole being an asshole.

A party full of teenagers with enough alcohol to drown an elephant sounded perfect.

And if Tristan Reeves happened to be there?

Even better.

I couldn't imagine the guy actually letting himself get drunk, but I wanted to see it.

Alcohol was the ultimate truth serum and so, I wanted to see what happened when that ridiculous control of his finally cracked. Maybe he'd become an even bigger asshole. Maybe he'd start saying things he normally kept buried behind that blank fucking expression.

Either way, I could have some fun with him.

Besides, if I was going to spend the next eight months sharing a hockey team withnthe guy and strip the "Captain's "C" from his jersey, it couldn't hurt to gather a little dirt.

Purely strategic, obviously.

I pulled out my phone again and opened the Uber app.

A few minutes later, my ride was on its way.

I shoved my phone into my pocket and started walking toward the main road, where the driver could find me more easily.

For once, I wasn't going to think about tomorrow.

Tonight, I was going to drink until my problems blurred at the edges, flirt with some girls and probably piss off Reeves if I got the opportunity.

What could possibly go wrong?